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John gave me a call several weeks ago asking if I could take an oil can flat and turn it into a regular looking can for him. Not just any can though...a fairly rare Hoosier Pete 1 quart can. I wasn't able to get to it right away, but got to thinking that it would be neat to photograph the process and share it with everybody here on oldgas. It will take me several days to post the pics and descriptions of the process so tune in the next few days to check on the progress. The suspense will probably drive John crazy, but we will have fun with it anyway...lol.

The first picture is of the original flat as it arrived in the mail...it was sent in a flat mailer...maybe I should send it back in that same mailer??

The next four pictures are of the tools that I use to perform the transformation.

1Original flat.JPG

I offer quart can re-lidding, can rolling, lid stamping, and dent removal.
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Here are the tools that I used...nothing high tech here. Feel free to ask questions as we go along. Tomorrow we will start the process of putting the vertical seam on the can.

2brake.JPG 3anvil and hammer.JPG
A light duty brake to bend the edges of the can for the seam.

4arbor press and dies.JPG
An anvil, hammer, and hardwood block for forming the seam.

sealer.JPG
Arbor press and original dies for stamping the SAE designation in the lid...John's can will be 20-20W.


I offer quart can re-lidding, can rolling, lid stamping, and dent removal.
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My picture captions ended up in the wrong place! The captions should be up one picture. I hope I am better at working with cans than computers...lol. The last picture of course is the trusty Manitowoc sealer for the lids.


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i thought john only did globes??LOL


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Cool can't wait to watch this topic!

No Mick i didn't flatten a can with a globe or nothing like that! I don't think i have ever seen any Hoosier Pete cans that weren't flat. Ones i have seen have been rolled and lidded.


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its going to look good john


Originals only for me. Always looking for Simpson oil, Super A, and MFA oil cans and globes.
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Okay here we go...let's bend some metal. The first step is to use the metal brake to bend a small flange on each end of the flat. The amount bent is usually about 3/16"...this depends however on the original length of the flat. Most of the flats that I have done were about 12 5/8" long. If they are short you bend a little less, if they are long you can bend a little more. In this case the flat was just the perfect length. When looking at the printed side of the flat, one end must be bent up and the other must be bent down so that the two ends can "hook" together when the can is formed. In the first picture you will see the printed side of the flat when it is in the metal brake and in the second picture you will see the back of the flat...this assures one end bent up and the other bent down.

5flanging1.JPG 6flanging2.JPG

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The nice part about using this small light duty brake is that the top bar that you are bending against is not attached to the brake itself, but rather held in place with two C-clamps. This allows you to move that bar forward to bend a really narrow strip...in this case 3/16". Most larger brakes won't "grab" the metal in this case.

These next two pics show the flanges on the flat after they were bent with the brake...the key here is to get them bent past 90 degrees...they will get bent further in the next step.

7flange1.JPG 8flange2.JPG

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The next step is to take those flanged ends and bend them further. They need to be bent almost to the point where they are a hem, but not quite. There has to be enough room between the original flat and the bent over flange so the flange on the opposite side will slip in easily. This further bending is accomplished by gently tapping with a hammer with the flat on the anvil...it doesn't take much. On one side the printed side of the flat will have to face down...a rag is used under the flat to protect the paint. These next two pics show what the ends look like after this process is complete.

9crimp1.JPG 10crimp2.JPG

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Tomorrow we will try to make this thing round! DB if you are interested in giving it a go, let me know and I can send you some NOS flats to play with.


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One question....are we starting out with a can that never made it to the "round" at any time in it's life, a blank so to speak. I ask because I know people used to cut them at the seam and flatten them and of course there are instances where a modern day collector is wanting to re-round the flat.


........Dave
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Too cool to see the can going together!

Dave i understand there hasn't been any Hoosier Pete cans found that weren't flat. Go figure but the ones i have seen have been rolled.


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Dave, that is correct...this one was never made into a can. It was printed and cut out and that was the end of the line for it. My guess is that it was rejected because there are some fingerprint like smudges in the paint. I have two different Hoosier Pete cans that I have rolled and they were also unused flats that have the same type of smudges in them. I have some Shell Penn cans that I made from unused flats and they both have smudges that are clearly fingerprint marks.


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Now comes the tricky part. The flat has to be "rolled" so that it is actually round like a can. This is done by taking hold of the flat with both hands as close as possible to those "hems" that were just finished at the seam and pulling them and "hooking" them together. This has to be done as carefully and as close to the seam as possible to reduce the chance of putting a kink in the can. The next two pictures show what it looks like after the ends of the flat are hooked together. Notice that the shape is somewhat distorted at this point.

11roll1.JPG 12roll2.JPG

I offer quart can re-lidding, can rolling, lid stamping, and dent removal.
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