cooper (hooper)

A master who made barrels, tuns, wooden dishes (buckets, butt). It was a widely spread profession in the whole country until recent times. It flourished in towns of famous wine-growing regions (Hegyalja, Gyöngyös - Eger, western Hungary and the north of Lake Balaton). Peasant coopers worked mainly in the high mountains and in woods. They cut the trunk of the tree with a saw in accordance with the size of the dish they made, then they cut these parts into billets with the help of the cutting iron. The dried billets were cleaned on the carving chair and then were carved round with a carving knife. Then they were planed smooth with a long plane. When the billets were finished they were put in a hoop. Each of them was strengthened to the first hoop with the help of pincers, then the other hoops were put on them. Earlier hoops were made of cut and planed hazel branches. Then the slipped billets were fixed to the right place with hooks. After this the bottom is placed onto the dish. A ditch is cut at the bottom edge of the dish, then the material of the bottom part is measured. Finally after the lowest hoop is taken off, the bottom is put into it. The time of cooper works was from the end of August until November in villages of domestic industry. The products were sold in the autumn and winter markets.

TI