Cutting the top off a Sanke Keg - Here's a Tip

For those who are thinking about making your own Keggles, I'll pass on a bit of experience for the two that I made. The first one was quite interesting. I tried drilling a hole and using a sawzall, but could not make the curve. The blade broke. I then got out my Dremel. The Dremel was very accurate, but slow going. I went through the cutting disks like crazy. It was a PIA to get the screwdriver out every minute to replace a worn down disk. The reinforced ones did not last that much longer anyway.

I manage to get the top off my first one and am 10% done with the second keg, when I run out of discs. Off to Home Depot I go and lo and behold, If find this gadget. The Dremel EZ Lock Cutting Wheel. Bigger and you can change it out in seconds.



Needless to say, my second Keggle was finished lickity split. I highly recommend it. The edges were clean and easy to smooth down. This puppy rocks! I have a 15.5 Gallon HLT and Kettle and doing a third keg for a MLT will not be a chore.

Sweet, nice find :rockin:

How fast were you able to cut through the SS top? How many disks did you go through doing it?

I know the feeling with the small disks- I made my copper manifold using it. It worked great, smooth and accurate. But each disk only lasted 5-8 slots.

Or you can drill a hole in said keg take it to a muffler shop along with a sixer of homebrew @5opm and have the grease monkeys take the torch to it then grind it with the pneumatic die grinder.

Axegod said:

How fast were you able to cut through the SS top? How many disks did you go through doing it?

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I finished the keg 90% with only TWO disks. I could have done the whole keg with two disks. This thing rocks. I learned the hard way, but now I am ready for the next one or perhaps I'll build a MLT manifold with it.

Wonder if that would fit a Black and Decker Mr. Wizard system?

Sweet! I went through about 10 red cutting wheels doing my manifold. Next time I need to cut, I'll know where to go. How much was it?

Ed,

That'd make a good addition to the Keggle page on the wiki if you fancy it.

Do you have any action shots or the finished article?

lol... forget the dremel... just plug in the ol 33 gallon air compressor and hook up the rotary tool. That'll take care of a keg IN A HURRY!!

4.5" angle grinder here. I only lost about a 1/4" off the cuttoff disc radius. Good for another 3 kegs or so.

Bobby_M said:

4.5" angle grinder here. I only lost about a 1/4" off the cuttoff disc radius. Good for another 3 kegs or so.

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Me, too (cheap 4" grinder, though). I bought extra grinding wheels, thinking I would go through several - nope. Swapped out from a thin cutting wheel to the thicker one when it was time to clean it up. Little bit of sandpaper to finish, it was good to go.

Just made one with a 4.5" grinder from a pawn shop, included a few cutting wheels and a wire wheel. The grinder worked perfectly, with the angle of the guard I didn't even have to measure 12", it was already perfect when I used the top rim of the keg. The wire wheel worked great, no burrs and smoothed it out nicely.
Keg $20, Rigid grinder w/ attachments $30, spigot $17
$67 = keggle and a decent grinder, it was a productive day

Bobby_M said:

4.5" angle grinder here. I only lost about a 1/4" off the cuttoff disc radius. Good for another 3 kegs or so.

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Me too.

8910

Plasma Torch !!! -15 sec

knarfks said:

Just made one with a 4.5" grinder from a pawn shop, included a few cutting wheels and a wire wheel. The grinder worked perfectly, with the angle of the guard I didn't even have to measure 12", it was already perfect when I used the top rim of the keg. The wire wheel worked great, no burrs and smoothed it out nicely.
Keg $20, Rigid grinder w/ attachments $30, spigot $17
$67 = keggle and a decent grinder, it was a productive day

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I really really hope that wirewheel was stainless. If not, you're going to have rusted flecks all over that keg. Plain steel imbeds itself in tiny pieces into the stainless.

I would have hooked up the ol plasma torch and been done in no time flat!

For those of you that have an air compressor, one of these kicks a Dremel all the way to the curb for this kind of work. (I have both an air grinder and a Dremel.)

http://www2.northerntool.com/cat-1/86+765392.htm

I recommend one with a shield.
http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/200305415.htm