# Jig to cut bucket lids off



## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

I have several 5 gal. plastic buckets with a tight fitting plastic lids that I want to remove. The lids are not the typical vertical slots that you just break open to pry the lid off so I need another approach. I tried cutting my own slots but that is extremely labor intensive and messy (I have 20 buckets to do.) It appears my choices with a router are a slot cutting bit or a straight cutting bit. Does anyone have a suggestion about how to do this, possibly with a jig? The lids have a rubber O-ring just under the outside rim so I would need to cut below that and above the plastic hook that secures the lid to the bucket.The attached diagram is a cutaway of a lid top section.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Trey, attach a guide bushing to your router and it will give you the needed offset to use a slot cutter. If your reason for cutting the lids is because they are difficult to open a 5 gallon pail opener only costs a couple dollars.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Trey

You are making a easy job to hard I don't think the maker of the buckets wanted to make a string with one end, so to speak  what goes in must come out and I'm sure they have a tool/device make just for that job on that type of bucket..I would suggest you call the guy you got them from and ask how do you open this thing...



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Pine Knot said:


> I have several 5 gal. plastic buckets with a tight fitting plastic lids that I want to remove. The lids are not the typical vertical slots that you just break open to pry the lid off so I need another approach. I tried cutting my own slots but that is extremely labor intensive and messy (I have 20 buckets to do.) It appears my choices with a router are a slot cutting bit or a straight cutting bit. Does anyone have a suggestion about how to do this, possibly with a jig? The lids have a rubber O-ring just under the outside rim so I would need to cut below that and above the plastic hook that secures the lid to the bucket.The attached diagram is a cutaway of a lid top section.


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## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

Thanks Mike, I appreciate your help. I have that same lid removal tool and it doesn't work on this type of lid. :-(


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## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

Bob, I agree with you, I always try to look for the easy solution first. In this case the guy I got the buckets from had no idea how to get the lids off. It turns out he never takes them off, just pours the contents out of the spout in the lid. In researching the bucket website it didn't list a tool for lid removal so I sent them an inquiry about it.


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## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

Thanks Mike, I appreciate your help. I have that same lid removal tool and it doesn't work on this type of lid. :-(


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## roofner (Aug 1, 2010)

Thanks helped with my problem I had a 5 gallon pale trying to figure out how to get the lid off. Went to my home center sure enough in paint section they had the tool for removing the lid just a couple bucks..


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## Ziggy Diaz (Dec 23, 2008)

Pine Knot,

I am giving some tought to your problem and perhaps the better tool to remove the lid consistently from the buckets, may be the table saw, say you add a tal supprot fence and some supports to each side, then just rotate the bucket carefully on the spinning blade, which you can vary how close to the lip or how centered on the o-ring you want and by rising the blade you can control the how fast the lid is cut away, you can get carried away and even build a cradle with some old inline skate wheels that help you compensate for the taper on the bottom vs the top part and make it glide smootly as you turn it. Same concept as your original tought but you bring the part to the machine rahter than the machine to the part.


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## Ziggy Diaz (Dec 23, 2008)

*sketch to illustrate*

Maybe this illustrates the idea better.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI Ziggy

I think he has something in the bucket that he wants out but not all over the table saw 

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Ziggy Diaz said:


> Maybe this illustrates the idea better.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

I just use a die grinder with a cutoff wheel and zip some slots around the top


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## Tommyt654 (Apr 5, 2009)

Dremel tool with the small saw blade will work well. The also have a carbide bit that I use to open sealed ammo cans with as well


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## Dal300 (Jul 14, 2011)

Here at the campground we have chlorine tablets for the pool that come in buckets that are a pain to open. 
My method at first was to use a utility knife to cut vertical slots about ever 3" in the lid. I finally got smart and started using a Dremel tool with a saw blade. I cut all the way up to the O-ring, but not through it.

