Jig for Bottom Keg Cut

[ameliabrewery]

Has anyone got info/pics for a jig to cut the bottom(not top) of a keg with an angle grinder. I am sure it is on site but cannot find it.

 

[Huaco]

I cut the bottoms out of my keggles and others with a hand-held plasma cutter. Look around to see if you have any buddies that have access to one. All I did was run the cutting wand around the I.D. of the keg rim. Worked like a champ, but make SURE you fill the keg and cap it with a triclamp or put the spear back in it.
If you can't find a plasma cutter, you may be able to make a pivoting jig that clamps onto the rim. You wouldn't be able to cut the entire piece with a jig like this... it would need to be repositioned, then cut some more...

 

[Huaco]

Sorry for the crude post-it note sketch, but this is just what popped into mind. It wouldn't need to be clamped because the "T" stem is maintaining center for you as you rotate the grinder...

 

[bikesnbeers]

This worked for me: find the center of the bottom and drill a hole the size of a nail. Make a small jig with 2 2x4s in an L shape. Clamp a grinder on on leg of the L. Put a nail through the other leg. Insert that same nail through the jig into the hole you drilled in the keg.

 

[kzimmer0817]

Has anyone got info/pics for a jig to cut the bottom(not top) of a keg with an angle grinder. I am sure it is on site but cannot find it.

I'd like to suggest that you follow the method I used to cut the top completely off my keg - only apply it to the bottom:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/keiths-cut-keggle-353760/

I saw this idea somewhere else and chose to do it to my keg. I don't get the 1" or so ledge along the "top" of the keggle - actually makes it more like a real kettle.

I'm anticipating making a bottom-draining mashtun using a keg by cutting off the bottom as opposed to the top.

To do this, I'll do exactly what I did to cut off the top - except I'll have to figure out how to keep several inches of water in the upside-down keg while cutting (supposedly keeps the noise down).

All I did was to cut - freehand, no jig - around the weld where the skirt joins the body of the keg. It did a couple turns around to get my cut line adequately scribed before doing the real cutting.

Of course, you will lose the skirt along with the handles in this process. I purchased a couple stainless gate handles and some SS bolts, lock washers and washers.

I think the main down-side to this method is that you have to find a lid to fit. It seems that most who cut out the top from inside the skirt are able to use a standard 12" pot lid.

Respectfully,
Keith

 

[emyers]

drill a hole. and use an adaptation of the many jigs designed to go off the center tap hole.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/how-cut-circle-out-bottom-keg-402136/

 

[MrNatural]

I never could get behind most of the hose clamp/bungee cord/C-clamp designs and ended up grabbing a scrap of 2x6 and some angle that was laying around.

2" hole saw, self tapping screws to attach the angle, couple of 3/8" bolts in the handle mount. If diameter changes as disk wears, loosen the bolts and adjust angle. Salvage 2x6 ended up splitting and had to screw on a strap.

Use the plug for pivot when cutting bottoms.

Easy peasy.

 

[Atl300zx]

i freehanded with a sawzall and used the lip of the keg as my guide.

 

[MrNatural]

i freehanded with a sawzall and used the lip of the keg as my guide.

Man, I can't imagine wrestling a sawzall, even with fine TPI, AND getting an even cut. udaman........

And I still can't believe how slick the 5 minute jig worked. Cut two tops and a bottom in under 10 minutes, changed disks between each keg and I drilled bottom and mounted "donut hole" while buddy was cutting the tops.