I've been given a 55 gallon drum that contained some sort of syrup used in the manufacture of sweeties (confectionery). How best to remove the top, to make an incinerator? I have neither angle grinder nor air chisel, which seem to be popular choices.
Ideas? Thanks.
Do you have a jigsaw? A proper hacksaw blade in a jigsaw will make relatively short work of that. Or a sabre saw with a metal cutting blade, although those are more of a beast to handle.
When I made one a few years ago I found it worthwhile to make a stand out of angle iron, to keep it a foot or so above the ground to prevent destroying a lawn.
The other thing, don't expect a very long life out of them. I am currently tempted to buy a ready-made galvanised one, rather than making a replacement.
In message snipped-for-privacy@binnsroad.myzen.co.uk>, Graeme snipped-for-privacy@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
The other DIY favourite, the pressure washer ?. If you've got one with a sand blasting attachment, it might work, albeit slowly. However it will probably be quicker (and cheaper ?) to buy (or hire) an angle grinder and cutting disc.
Adrian
The others plus: Oxy-propane Plasma cutter
I suspect the drum is made of thinnish steel so as others have said a jigsaw is perhaps the easiest way where tools at hand are limited.
A bolster chisel and lots of elbow grease? ISTR doing this in the distant past.
Chris
Plus ear defenders! :)
You could do it with a hacksaw, if you didn't want to disturb the neighbours.
No point paying extra for a galvanized one because the heat of the incinerator will soon burn it off.
Old-fashioned tin opener ?, depending on metal thickness.
As might be expected steel drums come in a variety of gauges and thicknesses apparently ranging from 0.8mm to 1.5mm depending on their intended use.
The ease with which its possible to saw through the top of one, may not be entirely unconnected to its general longevity. But that's' only a guess of course,
michael adams
....
I don't think this would be a problem at jigsaw speeds. You could always fill it with water first.
I *think* I did my last one with an angle grinder, but now I might use the big Evo circular saw with its "wood or metal" blade.
Thanks chaps. Yes, I do have a fairly old but reliable B&D jigsaw, and a selection of blades, almost certainly including a metal cutting blade. That is now Plan A, but at slow cutting speed? Will fast just take the teeth off the blade in short order?
You might need 'blades', depending ... ;-)
There are formulae for the right speed for cutting all sorts of materials, with and without lube and so to answer that we may need to know the thickness of the steel and the pitch of the blade (which I think ideally needs to be 'matched' (or within certain criteria)).
If the cutting action heats the blade too much, potentially 'yes' but again, how / when / if that happens depends on the above, the quality of the blade and how hard you push it?
If you have a variable speed jobby then you can often get a feel of what seems to work best (for fast it goes though the material) and at what points (fast / slow) it seems like nothing is happening.
The other thing is if you have a rake(?) control, the blade going forward, up, back, down or not. Sometimes adjusting that (probably none or 1 on thin steel, depending on the quality of the blade etc etc) and again, it will often tell you what's right (or not if it grabs) by how 'nicely' it cuts.
And that often = the fastest cut with the least effort from you and with no grabbing.
I was wondering, if you cut it off a bit from the top, if you could make a support / base with the top? Cut some legs / holes in it to let the heat out / air in (if you have holes in the bottom) and wire it to the main part with some coat hanger?
Cheers, T i m
There's actually a tool for that. The advert doesn't say what kind of musculature is necessary to work the tool. Imagine a can opener on steroids.
A brand new hobby is born.
Paul
Hand nibbler.
Ideally I think you need at least three teeth to be within the thickness of the material being cut at all times. This prevents the material dropping deeper between the teeth as it moves along the blade, thus giving each tooth more to cut than it should have. Remember you can increase the "thickness" by cutting at a shallow angle.
Rate of cutting and speed of blade is "common sense" coupled with "let the tool do the work". Broadly the soft/ductile materials (acrylic, aluminium, lead) cut best at low speeds. Harder ones faster but brittleness come into it as well...
Yes. But you won't be able to grip anything for a few days afterwards.
Yeah and where a saber saw might be 'easier' than a jigsaw in this instance. Probably cheaper to buy an angle grinder though. ;-)
True, but outside of a bit of trial and error, that isn't something that is (or can be) always obvious to everyone.
I was helping a mate rebuild the engine from his VW Campervan remotely (he would phone me for 'next step' advice and progress update / observations etc). Unfortunately, whilst he was following the HBOL for the actual steps, he wasn't that familiar with torque wrench settings, set it on the wrong scale and because he had no experience of what sort of torque might be appropriate for a long cylinder stud in an ally crankcase, ripped the thread out. ;-(
Yes, lead is especially strange to saw. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
And this is really taking the fun out of it.
There's some shelving on the inside of that, where the fuel can rest without touching bottom, and then it can burn up a bit better.
Try and match that with your electric drill.
To make the item shippable, the round part of the barrel consists of a series of panels that bolt together. That's why the article has a high "annoyance value", as you have to drive a ton of self-tapping screws into the metal.
That's how Bill Gates burns his trash.
Paul
Hammer and cold chisel. A half hours work.
Depends very much on the material and method of construction. Is it really worth the effort? Brian
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.