Let's Talk About Fuel Drums

[Max-U52]

For the last couple years I've been trying to come up with an inexpensive 200 liter German fuel drum, without a whole lot of success. The bane of my existence has been the rolling ring. Getting it to look close enough to the real thing to satisfy myself is the problem, and the big problem is that groove, which I had to make a special tool for, but more on that later.

First, I think I have the 55 gallon drum covered.



The hard part has been the rolling ring and the lack of accurate information and dimensions for the German drums. This is the best photo I've found so far



These are very difficult to make, and one tiny slip can break a tool or scrap a drum. Then I found this photo



The drum on the left is the one that hates me, and that rolling ring is difficult to duplicate in scale, but the drum on the right appears to be a later version (1943?) and by then they were rolling in a bead for the rolling ring, making production much simpler and cheaper. These drums would be very easy to duplicate. Do you guys think the more modern drum would be popular? If I could turn them out with photo etched end caps and still keep cost under $7 a drum?

As you can see, I have drums on the brain so your thoughts and opinions on the subject would be appreciated. Is this even something worth pursuing? Is anyone else as frustrated as I am by the lack of a quality, inexpensive 200 liter German fuel drum in 1/16 scale? I know there are lots of drums out there, but I said both (yes, I want both) quality and low cost.

Tell me what ya think, Men.

[ALPHA]

Just a thought...what if you made rings out of HO scale train tracks and just slid them to form the two center braces on the barrel...I'm not sure how well the "I" beam would bend...but it couldn't hurt to try...I think a 3 foot length of Brass track runs about 4 or 5 dollars US...and the rails will snap right off the plastic ties

ALPHA

[Max-U52]

That's a good idea, Alpha, and one that we've looked into. We were gonna use brass I beam, but it's basically the same thing as rail and it didn't work so well. Maybe if we built a jig and fixture to form the rings, but that was more involved than it was worth. I also thought of using a molded plastic ring that would slip over the drum, but cost got high real fast with molding plastic. Getting the rings properly located also turned out to be a lot more difficult than we thought it would be.

I'm hoping a lot of guys will find the drum on the right in the photo above to be acceptable, and if so I could knock those out really, really cheap, using regular PVC pipe. I already have a bunch of PE end caps in two different styles, and I think those will be the most expensive part of the whole thing. I seem to remember it's almost $3 per drum for those. I want to keep these really cheap so the average Joe (or Alpha) could get a nice pile of them for all kinds of display uses without going into debt and having to sell the kids into slavery.

Yes, at heart I'm a seriously cheap buzzard but that's good for my fellow tankers if I produce products because I'll want to sell them cheap enough so that even I'd buy some, and that's pretty damn cheap.

[jackalope]

HO may be too big, depending on what "code" rail you buy. But N scale should work well.

[ALPHA]

To get a really good result...investment in one of these might help you out...you could pump rings out at a good rate...think Jack is on to something too...perhaps HO was too thick...if you did it with regular brass I beams...it's more difficult as the I is more pronounced


but if you've tried all angles...no problem...it was just a thought

ALPHA

[Max-U52]

This week I'll turn up a couple of samples with the rolled in rolling ring and see how they turn out. I'll post pix when I get some results.

[jackalope]

God I HATE my internet provider! I had a NICE long explanation s to the different rail thicknesses, ALL GONE!

So the short version, N scale is cheaper, buy a 3 foot section of N scale FLEX track and you'll have 6 feet of metal rail to use. That will make a shit ton of barrels!

[ALPHA]

This week I'll turn up a couple of samples with the rolled in rolling ring and see how they turn out. I'll post pix when I get some results.

No worries Max...like I said...it was just a thought...those rings sure do look like train rails though


ALPHA

[greengiant]

To match the later drum with pvc pipe doing some kind of lathe type shaping to get all the corrugation rings into the drum sides along with the rolling rings would probably be the fastest way to do it.

That would have added benefit of being able to make the rolling rings the correct pressed metal looking shape and size.

[Max-U52]

To match the later drum with pvc pipe doing some kind of lathe type shaping to get all the corrugation rings into the drum sides along with the rolling rings would probably be the fastest way to do it.

That would have added benefit of being able to make the rolling rings the correct pressed metal looking shape and size.

Exactly. I'm thinking a short CNC program to turn the barrels, putting all the appropriate ridges in the sides, a counterbore at each end for the PE end caps with SS and Wehrmacht markings, and just part 'em off as finished pieces, except for the counterbore in side B.