Hi, All:

First; Thank you to the group for past assistance. You don't get told that
nearly enough. You've always given of yourselves, knowledge, time, and ideas,
and I appreciate it a lot.

I need ideas again. I have a 55 Gal. steel drum I want to convert into a bead
blast cabinet. I've cut a large hole in the drumhead which will eventually be
the door for workpieces. My quandry is that the drum stood for years with
water in it and there is HEAVY rust inside. The problem is how to remove it?
It would take a ton of abrasives to blast it all and be a nasty job to boot.

What makes this problem special is the fact that I am physically handicapped.
I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and very little actual physical strength. I
depend heavily on chain falls, come-alongs, ramps and hydraulic jacks to do
what most would consider everyday chores (I live alone and am VERY
independant). If it wasn't for that I'd just put sand in the drum and roll it
around. I have a pretty complete shop, welders, two lathes, a mini-mill, ect;
and build special tools all the time. But here I'm not sure how to proceed.

Any and all suggestions (even the smart-assed ones) would be appreciated.
TIA.

Roger in Vegas
Worlds Greatest Impulse Buyer

"Roger Hull" wrote in message
s.net...
Hi, All:

First; Thank you to the group for past assistance. You don't get told that
nearly enough. You've always given of yourselves, knowledge, time, and
ideas,
and I appreciate it a lot.

I need ideas again. I have a 55 Gal. steel drum I want to convert into a
bead
blast cabinet. I've cut a large hole in the drumhead which will eventually
be
the door for workpieces. My quandry is that the drum stood for years with
water in it and there is HEAVY rust inside. The problem is how to remove
it?
It would take a ton of abrasives to blast it all and be a nasty job to
boot.

What makes this problem special is the fact that I am physically
handicapped.
I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and very little actual physical strength.
I
depend heavily on chain falls, come-alongs, ramps and hydraulic jacks to
do
what most would consider everyday chores (I live alone and am VERY
independant). If it wasn't for that I'd just put sand in the drum and roll
it
around. I have a pretty complete shop, welders, two lathes, a mini-mill,
ect;
and build special tools all the time. But here I'm not sure how to
proceed.

Any and all suggestions (even the smart-assed ones) would be appreciated.
TIA.

Roger in Vegas
Worlds Greatest Impulse Buyer


There has been a few threads on here over the years about using electrolysis
to remove thick rust and to gain a bit of thickness back where its been
lost. Maybe thats worth a go - bit of old iron, a few batteries, hookup wire
and some alkali so its fairly simple.

My quandry is that the drum stood for years with water in it and
there is HEAVY rust inside. The problem is how to remove it? It
would take a ton of abrasives to blast it all and be a nasty job
to boot.

My temptation would be to leave the rust, and just let it
get worn away by the overspray of working on your other projects,
with maybe an extra squirt or two whenever you see a spot that
particularly annoys you...

--Glenn Lyford

If the drum can still be sealed make a cradle to hold it that has wheels or
rollers so the drum can rotate. Like a rock tumbler or cement mixer. Then load
it up with gravel or other suitable abrasive and let it roll. The power source
can be as simple as an electric motor with a rubber wheel mounted to the shaft.
The weight of the drum on the wheel will be enough friction to drive or rotate
the drum.

"Roger Hull" wrote: (clip) If it wasn't for that I'd just put sand in the
drum and roll it around (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^
It sounds like you are ingenious in the ways that you are able to work
around your physical limitation. If you think that rolling sand in the drum
would work, I have a suggestion: Put two Vee-belt pulleys on an extended
motor shaft, and hang the drum from a pair of long belts. If you let it
hang there, just turning, for several days, it ought to clean up. I haven't
figured out the pulley size you would need to get a reasonably slow speed on
the drum, but, if necessary, you could use a countershaft.

Roger Hull wrote:

Hi, All:

First; Thank you to the group for past assistance. You don't get told that
nearly enough. You've always given of yourselves, knowledge, time, and ideas,
and I appreciate it a lot.

I need ideas again. I have a 55 Gal. steel drum I want to convert into a bead
blast cabinet. I've cut a large hole in the drumhead which will eventually be
the door for workpieces. My quandry is that the drum stood for years with
water in it and there is HEAVY rust inside. The problem is how to remove it?
It would take a ton of abrasives to blast it all and be a nasty job to boot.

