I would like to make a small cauldron from a 20 lb propane cylinder. The
valve has been removed and the tank rinsed clean and dry. I am looking for
suggestions regarding how to cut it in half. I do not have access to a
torch. Thanks.

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 02:59:14 GMT, "rgarrett"
wrote:

I would like to make a small cauldron from a 20 lb propane cylinder. The
valve has been removed and the tank rinsed clean and dry. I am looking for
suggestions regarding how to cut it in half. I do not have access to a
torch. Thanks.

In order of how I would approach the project.

A: electric grinder with cutoff wheel

B: Sawzall

C: Hacksaw

DE

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On the day of Fri, 24 Feb 2006 02:59:14 GMT...
"rgarrett"
typed these letters:

I would like to make a small cauldron from a 20 lb propane cylinder. The
valve has been removed and the tank rinsed clean and dry. I am looking for
suggestions regarding how to cut it in half. I do not have access to a
torch. Thanks.



A porta-band (portable band saw) ought to work good.

Add in a Skilsaw with an abrasive blade before a hacksaw. Sabre saw with
a metal cutting blade works about the same as a saws all.

DE wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 02:59:14 GMT, "rgarrett"
wrote:


I would like to make a small cauldron from a 20 lb propane cylinder. The
valve has been removed and the tank rinsed clean and dry. I am looking for
suggestions regarding how to cut it in half. I do not have access to a
torch. Thanks.


In order of how I would approach the project.

A: electric grinder with cutoff wheel

B: Sawzall

C: Hacksaw

DE

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"rgarrett" wrote in message
...
I would like to make a small cauldron from a 20 lb propane cylinder. The
valve has been removed and the tank rinsed clean and dry. I am looking for
suggestions regarding how to cut it in half. I do not have access to a
torch. Thanks.



Hammer and chisel,
1/8" drill and a file (don't laugh, been there),
air hammer w/panel cutter,
..22, .32, .38, .357, .45, 9mm, etc., etc, etc,

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 03:22:08 GMT,
(Devonshire) wrote:

On the day of Fri, 24 Feb 2006 02:59:14 GMT...
"rgarrett"
typed these letters:

I would like to make a small cauldron from a 20 lb propane cylinder. The
valve has been removed and the tank rinsed clean and dry. I am looking for
suggestions regarding how to cut it in half. I do not have access to a
torch. Thanks.



A porta-band (portable band saw) ought to work good.

Except the throat is WAY too small. You need a BIG bandsaw if you are
going to bandsaw it. I'd grab a big cutoff saw and rotate the tank
under it.
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On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 03:41:29 GMT, "Tom Gardner"
wrote:


"rgarrett" wrote in message
...
I would like to make a small cauldron from a 20 lb propane cylinder. The
valve has been removed and the tank rinsed clean and dry. I am looking for
suggestions regarding how to cut it in half. I do not have access to a
torch. Thanks.



Hammer and chisel,
1/8" drill and a file (don't laugh, been there),
air hammer w/panel cutter,
.22, .32, .38, .357, .45, 9mm, etc., etc, etc,

Sounds like me cutting down the 63 VW brake drum to fit the 49 when I
stripped the spline out of the drum way out in the netherlands of
rural Zambis back in '73. A LOT of work - would never do it if there
was an alternative!!!
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rgarrett wrote:

I would like to make a small cauldron from a 20 lb propane cylinder. The
valve has been removed and the tank rinsed clean and dry. I am looking for
suggestions regarding how to cut it in half. I do not have access to a
torch. Thanks.

It is very possible to make this cut reasonably safely and cleanly using the
edge of a thin grinding wheel. If I were going to do this, I'd use a cutoff
grinder and 3" wheel. This is one of the cheapest air tools in existence, it's
trivial to find them priced under $10. If you have shop air, this is a great way
to go. Once you're done cutting your cylinder save the cutoff grinder for a way
to quickly unweld things. If you don't have shop air, then I suggest a 4-1/2"
angle grinder. Lots of varying opinions on these, but the orange one from HF (at
all costs do NOT get the blue one) at under $20 is a decent tool.

