How to Make a Table out of Whisky Barrels

June 10, 2021
 / 3 mins

Whisky HQ has a brand new home and an-ever expanding team of whisky legends. That means we need more furniture. And we never miss an opportunity to infuse a little whisky in every aspect of our lives — because why wouldn’t you?

So, when it was time to up-size our desks here at Club HQ. We came up with the ultimate whisky solution: a giant whisky barrel desk! You could also follow this method to make a dining table, you'll just need to adjust the measurements. 

Step 1. Get yourself some barrels. We used 10 x 20L sized barrels to make a conference-style table that’s 76 x 110 x 266 cm. So, where can you get your hands on some barrels? If there’s a distillery or vineyard or nearby try there. If not, scour Gumtree or your local Bunnings.

 

Step 2. Cut the bottom off 5 of the barrels, just below the band. Then sand them back to make sure they’re nice and even. Make sure you just cut the ends off — these will be the for the table legs.

  1. Weld one of the barrels with the bottom cut off with one of the original full barrels along the top bands so they are standing one on top of the other. You’ll need a welder — or at least a friend with a welder.
  1. Stop for a pizza break.
  1. Get a sheet of wood, we used an MDF board from Bunnings. Next time, we’ll opt for a nice slab of Huon Pine. But in the interests of time, we opted for MDF.
  2. Cut the corners off the board. Then find yourself something solid, wrap some sandpaper around it and smooth out the edges. We opted for a whisky sample bottle, but a small piece of wood should do the trick, too.
Do not drink your tools.
  1. Once you’ve got the barrels evenly spaced out in the corners with the board sitting on the top, drill the board to the barrel. You’ll want to use a drill bit first off and drill straight through the MDF into the headboard of the barrel. Follow this up with some big, long screws that will make the table secure to the barrels (legs).
  1. Using a drill and 60ml hole saw drill bit, cut a hole in the centre of the left and right sides. You’ll need to do this to feed chords through.
  1. Clean the table-top and floor of any sawdust, lay down some old newspaper around the sides of the table on the floor, varnish the top and allow to dry. After that, pour yourself a dram and admire your hard work. 

Made any cool things with whisky barrels? Share your images with us on Facebook and Instagram. We'd love to see them. 

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