Cooper/Barrel-Making Tools

Surrealean

I'm looking to get some old (or not so old) cooper's tools for my father's 50th birthday. His father was a cooper, and he regrets my now-deceased grandmother selling these on after he died.

As the trail for tracking down my grandfather's original tools has long since gone cold (forty years or so), and my father has displayed a sudden interest in woodworking again, I have been wondering if I could place my hands on some tools for him. Ideally I'd like them to still be in a usable condition needless to say, but we could conceivably get them restored too.

Edit: I should point out I'm placing this in Galway for no particular reason other than its whether I currently live, so if this should be moved elsewhere, by all means do so. As a further addendum, I am willing to travel (within reason) to collect.

dpofloinn

If its of any use to you there is a guy in Ennis who has a stall in an indoor market which is runs on Saturday's and Sunday's who always seems to have a mountain of old hand tools for working wood.Its in the elevation business park in Ennis.

Surrealean

I've just quoted you on the Clare forum, but you dunno his contact details do you? I'm often working weekends, I dunno if I can make it to Ennis any Saturday/Sunday soon.

dpofloinn

I just Pm'd you

Surrealean

Cheers! However: Mods, can we kindly keep this open, just in case someone else has any other suggestions in the meantime?

biko

Sure
I see cooper tools on ebay. Did you look there?

Surrealean

I have indeed! But sadly, this little brainwave has come to me a little belatedly and I only have a couple of weeks to play around with.

God bless the post office but the last thing I'd like to do is show up saying "It's in the mail."

spurscormac

Try contacting Midleton distillery in Cork, see if you could get a contact for their cooper there, might be able to point you in the right direction for sourcing tools in Ireland if you have no luck with the guy in Ennis.