When a Five Gallon Bucket Just Won't Do....

[Destry L. Hoffard]

I've not been on the site in ages, been moving house and a thousand other things. Turned 49 this month and I thought a gift to myself was required for passing the near half century mark.

I've always despised the use of a five gallon bucket for a hunting / fishing seat. If there's anything that doesn't go with a nice double barrel shotgun it's a plastic bucket. But I never knew what to replace one with, they are a useful article for certain.

Then I ran into a Facebook page called "Custom Cypress" and the guy makes a thing the cajuns call a "bedon". They're a wooden bucket they used to tote their shells, coffee bottle, and other small hunting articles in. So I asked him could he make a sort of magnum bedon that was the same size as a five gallon bucket....

$210 dollars (shipped) later here is the result. I have a nice piece of old army canvas I'm going to used to make a pad for the top and I'm going to give it a dose of "duck boat green" paint on the outside.

Not a piece of metal in it, all made by hand with wooden pegs and slats. Seems solid as a rock and surprisingly light, made from good cypress lumber.

If anybody thinks they might want one send me a PM and I'll give you his info.

[Daniel Carter]

I have missed your humorous posts and stories, welcome back and keep posting.

[Rick Losey]

just be careful you don't kick it


nice piece of hand work

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Kicking it can handle, I think you could drag this behind a truck for a mile and not do it much hurt. This thing seems tuff.....

[Rick Losey]

Kicking it can handle, I think you could drag this behind a truck for a mile and not do it much hunter. This thing seems tuff.....

still - don't kick a bucket - :rolleyes:

good to have you back on BTW

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Bahahhhaaa!!!! I completely missed the gag the 1st time.

[Russ Jackson]

Good looking Bucket / Seat ! I never cared much for a 5 Gallon Plastic Bucket either ,I switched to Tree stands ! First Wooden 2X4's nailed into trees then Store bought climbers now I am thinking about ladder stands because my 49TH was some time ago ,by the way HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! Never sat in a Duck Blind but would think this will be awful handy ! Welcome back to the Forum always Great to read your posts !

[Ted Hicks]

That is a fantastic looking bucket, never seen one like it. I agree that while 5 gallon plastic buckets are incredibly useful to have around, they are unsightly and certainly do not have the vintage look.

Swamp cypress is very durable wood, very resistant to rot and probably doesn't need any finish. But an oil, stain or paint finish is a good way to add your personal touch to it.

How about a couple of photos showing the inside of the bucket, the lid off, and how the lid stays on the bucket?

Welcome back!

[CraigThompson]

Good looking Bucket / Seat ! I never cared much for a 5 Gallon Plastic Bucket either ,I switched to Tree stands ! First Wooden 2X4's nailed into trees then Store bought climbers now I am thinking about ladder stands because my 49TH was some time ago ,by the way HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! Never sat in a Duck Blind but would think this will be awful handy ! Welcome back to the Forum always Great to read your posts !

I’ve killed deer from what was put there as a duck blind . Was in Southern Maryland for the ML season and killed a pair of slicks from a well casing buried in the ground . I had a bag chair I was sitting on inside the casing . I prefer climbers up 30 feet or so but I was hunting with someone else so while in Rome . Oh yeah I’ll be 60 in two years and 25 days :eek:

[Destry L. Hoffard]

My plan is to paint it duck boat green and add a canvas pad to the top. Should be pretty comfortable.

I'll post a couple more pics here in a bit.

[Gary Laudermilch]

What a shame to cover up that beautiful wood and craftmanship with paint.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

That occurred to me as well. ut I bought it to use, so painted it will be.

[David Gehman]

What a shame to cover up that beautiful wood and craftmanship with paint.

Similar to putting a Pachmayr pad on your favorite Parker and adding choke tubes.

[Phillip Carr]

Kind of reminds me of the Wood ice cream churn we had as a kid. That Cypress is great wood. I have a porch swing that has withstood the AZ weather, with no cracks or splinters for 15 years. Only damage is from a few puppies during that time that like to chew the bottom rung.

[todd allen]

Paint? Yuck! Stain and seal. Otherwise, might as well go with plastic. Just my opinion.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

The idea is to use it as an actual hunting seat. Putting a coat of shiny varnish on it kinda defeats the purpose.