What makes this problem special is the fact that I am physically handicapped.
I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and very little actual physical strength. I
depend heavily on chain falls, come-alongs, ramps and hydraulic jacks to do
what most would consider everyday chores (I live alone and am VERY
independant). If it wasn't for that I'd just put sand in the drum and roll it
around. I have a pretty complete shop, welders, two lathes, a mini-mill, ect;
and build special tools all the time. But here I'm not sure how to proceed.

Any and all suggestions (even the smart-assed ones) would be appreciated.
TIA.

Roger in Vegas
Worlds Greatest Impulse Buyer

Why not rig it up on some rollers - tires or something - and put some sand
inside - the sharp kind or even any kind. Then rotate it or tumble the sand.

It will sand blast the inside or sand it down for you. You just have to watch
how it is going from time to time.

Martin

--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

For the effort of getting the drum clean, you might consider a newer drum.
For my bead blaster, I went down to the local co-op. They sold me one of
their empty hydraulic oil drums for the price of the deposit; $25. I think
if I'd shopped around I could have found one cheaper, but I was in a hurry.
I got to choose the best of the pile of them they had, and got a drum with a
perfectly clean inside, no dents and a clean coat of paint on the outside.

Other than that, the idea of tumbling the rust off is probably your best
bet. If you want to speed the process up and can stand a little (ok, a lot
of) noise, throw some little scrap chunks of steel from your last fab
project in with the sand. Old nuts and bolts work, too. Not real heavy
pieces, but big enough to bang off the worst of the rust quicker.

Cheers,
Walt

On Fri, 28 May 2004 21:12:10 -0700, Roger Hull
wrote:

Hi, All:

First; Thank you to the group for past assistance. You don't get told that
nearly enough. You've always given of yourselves, knowledge, time, and ideas,
and I appreciate it a lot.

I need ideas again. I have a 55 Gal. steel drum I want to convert into a bead
blast cabinet. I've cut a large hole in the drumhead which will eventually be
the door for workpieces. My quandry is that the drum stood for years with
water in it and there is HEAVY rust inside. The problem is how to remove it?
It would take a ton of abrasives to blast it all and be a nasty job to boot.

What makes this problem special is the fact that I am physically handicapped.
I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and very little actual physical strength. I
depend heavily on chain falls, come-alongs, ramps and hydraulic jacks to do
what most would consider everyday chores (I live alone and am VERY
independant). If it wasn't for that I'd just put sand in the drum and roll it
around. I have a pretty complete shop, welders, two lathes, a mini-mill, ect;
and build special tools all the time. But here I'm not sure how to proceed.

Any and all suggestions (even the smart-assed ones) would be appreciated.
TIA.

Roger in Vegas
Worlds Greatest Impulse Buyer

Sunworshipper..this may be right up your alley, and a new compadre to
boot.

Gunner

That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer's
cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays
there.
- George Orwell

Roger Hull writes:

I have a 55 Gal. steel drum I want to convert into a bead
blast cabinet.

Convert it into a still, the fruit of the still into cash, the cash into a
bead-blast cabinet. Be sure to get the janitor out of the drum first.

Any and all suggestions (even the smart-assed ones) would be appreciated.

Buy a new drum. The last one I bought had contained glycerine, had a
spotless, coated interior, and cost $12.

By the way, I don't have chronic fatigue syndrome, or otherwise consider myself
handicapped, and I depend heavily on come-alongs, jacks, ramps, a tractor and
all sorts of other helpers. The thought of rolling a sand-filled drum around
makes my shoulders ache!
Gary Brady
Austin, TX

Why not just buy another $5.00 drum ????

Careful. I had a 77 toyota and I swear the rust was the only thing holding
it together!

Joel. phx

"Glenn Lyford" wrote in message
...
My quandry is that the drum stood for years with water in it and
there is HEAVY rust inside. The problem is how to remove it? It
would take a ton of abrasives to blast it all and be a nasty job
to boot.

My temptation would be to leave the rust, and just let it
get worn away by the overspray of working on your other projects,
with maybe an extra squirt or two whenever you see a spot that
particularly annoys you...

