Making Foster’s Beer Can Sans Opener

[Antonio Abad]

Hey all,

I just wanted to share the technique that I used to make my own Foster’s Beer Can pot. I was hoping just to score the periphery until a nice circle popped out (as with the pepsi can stove), but 20 minutes of scoring with a utility knife didn’t do the trick. These were the steps I used:

Step #1: Scored the inside lip using a utility knife. 10 or so passes would probably do the trick.

Step #2: Drilled 5 1/8# holes in a circle around the top.

Step #3: Took apart the top using needlenose pliers. If you did a decent job of scoring, a fairly neat circle will result.

Step #4: Filed the hole smooth using a metal file.

This process isn’t anything special. In fact it’s pretty much the same technique Scott Henderson uses to make his Pepsi can stove. Thanks for the inspiration to shave some more ounces for very little money. The beer wasn’t bad either. ;-)

[David Lewis]

Good to know… for some cans that can’t be opened any other way… but why not just use a side cut openner? Roslie, Good Cook and Cuisipro all make openers that work.

[Benjamin Smith]

David, my reason for doing it the way the original poster described was simple – I still wanted the lip on the top. It adds a lot of rigidity. Just to clarify, I (and I think the original poster) cut out the inside recessed top of the can, not around the top like the side-cut can openers.

Ben

[David Lewis]

Sidecut openers keep the lip on the can… at least about 90% of it anyway.

[Scott Peterson]

I agree with David…the Good Cook can opener, ubiquitous in it’s retail availability, leaves the rim pretty much in tact…and takes about 4 seconds to use. Also, a very good can opener for home use too.

[Benjamin Smith]

I hadn’t realized that – I was basing my assumptions on the illustrations on the canpot page at zenstoves.net. I’ll have to grab me one of these magical can openers… /:-|

Ben

[Jason Klass]

They’re worth it! I found a generic one at my local supermarket for $8. This weekend, I made played around with it: http://www.freewebs.com/jasonklass/myexperimentsadventures.htm

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