Make sure you slow the Dremel down or the plastic will melt around the teeth of the blade, also let it cool for a second or two between every cut.

I hope this helps.


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## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

*Thanks Ziggy for the table saw idea.*

Ziggy, my table saw is in storage and not accessible at the moment. I had thought about doing what you said but couldn't figure out how to work around the wire handle that sticks out of two sides of the bucket. That messes up the bucket rotation so I went with the router instead.







Ziggy Diaz said:


> Pine Knot,
> 
> I am giving some tought to your problem and perhaps the better tool to remove the lid consistently from the buckets, may be the table saw, say you add a tal supprot fence and some supports to each side, then just rotate the bucket carefully on the spinning blade, which you can vary how close to the lip or how centered on the o-ring you want and by rising the blade you can control the how fast the lid is cut away, you can get carried away and even build a cradle with some old inline skate wheels that help you compensate for the taper on the bottom vs the top part and make it glide smootly as you turn it. Same concept as your original tought but you bring the part to the machine rahter than the machine to the part.


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## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

*Thanks John*

I used a grinder on the first two buckets and ran in to two problems. 1} It was really hard to guide the grinder consistently and 2) It made a real mess. I had plastic "skittles" all over the place.






jschaben said:


> I just use a die grinder with a cutoff wheel and zip some slots around the top


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## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

*Thanks Dallas*

I was using the Dremel but it quit on me. I am hoping I didn't burn the motor out.





Dal300 said:


> Here at the campground we have chlorine tablets for the pool that come in buckets that are a pain to open.
> My method at first was to use a utility knife to cut vertical slots about ever 3" in the lid. I finally got smart and started using a Dremel tool with a saw blade. I cut all the way up to the O-ring, but not through it.
> 
> Make sure you slow the Dremel down or the plastic will melt around the teeth of the blade, also let it cool for a second or two between every cut.
> ...


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## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

*Thanks Tommy*

Do you use the Dremel freehand or do you use a jig to hold everything? I'm afraid my cut would be all over the place if I did it freehand.




Tommyt654 said:


> Dremel tool with the small saw blade will work well. The also have a carbide bit that I use to open sealed ammo cans with as well


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## DavidHuber (Sep 5, 2011)

Did you consider a root zip or Sawzall?
Either could be attached to a sufficiently long bar which would ride the top of the bucket. I'd start with a 2x4 screwed to a strip of plywood 2' long.
Step on the fence and rotate the cutter around the bucket.
Distance of cut governed by thickness of fence.


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## Tommyt654 (Apr 5, 2009)

Freehand if you still haven't gotten those tops off, Hehe


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## Cassandra (Mar 15, 2006)

Just a question or two: Does the cut have to be on the side? Why not the top?

If the top can be cut, I would go with a plunge straight bit and edge guide. Centre the cut over the o-ring.

Devil's Advocate


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## jamesamd (Jul 21, 2011)

If the material is not flammable,use a small propane torch to soften the plastic.
Jim


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## Glipski (Dec 10, 2011)

The plastic is probably only about a 16th thick, why not just set your depth and freehand right around the top, just over the where the sides of the bucket are. Doing that, the center of the lid will come right out. The sides will still be there with the oring, but thenyou can just make a single cut through that and peel that baby right off.


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## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

*Thanks Cassandra*

The cut had to be on the side and down far enough that it was under the rubber O-ring seal. Look at my first diagram and you'll see what I mean.




Cassandra said:


> Just a question or two: Does the cut have to be on the side? Why not the top?
> 
> If the top can be cut, I would go with a plunge straight bit and edge guide. Centre the cut over the o-ring.
> 
> Devil's Advocate


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## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

*Thanks Glipski*

I think your idea will work well on some of the next buckets that I have to cut. It wouldn't work on the first ones I did because I wanted to have the lids available to use again on the buckets. They work fine, they just don't lock on anymore.






