"(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
After buying a few after-market bucket covers, it's dawned on me that
Home Depot's 5-gallon buckets (the orange ones with their logo...)
measure something like 1/8" wider at the rim than do Lowes' and Tractor
Supply's.

Is there a backstory here?

Simple answer: Different manufacturing sources.

Do a Google Image search for 5 gallon buckets. There are all sorts of
different configurations. 3 ribs, 4 ribs, wide ribs, narrow ribs, etc. I
wouldn't be surprise if the lids you bought will fit some buckets but not
all.

Oh look...the Lowes 16 oz hammer doesn't look anything like the Home Depot
16 oz hammer. Guess why? ;-)