Help us...RIG ANOTHER BARREL!

October 8, 2012 5:47 PM

You're going to need a bigger boat...er... barrel...er... WHAT!?

Alright mefites. Here's the scoop.

I want to find a barrel like the ones used in Jaws. They have 'non-screen used ones' on ebay sometimes. We actually purchased one from these folks... I am looking for another one for friend who is a fan. He just wants to display it in his home.

Here is a link to the 'real' barrels up for auction on ebay. These are the same ones used in the film Jaws, they were just painted yellow for the movie. You can see on top they have two blue caps which, if you look carefully ... you can see flecks of blue on screen


The one we have has been painted over... but has some markings on it.

Sorry for the not best quality pics.

On top is this lettering

An on bottom it says BORN FREE


Ideally, we'd like to find as close to the exact thing as possible.

We've found similar black rain/food barrels online ... but it needs to have the caps on top.

The real thing would've been made BEFORE 1974 when the movie was filmed on Martha's Vineyard. Probably a few years before since they were literally just sitting around.


Any help or information pointing me in the right direction would be super appreciated.

We're in America. We're willing to spend some money.

C'mon on, AskMefi ... I know you can help!!

posted by mittenbex to media & arts (7 answers total)

Seen on my local craigslist - remind me of food service ones ; if you can't get on CL can you settle for similar & mock up the end caps? What are you trying to achieve?
posted by tilde at 6:15 PM on October 8, 2012

Best possible scenario ... would like a barrel that has the caps on it as is. Not going to try to pass off as a real thing but ...for our own sake we'd like it to look as close to authentic as possible.
posted by mittenbex at 6:22 PM on October 8, 2012

What I mean is - staged at a distance, staged up close, needs to float?
posted by tilde at 6:28 PM on October 8, 2012

... it should look great up close. I guess it doesn't need to float -- I'm interested to hear what you might have in mind that WOULDN'T float though.
posted by mittenbex at 7:50 PM on October 8, 2012

I don't know what originally came in those barrels (I suspect farm chemicals) but every farm I've ever been to has several variations on a blue barrel kicking around and they are frequently sold when empty. I would bet money they just bought them off a farm. That's a slightly different style than you normally see but I've definitely seen them. Try searching for 50 gallon drum or 55 gallon drums for sale or ask some friends with property/ horses if they have any.
posted by fshgrl at 9:16 PM on October 8, 2012

If it helps, "dot 34 30" means "Dept. of Transportation Specification 34, 30 Gallons", indicating a food-storage-grade polyethylene container with walls of a certain minimum thickness.
posted by mhoye at 9:42 PM on October 8, 2012

Those are DOT 34 30 drums -30 gallon closed-top dual spout plastic barrels. Yes, they come in blue, and yes, Quint would have painted them yellow.

Modern ones are also blue, and sometimes black, but in the interest of cost reduction and stackability, the heads are flat, the sides smoother adn straighter, and the bungs recessed. It won't be possible to find a new one that looks like a '70s one.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:19 AM on October 9, 2012