Superlight lid for my Toaks pot that is NOT oven foil

[edvin mellergård]

This is one of my latest creations, a superlight lid for my Toaks pot made from 0.1mm titanium.

 

 

I started with a 3D printed stamping tool to form the lid from a 0.1mm titanium sheet. I cut an oversized disc that I trimmed after stamping. I also did a smaller piece to hold the handle in another press.

I have done a larger lid for Trangias 1 liter pots in the past and that turned out way better, probably due to the larger lid diameter. This time I got quite a bit of creases/wrinkles that I didnt get last time.

I then built a simple wire bending machine to form the handle from a 2mm titanium rod.

Finally I used a spotwelded intended for batteries to fix the handle piece to the lid.

Not a ton of weight saved in absolute terms but quite a bit in procentueal terms. The original lid weights 17.8 grams and the new 5.4 grams.

[JCH]

Good stuff!  I’d use that :)

I’d be interested in seeing the one you made for the Trangia.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

It would be fun to see a video of the stamping!  Cool stuff.

[Matthew / BPL]

That is so cool. I hadn’t thought of using a 3D printer to make a stamping die.

I’m off to OfferUp to find a small press. Thanks for the inspiration!

[Jerry Adams]

nice project

does water that condenses on the inside of the lid, fall back into the pot?  I assume so, but it would be possible to make a lid where the water would leak out?

one thing good about that lid is that dirt and stuff that falls onto the inside, will fall off the lid onto the ground.  The lid that came with my pot insets into the top of the pot, and any dirt will fall into the pot.

[Steve U]

Nice job Edvin! Very impressive. I was thinking of doing the same thing myself by making a stamping die on my CNC but haven’t got around to it yet. Now I have the inspiration by your example. What did you use to cut/trim the titanium sheet?

[Jerry Adams]

I meant

one thing good about that lid is that dirt and stuff that falls onto the OUTside, will fall off the lid onto the ground.

[edvin mellergård]

“Good stuff!  I’d use that :)

I’d be interested in seeing the one you made for the Trangia.”

 

This is the Trangia lid. It was the first I did before I tried the spot welded for the handle. I have also added the crude but fully functional handles to it. I use the version with non-.stick coating on the inside for cooking real meals and I don’t think the spot welder will work with that but I intend to test it. When we weld batteries with it, we dont put one electrode on each side, instead we put them a few mm apart. I dont think it will create a strong enough weld for the handles but I have to try :)

 

[edvin mellergård]

It would be fun to see a video of the stamping!  Cool stuff.

I ran out of titanium but I ordered some more. I will shoot a video of the stamping when I get it.

In the mean time, here are two videos of the handle piece and the handle

Pressing lids and bending handles :)

“Nice job Edvin! Very impressive. I was thinking of doing the same thing myself by making a stamping die on my CNC but haven’t got around to it yet. Now I have the inspiration by your example. What did you use to cut/trim the titanium sheet?”

A pair of sturdy scissors is enough to cut the 0.3mm titanium that I use for the handle piece and 0.,1m that I use for the lid itself. I have cut 0.5mm Grade 2 aswell with scissors but that’s starting to approach the limit. 0.5mm Grade 5 didn’t work.

nice project

does water that condenses on the inside of the lid, fall back into the pot?  I assume so, but it would be possible to make a lid where the water would leak out?

one thing good about that lid is that dirt and stuff that falls onto the inside, will fall off the lid onto the ground.  The lid that came with my pot insets into the top of the pot, and any dirt will fall into the pot.

 

Condensation stays inside and drips back down into the pot. I have drilled a 2mm hole in some of the lids I have done, the steam coming out is a very visible que that the water has started to boil :)

[Fifty Weekends]

This is really cool. I would like to try this but I dont have a hydraulic press. Do you think this would work with a bench vise?

[edvin mellergård]

Definitely! You just need two pieces of quick thick metal to spread out the load over the whole 3d printed mold.

[David Thomas]

Could you cast a piece of concrete (the size of a paver) with that profile in it?  Then tape the titanium down to and run over it a few times with your car?

For one-off pieces, I’ve found the constant tap-tap-tap of a tinker to be a satisfying endeavor for the 10-20 minutes that it takes.

[Roger Caffin]

Edvin: what sort of metal did you use for the dies? Was it heat treated?
Enquiring minds . . .

Cheers

[edvin mellergård]

Edvin: what sort of metal did you use for the dies? Was it heat treated?
Enquiring minds . . .

Cheers

No metal, just 3d-printed plastic. Either PLA or PETG depending on what I’ve had at home. You can see the die in some of the pictures. Metal(even aluminium) would probably produce better results but its also harder to manufacture and I dont have access to a working CNC right now.

[Roger Caffin]

Plastic? The mind boggles.
I thought the Ti would have been harder than that. The Ti foil I have certainly is hard.
Obviously I was wrong. Interesting.

Cheers, and thanks.

[Piney]

I purchased a couple of these from Edvin. They are a bit more rigid/sturdy than I imagined, and quite functional! I think they are a great option, especially if you can’t source a carbon fiber lid or have health concerns with CF.

[Tyler R]

Hey Piney! Thinking about contacting Edvin to ask if he’d sell me one too. Does yours fit over the Joule Bandit okay? I know the handle knobs poking out might interfere, but figured its nothing some cutting cant solve if the diameter is right.

[DAN-Y]

Big aluminum lids for Sterno Inferno pots weighs 9 grams.

I’ll try your idea of using 0.1mm titanium sheet. Fun times ahead.

 

You did good Edvin 

[edvin mellergård]

Hey Piney! Thinking about contacting Edvin to ask if he’d sell me one too. Does yours fit over the Joule Bandit okay? I know the handle knobs poking out might interfere, but figured its nothing some cutting cant solve if the diameter is right.

I ended up making a custom die for his Joule Bandit so I sure hope it fits :)

Big aluminum lids for Sterno Inferno pots weighs 9 grams.

I’ll try your idea of using 0.1mm titanium sheet. Fun times ahead.

 

You did good Edvin 

Thanks! I like how “clean” your aluminium lid is. How did you make it? I first started with ehavier aluminium but got creases in them aswell.

[Roger Caffin]

A lot of the performance of the aluminium when it is in a die will depend on what alloy the metal is. You want a soft formable aluminium: the 5005 alloy could be good. A 6000-series alloy would not be so good: it is too hard.
However, local hardware shops may not even know what the alloy they are selling is.

Cheers

[edvin mellergård]

The one I tried was even softer, 1000-series :)

[Axel J]

I did a search on Ebay for a “round aluminum disk” to use as a lid for a Trangia Mini Pot. I found a supplier, did some messaging with him and got what I wanted. Not fancy and I had to put a knob handle on it but it works and did I what I expected of it.

[DAN-Y]

I’ll try your idea of using 0.1mm titanium sheet. Fun times ahead.

I ordered some 0.1 Ti grade 2 yesterday from China. It will be interesting to see how well it forms. I’m making some dies using industrial grade epoxy. Fun times ahead.

[Roger Caffin]

I have had some joy from using aged dry Australian hardwood for forming dies.

This may be hard to believe for Americans who have never seen ‘aged dry Australian hardwood’. American tibers are quite soft in comparison. By way of an extreme example, aged dried Blackwattle timber can only be worked with sharp carbide tooling: you can forget about trying to use High Speed Steel tooling.

Cheers

[DAN-Y]

Blackwattle timber can only be worked with sharp carbide tooling

That’s very interesting wood

I did a preliminary test with the dies on a piece of soft stainless steel. Worked ok for first try.

 

 

 

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