--Glenn Lyford

Kevin Beitz wrote:
Why not just buy another $5.00 drum ????

Where can I buy a 55 ggl drum for U$5.00?
They cost me U$30.00.

--Winston

On Sat, 29 May 2004 06:33:32 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Fri, 28 May 2004 21:12:10 -0700, Roger Hull
wrote:

Hi, All:

First; Thank you to the group for past assistance. You don't get told that
nearly enough. You've always given of yourselves, knowledge, time, and ideas,
and I appreciate it a lot.

I need ideas again. I have a 55 Gal. steel drum I want to convert into a bead
blast cabinet. I've cut a large hole in the drumhead which will eventually be
the door for workpieces. My quandry is that the drum stood for years with
water in it and there is HEAVY rust inside. The problem is how to remove it?
It would take a ton of abrasives to blast it all and be a nasty job to boot.

What makes this problem special is the fact that I am physically handicapped.
I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and very little actual physical strength. I
depend heavily on chain falls, come-alongs, ramps and hydraulic jacks to do
what most would consider everyday chores (I live alone and am VERY
independant). If it wasn't for that I'd just put sand in the drum and roll it
around. I have a pretty complete shop, welders, two lathes, a mini-mill, ect;
and build special tools all the time. But here I'm not sure how to proceed.

Any and all suggestions (even the smart-assed ones) would be appreciated.
TIA.

Roger in Vegas
Worlds Greatest Impulse Buyer

Sunworshipper..this may be right up your alley, and a new compadre to
boot.

Gunner

I already know Roger , he's been to my shop and I've been to his about
3 times. Just got a nasty chest cold the other day and probably feel
like his condition. Have to work all weekend and all next week while
about to fall over.

I have a like new pretty blue racing fuel drum that I could drop off
at his place Sunday or Mon. I cut the top end off at about 3" from
the sides , the plug holes are still there... Will that be ok Roger?

I was going to make a metal melter with a robotic crane , but it
sounds to hard to learn at the moment. Way to many irons in the fire
as it is. I'm always scoping for free stuff. There are two oily ones
right off LVB. I even run into those bigger white plastic ones ,
wonder if that would be better... Don't have one of those , you have
to be around the back of restaurants or the like to run into them.

I need to get right to cast iron , so I don't need it . Plus, I can
always pick up another , if not the same kind.

I'm in the UK but when I needed a 45 gallon (55 US gallon, 205 litre)
last year I went to a local scrap metal dealer and the woman gave me
one. It had a small quantity of Castrol oil in it which I drained out
but the drum was free. Prior to that for a sand blasting booth I bought
one for 50p ($0.90) some 18 year ago. I was lucky maybe but I would ask
around and get a clean drum rather than go to the effort of cleaning
yours.

Roger Hull wrote:

Hi, All:

First; Thank you to the group for past assistance. You don't get told that
nearly enough. You've always given of yourselves, knowledge, time, and ideas,
and I appreciate it a lot.

I need ideas again. I have a 55 Gal. steel drum I want to convert into a bead
blast cabinet. I've cut a large hole in the drumhead which will eventually be
the door for workpieces. My quandry is that the drum stood for years with
water in it and there is HEAVY rust inside. The problem is how to remove it?
It would take a ton of abrasives to blast it all and be a nasty job to boot.

What makes this problem special is the fact that I am physically handicapped.
I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and very little actual physical strength. I
depend heavily on chain falls, come-alongs, ramps and hydraulic jacks to do
what most would consider everyday chores (I live alone and am VERY
independant). If it wasn't for that I'd just put sand in the drum and roll it
around. I have a pretty complete shop, welders, two lathes, a mini-mill, ect;
and build special tools all the time. But here I'm not sure how to proceed.

Any and all suggestions (even the smart-assed ones) would be appreciated.
TIA.

Roger in Vegas
Worlds Greatest Impulse Buyer

In article ,
Winston wrote:

Kevin Beitz wrote:
Why not just buy another $5.00 drum ????

Where can I buy a 55 ggl drum for U$5.00?
They cost me U$30.00.

Wow... They must be seriously scarce in your area. $10.00 each is
considered to be a little on the high side around here (northern
California), and asking anything over $15 for one is one of those "I
want some of whatever it is you've been smoking!!!" concepts.

