Quick canteen question.

[Vuhginyuh]

Searched the usual places etc...no reliable answers.

What was the most common wood used in the construction of Gardner canteens?

[Canton Zouave]

Re: Quick canteen question.

Garrison,

The three originals that I have looked at have all been cedar.

[Bill]

Re: Quick canteen question.

Garrison,

It would be easier to tell you what woods weren't used for Gardner pattern canteen! I've seen canteens made from cedar, cherry, maple/birch, and cypress. But, I've viewed a lot more canteens that I have no clue what type of wood was used. After a 140 years of dirt and/or finishes, it is very difficult to determine what type of wood was used in the canteens. Under normal circumstances, the owners take a dim view of you scraping away the finish on their canteens!

Of the few canteens, I have been able to identify, I would have to say that more have made from cedar, then anything else; but it's not the cedar you'd normally find in a lumber yard today. It's the the old swamp, or incense cedar. A much denser wood then the modern western red or inland red cedars. And the cedar had to come from very big trees. There are no knots in any Gardner canteens I've examined.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Quick canteen question.

Thanks Bill

The ancient Atlantic White Cedar still grows around my home near Wilmington NC. The Black River trees are among the oldest living things in the country, some of them well over one thousand years old.

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To the canteens,

I have recently learned that it is believed that Willow and Ash were also used.

Another question of sorts, are there any Gardners with mixed woods? Faces being one wood and the staves being another.

Will that work?

We have a tar barrel that has ash staves and a pine bottom. The banding is split oak.

[John E. Tobey]

Re: Quick canteen question.

I examined one that sold at the Richmond CW show that had some sort of oak for the heads and something different (unidentifiable) for the staves.

John Tobey

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Quick canteen question.

I spoke with a local cooper yesterday and he said that all of the staves would have to be of the same species as with the two faces (or heads) but the two components do not have to match.

They do need to have similar densities so that one does not expand and contract much more than the other.

[Bill]

Re: Quick canteen question.

Garrison,

"I have recently learned that it is believed that Willow and Ash were also used."

When I said maple/birch, I should have included ash. All three woods look very similar, and ash has the advantage of turning very well. Willow would also be a good selection.

I have never seen a Gardiner canteen that was made of oak, but there is no reason to think it wasn't used. It turns well, was very available; and often used in larger kegs. The British canteens all seem to be made of oak, and they work very well.

I would agree with your cooper friend. The faces, at least, would have to be made from the same specie of wood. Otherwise, you would have expansion problems.

One thing to keep in mind. While some of the Gardiner canteens were made quite well, others were pure dreck. There is no strange combination of wood that would really surprise me. I've lost track of how many Gardner pattern canteens I've viewed. While all are similar in their general characteristics, I've never seen two that were exactly the same in every detail.

After about ten years of looking, I have no clue what might be considered a PEC stopper, other then a carved stick, or piece of broom handle!

[Sam Doolin]

Re: Quick canteen question.

Greetings,
Being from the deep south and working with wood most of my life, I've thought about other wood species that may have been used for these canteens. One that comes to mind as being ideally suited is a variety of gum found in the south called Tupelo gum or more commonly, "Tupelo". It has all the necessary properties and was abundant. I cannot say I have seen it in any originals I've viewed. As Bill mentioned, many have darkened from 150 years of dirt and greasy fingers. Sometimes tough to see through the layers.
Many of these canteens have survived in remarkably good condition.

Sam Doolin