Small Patch-Tin Project

[MSK]

I was about to toss an empty CCI percussion cap container when I had a rare lucid moment. I don't like carrying greased patches in a plastic baggy and find shoe polish containers too large to use as a dedicated carrier. So, I chemically stripped the paint off the cap container, reformed the lid by pushing out the concave center, gave the tin a few dings, then polished it shiny with Flitz (to make it look more like original hot-dip tin). After removing the polish with Formula 409, I put the tin into a bath of very strong tea for 5 hours or so to let the tannin go to work (I like this method better than cold blue). The tea bath turns the tin a very dark, blackish grey. A dunk in a baking soda wash, a final polish with Flitz, and the tin was done. About the size of a half-dollar, it holds a nice thick stack of patches without taking up much room. After and before:
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[BrownBear]

That's a really worthy project! Lord knows I have enough of those little white tins rattling around. I can see it being really hand for patch lube, too.

 

[BullRunBear]

That is a great project and I certainly have enough of the tins. It seems to me it would be a neat project to do with kids being introduced to ML and making gear (along with cutting out and lubing the patches). Thanks for the idea.

Jeff

 

[coloradoclyde]

I did something similar....I torched the paint off the exact same tin, then I copied a picture of an antique label, sized, printed, cut and glued to the top of the lid....

I don't have it handy or I would post a picture...but it is similar to this.

 

[pondoro]

Both of these are great ideas!

 

[Crewdawg445]

Well done, these little boogers are great for a variety of odds and ends. I actually use them stripped and finished like yours to hold crow/trade beads in my period sewing kit for events and such. Many options! :thumbsup:

 

[MSW]

I did something similar with a hand balm can, but yours looks better

:thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[SgtErv]

So that's what I can do with those things...thanks for sharing

 

[BillinOregon]

I have done something like this with an Altoids box, but hadn't thought to do it with a cap tin. Very fine ideas, gentlemen.

 

[CrackStock]

I have used a similarly domed cap box for carrying a patch and a few .40 call balls while hunting in the field.

 

[OldJoe212]

I’ve used both Altiods tins and RWS pellet tins. However, they both are now embossed with their logos so I don't know if that can be hammered out. Anyway, I threw them in a good campfire ”˜til all of the paint burned off. While still a little warm, I brushed the soot off and soaked them in oil. Ended up with a really good color and no rusting problem. Trust me on the looks, I still can’t figure how to get pictures from my phone to this site.

 

[jfaldo]

Fisherman's Friend cough drops come in the same tin as the Altoids but have no embossing on them.

 

[pondoro]

You gave me an idea. My daughter has an antique cast iron pot that needs a lid. We've looked a while. Based on your tin I went to a flea market and measured cookie tins, eventually buying one for 29 cents.





The lid was made from the lid of the cookie tin, it is just a bit too small but should work. I need to season it a couple more times and then add a round wooden knob on the top. You can still barely see the original lettering, I beat it as much as I dared but I am afraid I will overly thin the metal. I think a few more times in the oven and it will be so black that you cannot see any trace.

 

[jferguson]

You gave me an idea. My daughter has an antique cast iron pot that needs a lid. We've looked a while. Based on your tin I went to a flea market and measured cookie tins, eventually buying one for 29 cents.





The lid was made from the lid of the cookie tin, it is just a bit too small but should work. I need to season it a couple more times and then add a round wooden knob on the top. You can still barely see the original lettering, I beat it as much as I dared but I am afraid I will overly thin the metal. I think a few more times in the oven and it will be so black that you cannot see any trace.

Used the way you picture it, you could lay coals on the lid as a camp oven and use it that way to bake in! If so, you might not want to use a wooden knob, maybe metal.

 

[pondoro]

Used the way you picture it, you could lay coals on the lid as a camp oven and use it that way to bake in! If so, you might not want to use a wooden knob, maybe metal.

Unfortunately the tin lid is very thin, I'm afraid it could burn through. And we have a Dutch oven. She wants to make applesauce in a fireplace in this taller pot, but wants a lid to keep most of the ashes out. We're still in the hunt for a more robust lid. But the tin lid is better than nothing.