Keggle Cutting...

As some know from my last thread, I made my keggle last night...

The holes are drilled and they came out perfect (finally)

I built essentially the same jig that BobbyM uses with a slight difference.

Instead of using two clamps, I used 3" U brackets to hold the grinder in place... It worked great...



I ended up putting a clamp on there just to have something to hold the cord away from the grinder...



The finished product...

NICE!
I used a plazma cutter and I don't think mine looks that nice!

I wonder when you'll get a reply talking about how dangerous this is. Don't listen, they're just jealous.

Bobby_M said:

I wonder when you'll get a reply talking about how dangerous this is. Don't listen, they're just jealous.

Click to expand...

What would be dangerous about this? I freehanded my keggle, came out fine, but using a jig like this would have been cleaner.

Maybe I'm just out of the loop... has there been some keggle-building controversy I've missed out on?

not that I know of... some people are just scared of power tools... i think thats the reality of any "debate" So far, it has cost me 60 dollars for the keg, the cutting disks, and the fittings (all stainless) I'm looking at another 20 bucks for the welding...

I've been meaning to ask for awile now, and this thread (sorry if i'm hijacking) is a good place to ask.

Doesn't the inner lip of a cut keggle make it a beiotch to clean out grains etc? is there a benefit to keeping the top lip that i'm missing or is it just the easier way to keep the handles?

That top rolled edge is what keeps the keg round believe it or not. When I slotted mine in two spots to slide a full false bottom in, the top of the keg became oval. I've been scooping most of the spent grains out with a chinese soup container and then throwing it out on the lawn to hose out. I keep meaning to cut half the top skirt off so I can tippy dump it but I'm spread too thin to work on my rig.

alternatively couldn't you weld on a ring from the top rolled edge down to the cut hole so there was a nice sloped surface from the rolled edge down to the opening? Man that'd be nice!

NoClueBrewMaster said:

As some know from my last thread, I made my keggle last night...

The holes are drilled and they came out perfect (finally)

I built essentially the same jig that BobbyM uses with a slight difference.

Click to expand...

Ain't it great?? I used the same method with the same results and it's pretty much no hassle. I spent more time taking off the sharp edges than cutting the keg.

Agreed... I spent some time with a few different air tool bits cleaning it up... The cut itself took me about 3 minutes max... The longest part of the process was getting my jig built...

nice dude. I will do this as soon as I can find on to cut...

I used a 3" air cut off tool. It went really fast. I was able to place the guard against the "lip" at the top, so I didn't have to build a jig. I just followed around the inside of the lip, and mine looks the same as the one pictured without having to build a jig.

whitescout said:

I used a 3" air cut off tool. It went really fast. I was able to place the guard against the "lip" at the top, so I didn't have to build a jig. I just followed around the inside of the lip, and mine looks the same as the one pictured without having to build a jig.

Click to expand...

I pulled all those damn guards off my whizz wheels...they always get in the way. I always use a full facemask when using it...after having an entire disk come off @ 15,000 RPM and fly into my face while cutting....that was fun

Jig took about 15 minutes... I'm much happier doing it in a more repeatable manner than just placing a guard on the skirt. I'm sure it worked well, but I can cut all my kegs now with one jig and do it the same way every time. I will probably let club members use it as well, so I don't think "implying" that I wasted time with a jig was fair... I'd bet i can cut much faster with the jig as well...

I found that you can just rest the guard of the angle grinder up against the inside of the rim on the keg. The grinder will naturally want to walk around in a circle. I have successfully done this for 8 kegs. Although, I have to admit your jig looks pretty badass and leaves little room for error.

The first keg we cut was similiar to your method, Jared, however we did not get a "perfect" cut. I as well don't have any air tools with guards left...