[Bill Murphy]

Peach baskets come in all different sizes. Just send a tracing of your butt to the makers, save a couple of hundred bucks.

[Victor Wasylyna]

Pretty sweet bucket-like contraption.

-Five Gallon Bucket Lover

[Destry L. Hoffard]

A peach basket would last about five minutes under a grown man Murphy.

[chris dawe]

A peach basket would last about five minutes under a grown man Murphy.

HAAAA! That reminds of the time years ago ,when I was sporting a powerlifters build ,buying nice shirts was a nightmare ....I walked into a store and the friendly yet skinny little clerk ( whom today I would appropriately refer to as LBGTQXYZ ) asked me ,could he be of any help?..I asked if he had any man size shirts in the store ?- the look on his face was priceless!


these days since I grew up and left the barbells behind ,life is much easier as long as I can find a place that sells shirts that will accommodate long monkey arms i'm good ...although ,i'm amazed at the amount of plus size shirts available today ,

Back on track,love the bucket Destry ...i'm currently building a table for my cabin ,based on an old one I found in a friends grandfather's basement , a drawer in the front for cutlery is perfect for a space limited cabin ....im painting it the same old timey robins egg blue / green the original,the color is what I fell in love with first....not sure of the USA but here in Newfoundland almost all the old handmade furniture was painted like this ,I believe it was to brighten the daily life,

Paint that bucket Destry!

[todd allen]

The idea is to use it as an actual hunting seat. Putting a coat of shiny varnish on it kinda defeats the purpose.

I was thinking more of a satin finish, but either way, it will be cool with paint.
It's a fun and unusual topic. Sure to get a bunch of guys throwing ideas out there.

[Allen Peterson]

There may be a paint that will stick to Cyprus wood. Everything we painted made of it shed the paint in a year or less. My office in South Carolina had Cyprus wood around the windows. could not keep Paint on them.

[Jim Beilke]

Destry, Get a can of high grade marine spar varnish satin finish. Epifanes matte finish . Durable and water resistant, brings out the beauty of Cypress

[William Davis]

Destry stay Vintage

Half Kerosene half Linseed oil. Protects the Cypress gets dark as a piece of drift wood, won’t peel off. It was the standard coating inside of wood skiffs & duck boats for years.

William

[Eric Eis]

Destry stay Vintage

Half Kerosene half Linseed oil. Protects the Cypress gets dark as a piece of drift wood, won’t peel off. It was the standard coating inside of wood skiffs & duck boats for years.

William

Bill correct me if I'm wrong but can't you add a darker stain to the Cypress to darken it and then add the Linseed and Kerosene mixture?

[William Davis]

Linseed oil Kero was a common cheap bilge coating for work boats and about any other wood around water. Linseed oil needs something to thin it so it will penetrate. Pigments can be added to color the mixture. Probably hundreds of local recipes used.

Today small job like that bucket and wanting to stay traditional I would mix boiled linseed oil with turpentine about 50/50. The oil will darken with age. Turps a better choice than Kerosene. If wanting darker soon add some burnt umber, or any other pigment you desire. Very little pigment needed to color.

Experiment on some scrap wood first.

William

[Michael Moffa]

Destry:

Be careful of the Linseed/turp misture as any left over rags can spontaneously combust if wadded into a ball and left for a period of time. We almost burned down the homestead one year after treating all the butternut paneling.

[William Davis]

That’s a very good caution, i just finished a acetone cleaning job on a old machine. All the dirty paper towels transferred to a small metal can with a tight lid. Will be held outside away from other combustibles until trash day then transferred to the regular can on the curb.

Fire precautions 2nd nature to me, should have stressed in my post.

William

[Mike Franzen]

Market Hunter great to have you back on here. As many are pointing out - Safety First! The only appropriate color for the Kick Bucket is Hi Viz Safety Orange. Each year hundreds are injured tripping over buckets and stools in the duck blinds because they can’t easily be seen. To tell you the truth I have never seen an oily rag catch fire.

[Phillip Carr]

Destry can you tell me the diameter and height? It appears to be a little taller than a regular 5 gallon bucket which would be even better.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Somebody asked for more photos.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

P.S. he's in a current production run, now is the time.