I built our tap handles this weekend up in my hometown of Redlands. It was a fun project. We stopped by Inland Empire Brewing Company on our way to pick up some red oak out in Fontana... that turned into a long, long stop but it was cool. They had some great beers and Ryan was an awesome guy.
Best Laid Plans.
We started out with an idea of what we wanted to end up with. The process to get to what we wanted turned out to be a little more difficult than expected.
Legs for Days.
One thing I learned is that Red Oak (Quercas Rubra) is not a very forgiving wood and brass is not a very hard metal.
Drilling Out.
We had to drill out the hole for our tap fitting 5/8 of an inch because the brass would not bite into the oak. Next time I am skipping the brass insert and going with a steel screw plus silver ferrule.
Everything In It's Right Place.
Weights.
Because of this we had to take a more creative approach. Two weights keeping our fittings in place while our glue does it's thing.
The Demon Cutter.
Attempting to not lose a finger on the table saw. Easier said than done.
Making Face.
Sink a Dowel, Make 'em Howl.
Not Too Shabby.
"I like to work with my hands."
Semi-Finished Tap Handles.
Now all that is left is figuring out how to get our logo and name of beers onto each of the tap handles. My current idea is screen printing or stenciling them on. I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.
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