# Besides Alcohol & Decoration, what are Wood Barrels used for?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-alcohol-decoration-what-are-wood-barrels-used-for/463663>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 15, 2008, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-alcohol-decoration-what-are-wood-barrels-used-for/463663 "2008-09-15T04:26:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-alcohol-decoration-what-are-wood-barrels-used-for/463663/1 "2008-09-15T04:26:05Z")

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Since I stomped all over poor Sapo’s “Trees in a Barrel” thread, it occured to me that while wooden barrels are still being manufacturered today, it seems that most of the production is either for Alcohol production/transportation use (wine, ale, etc), or for decorative purposes (garden planters, rustic patio tables, and so on).  
Granted steel drums and metal/plastic kegs have sapped a lot of the original purpose of barrels (storage/transportation), but are wooden barrels still used in significant quantities in other fields ?