Barry wrote:
Greetings All!

Just got an empty 55 gal. drum from a local eatery that held vegetable
oil. I'd like to use it as a burn barrel, but the only opening is a
small hole in the top for a syphon pump of some kind.

Would appreciate some thoughts on how to cut the top off. My experience
with metal working is limited to high school shop which is longer ago
than I care to think about ;-).

Thanks in advance!

This is a metal 55 gallon drum? Very often those have a lid that you
can remove. There will be a band around the top (similar to a hose
clamp) which you can loosen and then take off, allowing the lid to be
taken off.
Otherwise, you can just cut it with a jigsaw. Drill a pilot hole and
start from there. The metal is fairly thin.