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"Raising the barrel"
We are a traditional cooperage and the staves are shaped so that the sides of the stave taper inward at the ends and they are also planed in the center. We prepare the staves before the "mise en rose". When staves are first put together in an end hoop, the process is often referred to as "raising the barrel." Temporary hoops are installed to hold the shape. Staves are pulled together at the open end of the "rose" and the resulting bulge in the middle of the stave is what makes a barrel-shaped rather than cylindrical.