$7 or 8 bucks each is pretty typical, even at the
everything-we-have-is-marked-up-beyond-belief Ace hardware up the road,
and includes the offer to cut an end out of it and punch ventilation
holes in the sides for you if you want to use it as a burn barrel.

--
Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
I respond to Email as quick as humanly possible. If you Email me and get no
response, see http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html Short
form: I'm trashing EVERYTHING that doesn't contain a password in the subject.

On Sat, 29 May 2004 12:22:08 -0700, Sunworshiper wrote
(in message ):

On Sat, 29 May 2004 06:33:32 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Fri, 28 May 2004 21:12:10 -0700, Roger Hull
wrote:

Hi, All:

First; Thank you to the group for past assistance. You don't get told
that
nearly enough.

I have a like new pretty blue racing fuel drum that I could drop off
at his place Sunday or Mon. I cut the top end off at about 3" from
the sides , the plug holes are still there... Will that be ok Roger?



Sunworshipper, that would be better than O.K. It would save me a bunch of
work and I will owe you one. Besides, it would be good to see you again.
Thanks.

Steel drums are $5 to $8 in North Carolina, and range in weight from 22 to
42 pounds due to different wall thicknesses. There are stacks of them in the
local salvage yards. People even sell them in their front yards. The ones
from bread companies are really clean, and some have lock-ring lids.

RJ

--
"Have no one say it, and say it to your shame, that all was well here, until
YOU came."




"Winston" wrote in message
...
Kevin Beitz wrote:
Why not just buy another $5.00 drum ????

Where can I buy a 55 ggl drum for U$5.00?
They cost me U$30.00.

--Winston

Unless you are just set on building a blast cabinent the hard way, go to harbor
freight and buy a cheap one. I've built three and then learned my lesson. If
you insist on using a drum, may I suggest that you use a plastic drum, it will
last longer. Finding the right gun is important, too. Cheap guns don't last
very long. A good gun from Tip with a carbide nozzel will outlast a cheapo
version tenfold. Do a search for Tiptools for a source of the parts that you
will need

On Fri, 28 May 2004 21:12:10 -0700, Roger Hull
wrote:

===Hi, All:
===
===First; Thank you to the group for past assistance. You don't get told that
===nearly enough. You've always given of yourselves, knowledge, time, and ideas,
===and I appreciate it a lot.
===
===I need ideas again. I have a 55 Gal. steel drum I want to convert into a bead
===blast cabinet. I've cut a large hole in the drumhead which will eventually be
===the door for workpieces. My quandry is that the drum stood for years with
===water in it and there is HEAVY rust inside. The problem is how to remove it?
===It would take a ton of abrasives to blast it all and be a nasty job to boot.
===
===What makes this problem special is the fact that I am physically handicapped.
===I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and very little actual physical strength. I
===depend heavily on chain falls, come-alongs, ramps and hydraulic jacks to do
===what most would consider everyday chores (I live alone and am VERY
===independant). If it wasn't for that I'd just put sand in the drum and roll it
===around. I have a pretty complete shop, welders, two lathes, a mini-mill, ect;
===and build special tools all the time. But here I'm not sure how to proceed.
===
===Any and all suggestions (even the smart-assed ones) would be appreciated.
===TIA.
===
===Roger in Vegas
===Worlds Greatest Impulse Buyer


As cheap and plentifull as new or used clean drums are, I think I
would utilize a good clean used drum instead of playing around
cleaning up a heavily rusted drum.

Just my 2 cents on the deal!
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wifes,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

On Sat, 29 May 2004 19:22:08 GMT, Sunworshiper
stated wide-eyed, with arms akimbo:

I have a like new pretty blue racing fuel drum that I could drop off
at his place Sunday or Mon. I cut the top end off at about 3" from
the sides , the plug holes are still there... Will that be ok Roger?

Speaking of racing fuel, I got some nice whiffs of burnt nitromethane
fuel this morning. They're having the Boatnik Festival here in Grants
Pass this weekend and the Marathon Jet Boats were haulin' ass up and
down the Rogue today. I sat in the back of my pickemup and watched
them come by at 90-100mph with headers uncorked. Whatta hoot!

