With a lot of patience and a Dremel tool.....

[Lounge Lizard]

... you can cut the top out of a Sanke keg. It took over two hours and about a half a package of the little cut-off discs, but I did it. If all you have is a Dremel, you can do it too if you need to. Just be sure to wear safety glasses.

I'm celebrating by drinking a 24 oz Arrogant Bastard!

I'll try to get some pics posted as soon as I smooth out the edges and get the plumbing installed in the bottom.

Now I just need to cut holes in two more kegs! LOL

 

[El Pistolero]

I'm celebrating by drinking a 24 oz Arrogant Bastard!

Wow, that's impressive...the AB's we get down south are only 22 oz. How come you big D weenies get two more oz?

 

[Lounge Lizard]

Wow, that's impressive...the AB's we get down south are only 22 oz. How come you big D weenies get two more oz?

I guess 'cuz we be speshul! :cross:

Actually, I guess my matamatics was off. Or my eyes be playing tricks on me. I thought fer sure, the bottle said a pint plus 8 ounces. Nope, a pint plus 6! Darn it! lol

 

[parasonic]

Heh. It takes about 5 minutes to get the top off with a hand grinder and two cut-off wheels. Then it takes about half an hour and a grinding wheel to grind that sucker down nicely...and another 5 minutes with a zirconiated flap disc to get it nice and shiny

 

[Beermaker]

A 10k rpm Metabo grinder and a disc will work in about 30 seconds too. And from what I heard, one hell of a spark show too.

 

[flingdingo]

2 words - Plasma Cutter

 

[autoferret]

Man using a dremel is like cutting a tree down w/ a gerber.

But i can't wait to see photos!!!

 

[parasonic]

2 words - Plasma Cutter

3 words - Too Much Heat

 

[Ivan Lendl]

what about the pressure? is there any danger in cutting into a semi-pressurized container?

What do you need to drill the whole for the spigot?

 

[Lounge Lizard]

Thanks, guys. I'm hip on the angle grinder and cut-off wheel method. I just didn't want to go buy or rent one. It took closer to three hours than two with the Dremel, but I got a nice smooth (right on the line) cut. It just needed a little sanding to knock off the sharp edges. This was a near 13 inch diameter hole. The next two won't be so big, so it shouldn't take quite so long.

The plasma cutter method is a good one too (or so I have read here). Just tell the welding guy to fill the keg half full of water, so all the molten metal doesn't stick to the bottom of your keggle. Here is how to take out the innards beforehand:


http://www.physics.arizona.edu/~workman/homebrew/Sanke.html

what about the pressure? is there any danger in cutting into a semi-pressurized container?

What do you need to drill the whole for the spigot?

You can let the pressure out by pushing the ball down in the neck until all the pressure escapes. You might want to put an old towel over it first to keep the stink and old beer out of your face.

I have read where a "step" drill bit is what you need. Either that or a hole saw. I'm gonna go buy a step bit.

 

[mpetty]

Just FYI, but you're only going to get 5 or 6 holes out of a step bit. A hole saw will go faster (cutting less material), and you will get many more holes out of it (at least 10), not to mention that a hole saw is less than 10 dollars.

 

[Lounge Lizard]

Just FYI, but you're only going to get 5 or 6 holes out of a step bit. A hole saw will go faster (cutting less material), and you will get many more holes out of it (at least 10), not to mention that a hole saw is less than 10 dollars.

The only time I have used a hole saw, was when installing a deadbolt on the front door. Are they really good for cutting metal and for drilling small holes with any accuracy? I may have to check them out. Thanks...

 

[Lost]

2 words - Plasma Cutter

yep :rockin:

 

[Pumbaa]

Plasma cutter worked great on mine.

BTW to get the smoke residue out use Bar Keepers Friends, WORKED GREAT.

The only time I have used a hole saw, was when installing a deadbolt on the front door. Are they really good for cutting metal and for drilling small holes with any accuracy? I may have to check them out. Thanks...

Yeah the hole saw was nice too, just remember to drill your pilot hole first THEN put the hole saw on your drill . . . otherwise when the drill slams into that steel and locks up and cinches down on that bit real hard like. . . well it took a monkey wrench to get that chuck to loosen up to get the GD bit out.

 

[Lounge Lizard]

More votes for the hole saw. Thanks guys!

Plasma cutter worked great on mine.

BTW to get the smoke residue out use Bar Keepers Friends, WORKED GREAT.

Yeah the hole saw was nice too, just remember to drill your pilot hole first THEN put the hole saw on your drill . . . otherwise when the drill slams into that steel and locks up and cinches down on that bit real hard like. . . well it took a monkey wrench to get that chuck to loosen up to get the GD bit out.

Checking your gallery for an example, all I found was your girlfriends and some labels....

Thanks for the tips. So, when drilling.... I guess you want the hole as low as possible, without hitting the part that starts curving under? I saw on another website to measure up three and 3/4 inches. That doesn't seem right....

 

[geordie]

Man using a dremel is like cutting a tree down w/ a gerber.

But i can't wait to see photos!!!

Here's my dremel handy work - and in less than 45 minutes.

You can get nice control with a dremel but you do use quite a few cutoff wheels.

Cheers,

Steve

 

[bigjuice]

I have used two different methods for cutting the top off a Sanke. On my first one, I used a dremel to quickly draw my cut line and then used a full sized angle grinder to cut through the top. If aesthetics are a non-issue, this is a VERY fast way to accomplish the mission. I did however have to shave my face 2-3 times to get all of the steel filings embedded in my face out ( I was wearing goggles of course). It also leaves soe rough edges and gouges due to the fact you are cutting with a wheel that has and inch or two of a straight line in contact with the cutting surface instead of a single point like with a plasma torch. It functionally did the job and doesn't look too bad either.

I just cut a keg out for a friend this past weekend with the Dremel. Dremel makes a cutting wheel kit that comes with the fiberglass wheels, some wide discs, the small extra-hard cutting wheels and this afro buffer pad. I used a combination of the wide cutting discs, the small discs (which cut through about 5 degrees of the total 360 degrees at a time) and the fiberglass reinforced discs. The method I found to be most efficient is to use the wide discs first and not cut all the way through but make a thick cut line around the top. Then come back with the thinner fiberglass wheels to finish off the job. It was just takng too damn long with the little wheels!!!!! I then run a sandpaper cylinder attachment around to get off the big burrs and finally used up the entire afro buffer wheel smoothing the edges. I was VERY happy with the results from this method and did the whole thing in half an hour. Always make sure you fully depressurize the keg. It was sad dumping 4 gallons of leftover Yuengling (that actually looked to be fairly fresh) down the drain.

For my side holes, I use a hole saw, drilling an initial pilot hole with a regular drill bit and inserting the bit of the hole saw into this pilot hole. It cut through the side very quickly and left a nice edge. No leaks on weldless fittings.

 

[Lounge Lizard]

Fellow Dremel users unite!

I don't see how you guys did yours so fast. Maybe I have one of the lower powered units. Probably. Then I didn't have the cutting wheel kit either.

It's true that you can make a nice clean and accurate cut with a Dremel. Aesthetics are important to me. I think brewing the beer is actually sometimes more fun than drinking it... lol

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Isn't there some kind of dremel "compass kit"? Seems like I've seen something for cutting perfect holes in drywall. Might work for this application.

 

[Walker]

Isn't there some kind of dremel "compass kit"?

you mean... like a thumbtack and a piece of string?

-walker