CASTLETOWN, OMAGH, COUNTY TYRONE BT78 5QY, NORTHERN IRELAND, TEL +44 (0)28 8224 3292
Croze stem
The croze was used to cut a groove, also known as the croze, around the inside of the staves of a barrel, to take the head pieces. This croze stem or post, length 28cm, would have fitted into a large semicircular piece of wood called the fence (missing here). The cutting iron, contained within a brass guard, is saw-tooth shaped with a hooked hawksbill-shaped router tooth at one end to tidy up the cut. The letters OB are stamped on the wood. These may have been initials of a previous owner.