According to one of the spectators from Roseburg, one of the same
drivers (who raced Roseburg last week) does his own machining (see?
it's actually on topic) and lost a pin connecting his steering in
the race last week. He ended up out of control, heading for a crowd
at a bend, so he stood up and started waving both hands to get the
crowd to move away. They just waved back until they saw that he wasn't
stopping. He ended up 30' up the bank, completely out of the water,
but not too much damage resulted and nobody was hurt.

The moral of the story, boys and girls, is to always drill out those
pins and put cotter or hitch pins in those critical connectors.

I wonder if Tom Gardener has enough in his Rubish Cube. If yhou don't
get that drum over to Roger, maybe Tom could refer him to the proper
cup brush to take care of it.


P.S: That's pronounced "rube-ish", a Goldbergian term.


-
Yea, though I walk through the valley of Minwax, I shall stain no Cherry.
http://diversify.com

My 2nd blast cabinet is 8' wide x 4' high x 3' deep with 4 hand holes.
Its collapsible so storage is not a problem. Stores to about 6" deep x
4' high x 8' wide. The size was governed by what I ended up blasting. We
don't have HF in the UK but do have MachineMart which has the same sort
of stuff. I started with a cheap gun and ended up making replacement
steel sleeves for its noozle, now I have a gun with a carbide noozle.

GMasterman wrote:

Unless you are just set on building a blast cabinent the hard way, go to harbor
freight and buy a cheap one. I've built three and then learned my lesson. If
you insist on using a drum, may I suggest that you use a plastic drum, it will
last longer. Finding the right gun is important, too. Cheap guns don't last
very long. A good gun from Tip with a carbide nozzel will outlast a cheapo
version tenfold. Do a search for Tiptools for a source of the parts that you
will need

Go to your John Deere farm store & get a new drum for free or near that.
They get oil in noreturnable drums & are glade to get rid of em.

Roger Hull wrote:
Hi, All:

First; Thank you to the group for past assistance. You don't get told that
nearly enough. You've always given of yourselves, knowledge, time, and ideas,
and I appreciate it a lot.

I need ideas again. I have a 55 Gal. steel drum I want to convert into a bead
blast cabinet. I've cut a large hole in the drumhead which will eventually be
the door for workpieces. My quandry is that the drum stood for years with
water in it and there is HEAVY rust inside. The problem is how to remove it?
It would take a ton of abrasives to blast it all and be a nasty job to boot.

What makes this problem special is the fact that I am physically handicapped.
I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and very little actual physical strength. I
depend heavily on chain falls, come-alongs, ramps and hydraulic jacks to do
what most would consider everyday chores (I live alone and am VERY
independant). If it wasn't for that I'd just put sand in the drum and roll it
around. I have a pretty complete shop, welders, two lathes, a mini-mill, ect;
and build special tools all the time. But here I'm not sure how to proceed.

Any and all suggestions (even the smart-assed ones) would be appreciated.
TIA.

Roger in Vegas
Worlds Greatest Impulse Buyer

On Sat, 29 May 2004 14:54:58 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Sat, 29 May 2004 19:22:08 GMT, Sunworshiper
stated wide-eyed, with arms akimbo:

I have a like new pretty blue racing fuel drum that I could drop off
at his place Sunday or Mon. I cut the top end off at about 3" from
the sides , the plug holes are still there... Will that be ok Roger?

Speaking of racing fuel, I got some nice whiffs of burnt nitromethane
fuel this morning. They're having the Boatnik Festival here in Grants
Pass this weekend and the Marathon Jet Boats were haulin' ass up and
down the Rogue today. I sat in the back of my pickemup and watched
them come by at 90-100mph with headers uncorked. Whatta hoot!

According to one of the spectators from Roseburg, one of the same
drivers (who raced Roseburg last week) does his own machining (see?
it's actually on topic) and lost a pin connecting his steering in
the race last week. He ended up out of control, heading for a crowd
at a bend, so he stood up and started waving both hands to get the
crowd to move away. They just waved back until they saw that he wasn't
stopping. He ended up 30' up the bank, completely out of the water,
but not too much damage resulted and nobody was hurt.

The moral of the story, boys and girls, is to always drill out those
pins and put cotter or hitch pins in those critical connectors.

