Dehead 55 gal drum

L

Loptr

Guest
Greetings gang,

Looking for some good input on how to best dehead my drum. I want to reuse the lid, so a clean cut is important.

Trying to find a local biz in SLC that might have a tool to rent/borrow but I dont know precisely what I am asking for.

L
 
Cheapest way is a hammer and a chisel, but i doubt you will be able to reuse the lid.Call around and ask for a drum deheading tool. I've seen em at HF.
 
1FUNVET said:
Cheapest way is a hammer and a chisel, but i doubt you will be able to reuse the lid.Call around and ask for a drum deheading tool. I've seen em at HF.
Click to expand...

If you can find one I recommend finding a drum that a weber lid fits on, it will be well worth the search. I look for open or ring top style drums that the weber lid fits the bottom perfect, then flip it and cut the bottom out.

Good luck! and oh yeah, grainger sells drum lidders.
 
Northern Tool dot com sells them under drum deheaders on their website for around $50. They make a pretty clean cut as long as you take it slow...sometimes there is a small burr that it kicks up but you can easily file it away.

edit: you won't be able to reuse the lid since you are cutting it away from the flange. Keep an eye out for a used kettle on craigslist that you can get a lid from. Dont worry about the fit as you can bend the lip out a bit with some pliers if needed to make it fit.
 
Hmmm... True, but some drums are just too big for a lid to fit, also, when you start bending these weber lids, the porcelin chips off...Bad.

Yes the drum lidders work great, I use one, take small bites and it comes out real good, and only takes about 5 minutes.

You will still have to grind the sharp sides down, but with the right tools, its simple stuff.

have fun!
 
Hotrodhog said:
Hmmm... True, but some drums are just too big for a lid to fit, also, when you start bending these weber lids, the porcelin chips off...Bad.
Click to expand...
Yup I forgot to mention that part. I fixed mine by lightly sanding the chipped area and spraying it with a few coats of hi-temp black. I wound up doing the whole lid to match since it was a bit rusty before I started out and the rest of the drum was going to be the same color. I also wanted to keep my drum "ugly" to be true to the spirt of the UDS.
 
How to best de-head a drum

I've used the drum de-header from Northern Tool referred to above. It does leave a jagged edge that has to be dealt with. Also, the lid comes out rather deformed, and possibly unusable for your purposes.

Lately I've been using a hack saw type blade in a sabre saw to cut out the lid. It leaves a much cleaner cut and does not deform the lid. Just drill a small pilot hole into the lid right next to the rim. Use a long blade and run the saw on top of the rim. Very clean cut with minimal cleanup needed.

Hope this helps.

Sterling Skouson
 
I remember seeing on here, that someone cut the lid to reuse it. I think they cut the top rim with a dremel grinder and pried the lid off. Cut on the bottom or side of the rolled edge.
 
OT

Sterling-
Based on your Avatar I presume you to be a native Utahn.
I am brewing a polygamy styled porter on Sun.
:becky:

L
 
Loptr said:
OT

Sterling-
Based on your Avatar I presume you to be a native Utahn.
I am brewing a polygamy styled porter on Sun.
:becky:

L
Click to expand...

Actually, I'm a native Arizonan. I have polygamous ancestors on both sides of the family. Lots of family in Utah, tho.

I do avoid the obvious religious connotations, however, and enjoy a good porter myself.

I thought the avatar had a subtle hint of rebellion and those in the know would get the joke.

Sterling
 
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