It is *really* easy to screw up cutting something with the edge of a grinding
wheel. Be really careful, wear ear, eye, hand & body protection, clamp the tank
down well (chain & turnbuckles work great) and do a little at a time, and HANG
ONTO THE GRINDER. Don't let your attention wander, and don't let any small kids
come around while you're doing this.

I really hope you learned about rinsing the tank out with a cup or two of
household bleach in a quart or two of hot water, the bleach breaks down the
ethyl mercaptan (the skunk smelling stuff) and afterwards it may not smell sweet
but it is way less offensive.

GWE

"RoyJ" wrote: (clip) Sabre saw with a metal cutting blade works about the
same as a saws all. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A GOOD sabre saw works well for me. I mean one that has an internal
rotating weight to balance out vibration. I always have trouble with the
Saws-all--I have trouble keeping the sole plate firmly against the work, and
then the saw starts to vibrate. Is it just me?

On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 23:35:09 -0500, clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 03:22:08 GMT,
(Devonshire) wrote:

On the day of Fri, 24 Feb 2006 02:59:14 GMT...
"rgarrett"
typed these letters:

I would like to make a small cauldron from a 20 lb propane cylinder. The
valve has been removed and the tank rinsed clean and dry. I am looking for
suggestions regarding how to cut it in half. I do not have access to a
torch. Thanks.



A porta-band (portable band saw) ought to work good.

Except the throat is WAY too small. You need a BIG bandsaw if you are
going to bandsaw it.

Nope. A 20 lb propane cylinder is less than 12" dia, the maw of a
portaband is about 6". It won't cut it off like a pipe in one whack,
but the blade will penetrate at least 3/4" in the middle of the mouth.
Just walk it around the cylinder. I'd be a whole lot quieter and
faster than a sabersaw or sawzall.

I would use my new $60 Harbor Freight metal cutting circular saw.

"rgarrett" wrote in message
...
I would like to make a small cauldron from a 20 lb propane cylinder. The
valve has been removed and the tank rinsed clean and dry. I am looking for
suggestions regarding how to cut it in half. I do not have access to a
torch. Thanks.

I cut the top off one using a hand held sabre saw. Drilled a 3/8" hole
, stuck the blade in the hole, and around I went.

Thought about it for a while (hours probably), read archived posts on
how to get all the propane out, ect.
The actual cutting took under a minute.

I used the resulting vessel to melt lead for sailboat ballast.
fun stuff.

Andy

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 03:41:29 GMT, "Tom Gardner"
wrote:


"rgarrett" wrote in message
...
I would like to make a small cauldron from a 20 lb propane cylinder. The
valve has been removed and the tank rinsed clean and dry. I am looking for
suggestions regarding how to cut it in half. I do not have access to a
torch. Thanks.



Hammer and chisel,
1/8" drill and a file (don't laugh, been there),
air hammer w/panel cutter,
.22, .32, .38, .357, .45, 9mm, etc., etc, etc,


a single wrap of 200 gr primacord. And a hammer to beat the swedged
cut back out. It will be surprisingly neat cut..but will tend to be
pushed inwards.

Gunner



"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them;
the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."
- Proverbs 22:3

ummmm, so does propane not impregnate steel????

i KNOW gasoline does to where the methods mentioned will make a large
bang.

"Doug" wrote: ummmm, so does propane not impregnate steel????
i KNOW gasoline does to where the methods mentioned will make a large bang.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Neither gasoline nor propane impregnates steel. The reason gasoline tanks
are dangerous is that the fuel lurks in crevices and seams, and is hard to
get rid of. A propane tank would not have this problem if properly
ventilated for two reasons:

1.) It is a gas at atmospheric pressure and room temperature, so hardly any
could reside in a seam.
2.) A propane tank has no seams.

a single wrap of 200 gr primacord. And a hammer to beat the swedged
cut back out. It will be surprisingly neat cut..but will tend to be
pushed inwards.

Gunner

I sure would like a few feet, can you spare some?

"Tom Gardner" wrote: I sure would like a few feet, can you spare some?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yeah, Gunner, can you send it through the mail? Seriously, is there any way
a law-abiding civilian can buy it?