Glipski said:


> The plastic is probably only about a 16th thick, why not just set your depth and freehand right around the top, just over the where the sides of the bucket are. Doing that, the center of the lid will come right out. The sides will still be there with the oring, but thenyou can just make a single cut through that and peel that baby right off.


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## Glipski (Dec 10, 2011)

Glad to be of help.


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## Paul Sonnichsen (Oct 3, 2010)

Have you tried using a hand held jig saw with a fine blade? You can use the ridge as your guide as you cut around the pail.


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## paduke (Mar 28, 2010)

An old adage of mine is "If its too hard I am doing something wrong" Which makes me want to know why that lid was designed with such difficulty. Is it a design flaw?

BTW that adage has prevented many mistakes by yours truly


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Builder's saw, with the rip guide should work. That's what I use to split 40 gal. carboys into two pieces (minus the rip guide). Works like a hot damn. 
Your buckets are polyethylene, not hard plastic?! If they _are hard plastic_ this could get a bit dangerous if they shatter.
Won't the buckets handle interfere with any machine operation?
On the bottom of the bucket, moulded into the plastic, will be the manufacturers name and hopefully contact info.
Cheers,
-Dan


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## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

*Thanks Daninvan*

The problem with using the table saw is the wire handles on the buckets. They prevent proper rotation of the buckets on the saw.










DaninVan said:


> Builder's saw, with the rip guide should work. That's what I use to split 40 gal. carboys into two pieces (minus the rip guide). Works like a hot damn.
> Your buckets are polyethylene, not hard plastic?! If they _are hard plastic_ this could get a bit dangerous if they shatter.
> Won't the buckets handle interfere with any machine operation?
> On the bottom of the bucket, moulded into the plastic, will be the manufacturers name and hopefully contact info.
> ...


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## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

*Thanks Paduke*

There must be a tool for taking these lids off but I haven't found a source yet so I am still using the router, which is working well by the way.

I love your adage, mind if I adopt it?





paduke said:


> An old adage of mine is "If its too hard I am doing something wrong" Which makes me want to know why that lid was designed with such difficulty. Is it a design flaw?
> 
> BTW that adage has prevented many mistakes by yours truly


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## Pine Knot (May 18, 2010)

*Thanks Kelwing2132*

I need to cut the lids off in such a manner that I have just trimmed about 1/2" off the bottom lip of the lid. That leaves the lid intact to reuse on the bucket, it just doesn't "snap on" any longer and is easily removed.






Kelwing2132 said:


> Have you tried using a hand held jig saw with a fine blade? You can use the ridge as your guide as you cut around the pail.


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## westend (Mar 31, 2009)

Have you tried a heat gun and the pail tool? I think I know what you're dealing with, I open all kinds of plastic pails for paint, sealants, and adhesives and there is a small percentage of Mfg.'s that really seal the top to the bucket. I'm usually able to overcome this using a utility knife but it is in a situation where I only am dealing with a bucket or two at one time. 
Good luck with the pails from Hades!


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## TangoDown3727 (Oct 13, 2013)

Mike said:


> If your reason for cutting the lids is because they are difficult to open a 5 gallon pail opener only costs a couple dollars.


^^^THIS^^^ They work like a charm!


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## Hao (Nov 8, 2021)

I use diamond cutting wheel with my rotary tool to cut the lid after drawing lines with a marker. Your method seems better because you don't have to make the mark and the cut will be more straight than mine. I would like to try with a slot cutting bit some day if I get one. 
To make the lid be able to lock again, I cut the lid but leave 3 or 4 3-inch long tabs along the skirt, like this: ⎺⎺⎺\___/⎺⎺⎺ so I can snap the tabs back to the bucket.



Pine Knot said:


> *Thanks Glipski*
> 
> I think your idea will work well on some of the next buckets that I have to cut. It wouldn't work on the first ones I did because I wanted to have the lids available to use again on the buckets. They work fine, they just don't lock on anymore.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

WElcome to the forum @Hao


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum @Hao


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