How To Cut The Lid Off A 55-Gal.. Steel Barrel

How To Cut The Lid Off A 55-Gal.. Steel Barrel FARM SHOP Handy Hints 30-6-36 Gordon Black, 42042 E. Lane 16, Burns, Oregon 97720: "I wanted to cut the lid off a 55-gal. steel barrel, but I was afraid to because I didn't know what kind of material the barrel originally contained. To solve the problem, I closed the jaws of a pipe wrench just enough to get the jaws over the folded rim of the barrel. Then I used a big hammer to hit the back side of the top jaw until the jaw punched through the barrel. Once I made that initial hole through the rim, I was able to tip the wrench on its side and take half bites with the wrench. I kept tapping the wrench. It shears a clean hole and works better than using a cold chisel, where you risk hurting your hands. It rolls the rim down so there's no sharp edge sticking up to get cut on. "You can sharpen the top jaw of the wrench with a grinder to make it cut better. Makes the wrench look funny but it doesn't affect its usage. "No one can live without duct tape or a coffee cup. My favorite pickup is a 1971 Ford Ranger and it didn't come equipped with fancy cup holders, so I simply set a ætravel' coffee cup into the middle of a roll of duct tape. The cup's bottom is smaller than the body so it fits perfectly into the hole. The side of the roll is somewhat sticky, so when I set it on the seat it stays put. My homemade cup holder can be easily moved from vehicle to vehicle."

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