help needed! turning large tin cans into plant pots

[kethry]

moderators - please feel free to move if i've put this in the wrong place..

basically - I've been lucky enough to get a supply of large empty cans of veg oil from the local takeaway place. They've got a fixed lid, with a spout in the top. What i need is to be able to get the lid off without leaving any nasty jagged edges, so that i can clean out the oil, then paint the tin, drill holes in the base, and use as a plant pot - probably tomatoes!

Any ideas for doing that? Pics below:




thanks in advance for any suggestions!!

keth
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[rotorvator]

Unless you know a frreindly local welder who could chop them off with an Oxy-Acetelene torch the only thing i can think of would be to chissel the tops off with an old chisel and file the edges clean (this is what i do with oil drums to make incinerators but the tin may be a little thin and may buckle.

[yoanbob]

Hum, think your gonna have sharp edges whatever you do unless you want to file them down, go back to the takeaway and use their industrial tin oppener.

[rustylady]

Is it worth it? I get my tomato pots from the local Co-op - the black plastic buckets they display bunches of flowers in. They sell them off at 10p per bucket. You just drill holes in them and away you go. I'm always a bit sceptical about using metal containers anyway, problems with rust etc

[kethry]

Rustylady: we don't have a co-op around here - believe me, i've tried asking for the plastic buckets. they *all* recycle them!!! gahh!

actually talking to a friend of mine about this who has come up with an absolutely stonking idea: using a hacksaw or something to get the lid off (or use Rotorvator's idea), some wet n dry sandpaper to file the worst of the sharp edges off, then cutting some rubber hose or something, length wise, so that it fits over the rim of the tub. I can then paint the whole thing!

So i'm gonna give that a go - thanks to everyone who posted here, i'll let you all know how it goes..

keth
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[jacob marley]

Hi what you need is good jigsaw with a metal cutting blade in it just dril a hole close to the rim and then if you are confident enough around you go
ihope this helps if you ha rough edge you canuse two hammers to dress it down

[kethry]

Jacob - thanks for the reply! another friend suggested that if hammers don't work, using a pair of tin snippers to cut snips in the rim, every 5cm or so, 5mm down, then rolling each one down with a pair of pliers before pushing the slit pipe over the edge would work well.

Either way i think it'll be a case of trial and experimentation - and as i have a lot of tomato plants (22 when i last counted), i need a lot of pots!!

thanks - and i'll post the eventual results and method here (in case anyone else gets lucky with something similar)..

keth
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