Shrinkage(canteen)

[musketbal]

Hi all,
I have cedar canteen made by Rapidan Canteen Co. Its about 18 years old. The quality is excellent. After taking it out of storage, the bands were loose due to shrinkage. Once I filled it with water again, the canteen expanded and the rings became tight . There were no leaks.The wood is split on both sides however.
Should I keep water in the canteen, and change it often to keep the canteen from further damage?

Thanks,
Brent Conner
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z158/musketbal/canteen004.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z158/musketbal/canteen005.jpg

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Ah.. wet cooperage versus dry cooperage...

IMHO...

In theory, your canteen should have experienced it maximim "drying out" due to the initial "dry-out." (Depending upon how air or kiln dry the wood was
when it was made). It should not, shrink further.

However, I had a birch bark canoe that needed to be soaked to swell before every outting (and interesting enhanced understanding of why Indians kept their canoes sunk with rocks which is contrary to the old frontier myth that it was done to prevent theft...)

I have a cedar one I picked up at the Museum of the Confederacy in 1987that I have stored dry (as it should be) between events and over Winter that is still water-tight.

Others' mileage will vary...

Curt

[Vuhginyuh]

Curt once said that the only difference in a wooden canteen and a wooden canteen 'kit' is water. Don't sweat the splits and don't put any wax in it.

This 18th century kag was made in advance of the Bicentennial. It hasn't been dry since.

[Bill]

Hallo!


I have a cedar one I picked up at the Museum of the Confederacy in 1987that I have stored dry (as it should be) between events and over Winter that is still water-tight.

Others' mileage will vary...

Curt

Curt,

In this case, my mileage is varying a lot. If you have a cedar canteen that been allowed to dry out between events since 1987 and is still holding water, that is nothing short of amazing. I built canteens from kiln dried cedar and cherry. Expansion, when the wood gets wet, is what makes these canteens water tight. For some reason, the wood has a limited number of wetting and drying cycles before the wood stops expanding when wet. My theory is the pores in the wood finally gets blocked up by the minerals in the water. You also have the issue of the iron bands being stretched by the expanding wood. I've actually had the rivets holding the bands together shear off, the first time I filled a canteen, if I made the bands too tight. If you let the canteen dry out, the iron bands don't shrink back.

I would strongly recommend storing wood canteens filled with water between events. A little bleach will take care of the growing things that develop over time.