The Shed – September-October 2019

learning to weld aluminium with. This
will be well-used for future projects where
weight will be critical,” he explains.
The barrel-racer concept uncorked
Cooper’s imagination, and he says that
he, “regarded it as a training exercise,
really. I learned as I went.”
“I had no plan, just an idea I found
on Pinterest. The good thing about a
bespoke project like this is I’m the only
customer I have to satisfy!”

Let’s get building
Phase one was sourcing the chassis,
guts, and body of the vehicle. Step
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of a kitset Formula 1–replica go-kart.
Made in China it may have been, but
that meant adaptability. The integrity of
the barrel needed to be retained, so an
inexpensive kit was a logical contender.
Next, a classic wine barrel was
nabbed, this one a $260 French oak
example. Tragically no delicious wine
had to be disposed of. The interior of the
barrel was coated with a thick grime,
but in good condition otherwise.

Then Russell decided to break the

project down into smaller units: the

i n d i v i du a l s t a v e s o r b o a r d s of a t r a d it io n a l

barrel. “You knock the metal rings off the

barrel and the thing falls apart. So I had

to carefully disassemble it in a sequence

that I could number. I think I got one

wrong but it didn’t matter — well, it kind

of did, I notice it now!” he says.

Prepping the barrel

No stranger to stripping and sanding —

in the day job he can polish off a standard

dining-room chair in about three hours —

Russell tidied up the boards by laborious

scraping, and then applied a wash of

coloured stain, before the application of a

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New steel rings keep the

barrel intact (with a little

help from wood glue)

Classic eight-ball shifter

with custom leather

surround

A shapely rear end