Easy way to cut eyeholes in a metal bucket?

For the next Pittsburgh Comicon, I'm going as the original Red Tornado, Ma Hunkel. I have a lot of the stuff I need already, except the pan/bucket she wore on her head. I'll need to cut out eyeholes, and I was wondering if there's an easy, cheap tool I could use to do it. Also, if it could be done without leaving sharp edges around my eyes would be a bonus. I could always put moleskin or something on the inside if I had to. Otherwise, I guess I'd just have to use a plastic bucket and a good coat of chroming spray.
This page has some pretty good reference pictures and a little backstory.
http://members.tripod.com/originalvigilante/tornado.htm

If the pot is aluminum it shouldn't be too hard to do with a typical hole saw.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dr..._holesaw_2.jpg

I would drill some starter holes with my drill and then use a dremel tool (sanding and cutoff wheels) to clean it up to the final shape. Use a hand file for the corners.

If you are able to find one that is large enough, I would go with a stepped drill bit. One nice thing about doing it this way is that you can test out a few different sizes without having to reset anything or to change bits.

Here are a few cheap ones http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91616

kimncris said:

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I would drill some starter holes with my drill and then use a dremel tool (sanding and cutoff wheels) to clean it up to the final shape. Use a hand file for the corners.

I agree with this approach. No matter what kind of drill you use, it will leave burrs or some kind of sharp nastiness - especially bad near eyes! Finishing off with a dremel, files, and fine sandpaper, you'll be able to really round off the edges.

My two cents.

Rick

For the round hole, a hole saw would be the best. Heres a tip pre-drill the pilot hole and youll avoid breaking the teeth on the hole saw.

I've not seen a hole saw for metal, only wood, so the general idea would be to use a small drill bit and drill lots of holes in a circular pattern, snip the little bits left and go to town smoothing off all the pointy bits.

Drilling onto a curved surface is tricky, so if you could make a curved wooden chunk to drill into on the inside, you'd make things smoother.

Borrow a friends jig saw!

I was just thinking about how to make the curved surface a little easier to deal with. When I was younger, I made a tin-punch candleholder. To make sure the metal didn't bow as I punched the holes into it, I actually poured water in and froze it. The trick was finding a container without a seam, as the freezing could cause the metal to expand and shrink, possibly pulling the seam apart. So if I could find a tin or aluminum bucket or pan without a seam, I could probably start the holes like that. I do like the idea of using the metal file though. I need to add one of those to the toolbox anyway. The holes I'll be making are almost half-circles, but slanted. I know you can get them with one curved side and one flat, so that's probably what I should look for. Is there any specific kind of file I should ask for when I go shopping?

you ought to be able to find something like this pretty easily

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...3+90401+527292

Bizarro Lois said:

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I was just thinking about how to make the curved surface a little easier to deal with. When I was younger, I made a tin-punch candleholder. To make sure the metal didn't bow as I punched the holes into it, I actually poured water in and froze it. The trick was finding a container without a seam, as the freezing could cause the metal to expand and shrink, possibly pulling the seam apart. So if I could find a tin or aluminum bucket or pan without a seam, I could probably start the holes like that. I do like the idea of using the metal file though. I need to add one of those to the toolbox anyway. The holes I'll be making are almost half-circles, but slanted. I know you can get them with one curved side and one flat, so that's probably what I should look for. Is there any specific kind of file I should ask for when I go shopping?

If your looking to do the half circle eyes, id get a half round file just like you said. It will be the best to use and it should let you work in the corners. and use a jigsaw or Dremel to rough out the shape.

Before even cutting the holes, the hardest part is going to be judging the position for the eye holes. You can use a tape measure to measure pupil-pupil distance, but that won't take into account the curvature of the bucket. Get a bunch of plastic buckets with the same dimensions as the metal bucket and test on those. Once you get the position right, tranfer it to the metal bucket.

As for the actual cutting, a fine-tooth hole saw will do exactly what you need. Then use a half-round file to clean up the edges and you're set.

Instead of ice, try sand. People who custom bend tubing, fill the tubes with sand to keep the tubes from kinking. Fill the bucket with sand, then flood it with water. Give it time to dry out and you should be able to drill with no distortion.

-Fred

Gigatron said:

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Instead of ice, try sand. People who custom bend tubing, fill the tubes with sand to keep the tubes from kinking. Fill the bucket with sand, then flood it with water. Give it time to dry out and you should be able to drill with no distortion.

-Fred

The sand's a cool idea. I actually keep a decent-sized bag around the house, to support smaller latex and silicone molds.
I like the idea about trying a plastic bucket first, but even before I do that, I was just going to try wrapping a piece of cardboard or thin plastic around the metal one and taping it where the ends meet. Once it's taped in place, I should be able to pull the cardboard off, draw where I want the eyes, and cut them out, basically making a stencil that I can trace directly onto the metal.

Cool, thanks. I've been looking at the market for the aluminum stock pot - that sounds like a good match for what I need. I'm definitely buying a file, or the kit that was linked earlier in the thread. But I have to check Dad's garage for the jigsaw and stuff. I think he might have a bunch of stuff I'll need.

Fantastic choice of costume btw, i love it when Ma Hunkle dresses like Santa Claus

I cannot stop imagining that this will end up like that scene in The Simpsons, where a bucket gets stuck on Homer's head and he tries to drive with it.

troopermatthew said:

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Fantastic choice of costume btw, i love it when Ma Hunkle dresses like Santa Claus

Thanks. I'm very excited, because this is the only superhero costume I'll be able to pull off for a while. And other than the bucket/pot, it'll be one of the easiest looks I've ever done, leaving me time to work on my husband's costume, as well as the friend who might be going with us.

troopermatthew said:

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Fantastic choice of costume btw, i love it when Ma Hunkle dresses like Santa Claus

DudeManGuy said:

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I cannot stop imagining that this will end up like that scene in The Simpsons, where a bucket gets stuck on Homer's head and he tries to drive with it.

I measured my head carefully, so let's hope that doesn't happen. If you hear of someone driving blindly down the highway on the way home from a Con, let's hope it's not me with a bucket on my head!

Hey guys, I need a judgement call here. I'm having no luck finding a stock pot(or any kind of pot) that looks like what she wore in the comics. Most of the pots have the wrong kind of handle - Ma Hunkel's had kind of a wire handle, like you'd see on a bucket.
http://members.tripod.com/originalvigilante/tornado.htm
When I find one that looks right, it's too small, and goes to my chin at best. So which would you do, use an actual bucket with a similar handle or use a pot like one of these?
http://cgi.ebay.com/40-Quart-Commerc...3A1%7C294%3A50

Any idea of what volume pot you'd need? I found this set:
http://www.surplusandoutdoors.com/sh...ct-373797.html


The largest seems to be about 13.75 quarts.

Thanks for the link. Those look nice. I haven't actually taken the time to convert the metric measurements to standard, so I'm not sure if they'd be tall enough. What concerns me is that the price is in pounds, and the shipping would probably be high.

http://members.tripod.com/originalvigilante/tornado.htm
The second pic down looks like a wire handle to me.

This picture looks like a wire handle too.
http://members.tripod.com/originalvi...ado/img006.jpg
What I might have to do, if I can't find a big enough pot with the right handles, is just buy one with the other kind and remove them, then stick a piece of thick wire through the holes and make my own handle. It's not like it would have to be functional anyway.