On Sun, 26 Feb 2006 05:01:32 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
wrote:


"Tom Gardner" wrote: I sure would like a few feet, can you spare some?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yeah, Gunner, can you send it through the mail? Seriously, is there any way
a law-abiding civilian can buy it?

Sure. It's used routinely in quarrying operations. They probably
also use some in seismic oilfield exploration.

A primacord story:

In the early '70s, as a civilian, I was at a remote (civilian) proving
ground testing a sensor concept for instrumenting the jungle. SecDef
MacNamara thought that was a good idea so R&D bux weren't hard to
find.

Another guy, Dr. Snottytwit, was testing his far-from-field-ready
dainty delicate dingus at a site not far away. The chopper that was
part of his test kept flying its return leg over my site, screwing up
my experiments. I got on the field phone, asked him politely if he'd
please have his chopper do his return leg somewhere other than
directly over the site I was using. He basically said, "tough ****."
Ooo- kay. Junior research puke Foreman had been told, roger that.
Movin' right along, I decided if my ground footstep/vehicle
classifying sensor was affected by noise from an overflying chopper
then perhaps I should see how it does with thunder. Both choppers
and thunder do happen in the jungle. Need data to do science, that
was my job.

I reckoned that thunder is essentally a plane pressure wave, so I
decided to create faux thunder with a plane pressure wave rather than
pray for rain. I figured I'd cut some saplings to make posts about
4 feet high, string about 100 feet of primacord 100 meters from my
sensor field with bricks of C4, TNT, PETN or something every little
way along the cord to juice things up a bit. I cranked the phone,
ordered up 100 feet of primacord, a dozen 1/4 lb blocks of whatever
HE they might have handy, a roll of duct tape, a spool of commo wire,
a coupla caps and a blasting machine. The guy asked if I was
checked out to use such materials. I said yes, I was
school-trained with demo and experienced as a combat engineer. "Roger,
the red jeep will be there in five, ring us when you're ready for
fire in the hole -- we don't like surprises. " "Roger, wilco, out."

The red jeep showed up, delivered my supplies. I wished I'd added a
cold Coke to the list but I hadn't thought of it . Oh well.

I strung my d-cord clothesline on the sticks with duct tape, hung
some booster brick laundry between poles with more duct tape,
double-primed it and ran some wire. Cranked the field phone to get
range central. "Ready to fire one shot at site xxx". "Roger, go
ahead." I yelled the obligatory FIRE IN THE HOLE, started my
instruments in the trailer, waited a second and plunked the magic
twanger.

Oh my, that was grand and glorious thunder! Got some excellent
sensor signature data. Science lurches on.

The phone rang. It was Dr. Snottytwit, remember him? He was
apoplectic. Seems the seismic groundwave from my little
thunderclap at some distance done flat shook his dainty delicate
dingus apart so it didn't work anymore. Oopsie.

Having learned provingground protocol from him my esteemed senior, I
cheerfully replied "tough ****."

I collected some flak for that back at the office, since Dr.
Snottytwit outranked me by a bunch. I expected that, didn't care. I
figured it would be well worth whatever it cost me. Life is far too
short to suffer assholes for another buck or two on payday.

I actually didn't get near as much flak as I'd expected. I think my
strong riprimand from El Jefe in mahogany office with thick carpet was
something like "Foreman, your experiment creamed a very expensive
sensor Dr. Snottytwit was testing."

"Not my intent, Sir. Perhaps the sensor that broke isn't yet
nearly ready for field trials if a thunderclap can break it."

"Uh huh. Did your sensor break?" "No." "Did you get any good
data?" "I did indeed." "Will your sensor work?" "Looks like."

"Don't pull another stunt like that on my watch, Foreman."

"Yessir"

I got a promotion shortly after that. Go figure!

On Sun, 26 Feb 2006 02:05:54 GMT, "Tom Gardner"
wrote:

a single wrap of 200 gr primacord. And a hammer to beat the swedged
cut back out. It will be surprisingly neat cut..but will tend to be
pushed inwards.

Gunner

I sure would like a few feet, can you spare some?

Sorry..used the last of what I had to take down a tree.

Det cord is relativly easy to get. Its blasting caps that are a bitch
to get a hold of.

Gunner



"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them;
the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."
- Proverbs 22:3