After submitting the previous post, I did a little research on the subject of exploding drums. Apparently it�s even more common than I had thought. Some people have even blown themselves up using saws or chisels to cut a drum. Evidently, anything that produces a spark can cause an explosion in certain drums. There seems to be a large number of incidents involving oil drums. I read one account of a teenage boy in a shop class blowing himself up while cutting a drum with a grinder. The drum had previously contained peppermint oil. So be careful. I also did a search on drum de-header tools. There are various models available starting at $40. and up. The more inexpensive ones operate similar to a can opener. I don�t know how well they work though. Perhaps a person could find a local business that has a de-heading tool and is willing to cut the drum for a minimal charge, if any. �When in doubt, don�t cut it out."--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit: OK, It's like 2 hours later, and I'm back. I just had another thought. What if a person were to place the drum upright and fill it full of water before cutting the top off? This should reduce the chance of an explosion to nil. You would use a lot of water, but if you were cutting more than one you could transfer the water from one drum to another. Problem solved. I think. I hope I'm not sounding paranoid. I just don't want anyone to get hurt....... gw
Last edited by gully washer; 02/13/13 05:21 AM.