I wonder if Tom Gardener has enough in his Rubish Cube. If yhou don't
get that drum over to Roger, maybe Tom could refer him to the proper
cup brush to take care of it.


P.S: That's pronounced "rube-ish", a Goldbergian term.


-
Yea, though I walk through the valley of Minwax, I shall stain no Cherry.
http://diversify.com

Oh, I'll get it to him. Or go hunt down his # , I have about 5 subject
note books with numbers. I saw it not long ago , matter of fact I'll
try to find it now, even though I'm dead to the world. Just had to go
stop a guy from screwing up his pool and bake in the sun some more.
Not sure I'll be awake for dinner.

I saw a cool boat race on the river in the middle of Austin Tx. back
in ahhh '75 ? They outlawed it right after that. Was down right
bitch'en ! Rooster tails about 3/4's of the 1/4 mile. Seemed like.

The guy I just met for his pool has a room as big as my shop full of
running computers. And he wants to know when I can get to doing his
stuff. I need to clone myself.

On 29 May 2004 21:24:17 GMT, (GMasterman) stated
wide-eyed, with arms akimbo:

Unless you are just set on building a blast cabinent the hard way, go to harbor
freight and buy a cheap one. I've built three and then learned my lesson. If
you insist on using a drum, may I suggest that you use a plastic drum, it will
last longer. Finding the right gun is important, too. Cheap guns don't last
very long. A good gun from Tip with a carbide nozzel will outlast a cheapo
version tenfold. Do a search for Tiptools for a source of the parts that you
will need

I believe you're referring to http://www.tptools.com/ .


-
Yea, though I walk through the valley of Minwax, I shall stain no Cherry.
http://diversify.com

On Sat, 29 May 2004 11:51:02 -0700, Winston
wrote:

Kevin Beitz wrote:
Why not just buy another $5.00 drum ????

Where can I buy a 55 ggl drum for U$5.00?
They cost me U$30.00.

--Winston




we buy motor oil and atf from our local NAPA and there is no deposit
on the steel 55's and we have a hell of a time getting rid of the
empties. about 20 of them out back right now. S.W. florida.
doug

doug wrote:
On Sat, 29 May 2004 11:51:02 -0700, Winston
wrote:


Kevin Beitz wrote:

Why not just buy another $5.00 drum ????

Where can I buy a 55 ggl drum for U$5.00?
They cost me U$30.00.

--Winston

we buy motor oil and atf from our local NAPA and there is no deposit
on the steel 55's and we have a hell of a time getting rid of the
empties. about 20 of them out back right now. S.W. florida.
doug

Thanks for the info, Doug.
I take it that your company is in the auto service business.
Is that correct?
Would you suggest that I check with local auto service businesses
to recycle their empties?

--Winston

On Fri, 28 May 2004 21:12:10 -0700, Roger Hull wrote:

||Hi, All:
||
||First; Thank you to the group for past assistance. You don't get told that
||nearly enough. You've always given of yourselves, knowledge, time, and ideas,
||and I appreciate it a lot.
||
||I need ideas again. I have a 55 Gal. steel drum I want to convert into a bead
||blast cabinet. I've cut a large hole in the drumhead which will eventually be
||the door for workpieces. My quandry is that the drum stood for years with
||water in it and there is HEAVY rust inside. The problem is how to remove it?
||It would take a ton of abrasives to blast it all and be a nasty job to boot.
||
||What makes this problem special is the fact that I am physically handicapped.
||I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and very little actual physical strength. I
||depend heavily on chain falls, come-alongs, ramps and hydraulic jacks to do
||what most would consider everyday chores (I live alone and am VERY
||independant). If it wasn't for that I'd just put sand in the drum and roll it
||around. I have a pretty complete shop, welders, two lathes, a mini-mill, ect;
||and build special tools all the time. But here I'm not sure how to proceed.
||
||Any and all suggestions (even the smart-assed ones) would be appreciated.
||TIA.

Do you drive a pickup? Put the drum in the pickup bed, insert rocks and sane
in drum, and let it roll around while you do your normal driving. A week or so
of that should knock the worst of it off, and the remaining rust probably
wouldn't cause a problem.
Texas Parts Guy