Antique beer kegs

[Viking Guy]

Gents, given the levels of expertise in so many different areas here, I thought I'd ask a question I cannot find an answer to. I have my Great-grandfather's old wooden beer kegs. They seem to be about a "pony" size and remain in great shape yet being they are roughly 120 years old, the staves are beginning to shrink from dryness allowing the bands to slide off. I do not intend to put beer in them but since my wife has decided I can finish out the room above the garage, I'm going to use them for end tables. I am looking for suggestions on a type of oil I can treat the wood with that will swell the wood back to roughly the original size, not really dry out yet not leech out and run all over the place. I certainly don't mind periodic retreatments. Any ideas?

TIA
VG

[shadycon]

Soak in BEER!:1948:

[Merc]

Plant based oils such as linseed and tung are used on wood gun stock surfaces as a dried protective coating to enhance the appearance and to repel moisture. Mineral oil will not swell wood.

https://ibuildit.ca/tips/oil-swell-wood/

It’s moisture that causes wood to expand. Unfortunately, you’re trying to use a wood that was always exposed to moisture and, in fact, it required that moisture to retain its size and seal the barrel. Now the wood has dried and shrunk because the only moisture that’s available to it is from humidity. Soaking the wood in water will cause expansion, but it will only be temporary and may rot the wood.

You’ll have to get creative and come up with a way to hold the staves and bands in place with screws.

[Robert Scott]

Steam is what you need. Outside, on a couple of bricks with a couple inches of water in a metal container over a charcoal grill. IF you can find a metal container large enough to fully enclose the wooden keg you would be on the right track. 30 minutes max with full head of steam should do it but I would check progress every 5 to 10.

[JimF]

Place a plastic garbage bag inside . . . .put about 12” of sand in the bag.
This will ensure the table will not tip over.

[Viking Guy]

Thanks for all the info guys!

[Merc]

My wife had a yard fountain that had a wood barrel with a plastic insert. The band kept sliding off the staves after they aged in the sun and dried out. I drilled small holes in each of the staves and used wood screws, that are long enough to penetrate the wood, to hold the band in place. Install the screws from the inside of each stave opposite where the band is and allow the screws to poke through the wood and come in contact with the band. The pressure exerted by the screws on the bands will hold the bands and staves in place and the screws will be out of sight.

[Sunray]

Cheapest way of expanding the wood is filling 'em with water and leaving 'em sit, then tung oil 'em. (That will be a pricey thing to do. Pure Tung Oil runs nearly $20Cdn per litre(close enough to a quart) up here.) Probably best to look 'em over closely for dry rot, etc., first.
Might be an idea to talk to one of these guys too(or maybe 'instead'.).
https://www.exoticbarrels.com/florida-barrel-dealers

[free1954]

tung oil is the best. but to add on what has already been said, they won't keep their shape without being filled with liquids.

[Merc]

EMC (equilibrium moisture content) in wood is the point at which it neither gains or loses moisture from humidity and the shape and size are stabilized. Furniture makers achieve EMC through kiln drying. As long as the dried staves have reached EMC, are still in their original shape and the only problem is loose bands, sealing with linseed or tung oil is fine. However, sealing wet wood may cause fungus growth and rotting.

[Sako]

this isn't what you asked but you might consider foam filling them by putting a black plastic bag inside to seal in the foam and it would swell enough to hold the staves tight. have you seen how they do it with auto parts in a cardboard box?

[Sako]

Possibly something like this or if you have someone using the two part spray foam near you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rerjMhrebOA

I don't know anything about this one.
https://www.zoro.com/3m-flexible-foam-nvh-08463/i/G0406463/

[shadycon]

"IF" you could calculate the shrinkage of the wood to the amount the bands are too big; and "IF" you could have new bands made to fit and make everything tight again you would not have to try and get the wood to swell back up. Or shim each stave under the existing band. Just a couple of more ideas..............