Simplest (?) Keggle Cutting Jig

[passedpawn]

My jig for cutting tops off.
Like slicing butter. Takes about a minute to do a top.

I'd love a plasma cutter. Some day. Welder too. Some day. Nice jig.

How do you clean up slag in the keg? Do you have water in there when you cut?

 

[nate456789]

I'd love a plasma cutter. Some day. Welder too. Some day. Nice jig.

How do you clean up slag in the keg? Do you have water in there when you cut?

It's a plasma Tig combo. Very handy.
The top is very clean with No real slag unless I raise the torch shifting my weight.
Bottom is not too bad. I use a dyna file or flap sander on my angle grinder.
Next time I will rinse the kegs real good first. Vaporized beer is the hardest part to cleanup.
Stainless scrubby and bar keepers friend is about the only thing to get it clean.

 

[Dan]

I ended up doing a modified version as my cheapo Harbor Freight grinder didn't have the required handle attachment.

You will also notice that the switch is in a crappy spot and the operation of the entire setup hinges on the stick I jammed between the grinder and pipe to keep the switch accessible.

I have the same grinder from HF. I made the wooden jig I saw on a Bobby_M video. But just like the pic above I ended up with the switch on the wrong side. The blade can be re-positioned to enable the switch to be accessible from the the front. Just remove the head (the gray part) which is secured with four screws turn 180 degrees and re-install, of course in the pic above that means the body, red part would have to be turned 180 after the head was re-positioned. .

And to Passedpawn, Thanks Pappy! Awesome thread you started! Glad to see it surface again. Great info here from many creative people!

 

[passedpawn]

I have the same grinder from HB. I made the wooden jig I saw on a Bobby_M video. But just like the pic above I ended up with the switch on the wrong side. The blade can be re-positioned to enable the switch to be accessible from the the front. Just remove the head (the gray part) which is secured with four screws turn 180 degrees and re-install, of course in the pic above that means the body, red part would have to be turned 180 after the head was re-positioned. .

And to Passedpawn, Thanks Pappy! Awesome thread you started! Glad to see it surface again. Great info here from many creative people!

That's great Dan. I'll bet when MMB sees that he's gonna be sorry he didn't think of that. Thanks.

 

[vince805]

I ended up doing a modified version as my cheapo Harbor Freight grinder didn't have the required handle attachment.

You will also notice that the switch is in a crappy spot and the operation of the entire setup hinges on the stick I jammed between the grinder and pipe to keep the switch accessible.

Awesome idea! It's one of those "why didnt I think of that" moments. I will be using this or a slightyly modified version(to make the hole a bit bigger) this weekend, thanks!

 

[vince805]

Here's my rig and my hole! Thanks everyone.

 

[Chuckabrewski]

Not pretty but it worked.

 

[passedpawn]

Not pretty but it worked.

What went wrong? This has made perfect circles for me.

 

[jimmayhugh]

Here's my rig and my hole!

Sounds like something you see in the Boneyard

 

[Chuckabrewski]

What went wrong? This has made perfect circles for me.

My guess is operator error. This was my first time using an angle grinder.

 

[passedpawn]

My guess is operator error. This was my first time using an angle grinder.

In that case if no blood was shed it was a success!

 

[Quadrupled]

Thanks for the great thread passedpawn. I finally had the time to cut the tops and add the ball valves this weekend.

Your rig works like a charm!

 

[thatjonguy]

This should be a sticky in DIY! So easy, I thought about hunting more kegs just to save them from a life of holding light beer.

Took about 10 minutes to cut through once I had the jig assembled. 5 minutes with a flap disc to clean it up and bam.

Now just to polish it up.

 

[sillbeer]

I'm going to Home Depot today to build this jig. My handles mount on the sides just like this. I'll post back once I'm done. My neighbor wants to do the same so we may do both at the same time.

- Destin

I used a 4x6 joist hanger (could have gotten away with a 4x4) and cut it down to not get in the way of the guard on the grinder. Drilled some holes in it for large bolts to thread into the grinder, used a double-nut on one side to securely hold the grinder upright, and a PVC spacer on the other to snug things up. This was fastened to a 1.25" PVC coupler by a length of all-thread (nuts on either side of the joist hanger to secure it). The only change that's hard to see is I used a double-nut setup on the 'back' side of the coupler after discovering how much the vibration loosened things up.

I touched up the edges of the grind with a 60-grit flapper disc on the grinder till I can run my finger around the whole thing and not find any sharp places.

 

[RScottyL]

[*]If you intend on using a grinder with the same jig that I built, you'll need one with a handle mount on the back of the grinder head, not just on the sides. Some grinders (especially the cheap Harbor Freight ones) don't have this hole.

I just went to Harbor Freight, and they have a grinder that has the hole where you want it for the handle. It was only $29:

Chicago Electric Power Tools 4-1/2" Angle Grinder with Paddle Switch

 

[xdalisx]

Just cut mine tonight. Just used the PVC coupler and a couple zip ties. In the future I will be adding the second piece of PVC that extends into the keg as mine was slightly more wobbly than I would have liked. But all in all cut a perfect circle, Just needs to be cleaned up a bit.

No before pictures, I always seem to forget those

 

[milesvdustin]

Is that old beer inside? Looks tasty!

 

[xdalisx]

Just a scale on the sides/bottom. I filled it with water to reduce noise. From that angle it does look like old beer. Soaked it in PBW and it is nice and clean now .

Started the process of polishing it.

 

[NWAleDad]

Thanks for the genius JIG!. Cut both of mine today and they are perfect.

 

[passedpawn]

Thanks for the genius JIG!. Cut both of mine today and they are perfect.

That porter cable will last you a lifetime. Great choice.

 

[NWAleDad]

That porter cable will last you a lifetime. Great choice.

Can't beat the price either, $39 at Lowes. I purchased it tonight for this project. I have one more keg to cut the top off and then I'm starting the polishing process tomorrow.

Brewstand arrives on friday from the metal fabricator!

 

[Rys06Tbss]

I'm going to be getting akeg in a few weeks. Stupid question but why not use the guard as a jig and run it along the rim?

 

[NWAleDad]

I'm going to be getting akeg in a few weeks. Stupid question but why not use the guard as a jig and run it along the rim?

What if the rim around the keg is bent? If you look at the pic I just posted the rim on the top of the keg is flat on one side.

 

[passedpawn]

What if the rim around the keg is bent? If you look at the pic I just posted the rim on the top of the keg is flat on one side.

With a bent rim, you end up with a smaller circle. I cut one for a friend that had a very big dented rim. Best you can to is remove the guard, but if you've had disks fly apart, you won't want to do that.

 

[Rys06Tbss]

What if the rim around the keg is bent? If you look at the pic I just posted the rim on the top of the keg is flat on one side.

I didn't even think of that. The keg I'm getting is a very clean dogfish keg. I'll make sure it's straight before I cut or else I'll just make a jig

 

[NWAleDad]

With a bent rim, you end up with a smaller circle. I cut one for a friend that had a very big dented rim. Best you can to is remove the guard, but if you've had disks fly apart, you won't want to do that.

I opted for the smaller opening. I did a dry run around a few times to confirm I had the arm extended as far as possible.

 

[Rys06Tbss]

Thanks for the ideas! This is mine

 

[passedpawn]

Thanks for the ideas! This is mine

Superbo!

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Heres a link to where I posted my version of a cutting jig..........Same principle, but for using a smaller, pneumatic grinder............Wade through the post , as I was patching the bottom ring of a mangled keg, and my jig is towards the end.

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=114559

 

[jacobg83]

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