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Side-Knife Can Opener: Round Holes and Long Ones With One Tool
A circular opener makes round holes only, too small for a flat sardine box.
F. S. Wyman of Chicago received US 80,326, dated 28 July 1868, for a side knife rigidly attached to the adjustable plate of a circular can opener, "by means of which square and longitudinal openings may be made in fruit-cans with the same tool which is used to make round holes": a slotted plate with a pointed pivot, and a plate sliding in the slot carrying both the circular knife and the side knife, fixed by a set screw.
This rung compares round and long openings, then builds the plate, pivot and both knives and cuts each kind.
Intermediate
About 3 hours
Instructions
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1
Round against long
Round against long
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2
A circular opener before it
A circular opener before it
The embedded blueprint cuts round holes about a spike. Wyman adds a side knife to the sliding plate for straight cuts.
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3
Read US 80,326
Read US 80,326
"A represents a slotted plate, fitted in a handle, B, and having a pointed pivot, E, used as an axis for the knife D, the same as in the patent of S. D. Lecompte, of September 19, 1865, and has a plate, F, arranged to run in the slot B' and support the knife D, held in place by a set-screw, H, when moved in said slot to suit the semi-diameter of the opening to be made."
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4
Make the slotted plate
Make the slotted plate
Cut 120 mm of 25 × 3 mm flat bar. Saw and file a 5 mm slot 70 mm long in it, starting 20 mm from one end.
Materials for this step:
Mild Steel Flat Bar1 pieceTools needed:
Hacksaw
Bench Vise
Cordless Drill
Drill Bit Set
Needle File Set
Ruler5
5
Fit the pivot
Fit the pivot
Drill the plate's end 5 mm. File an M5 screw to a sharp point and fix it there with a nut, point down.
Materials for this step:
Machine Screws1 piece
Hex Nut1 pieceTools needed:
Cordless DrillDrill Bit Set
Files (Hand File)
Adjustable Spanner6
6
Make the sliding plate and knives
Make the sliding plate and knives
Cut a 30 × 22 mm plate of flat bar. Cut a pointed circular knife and a straight side knife from 1 mm sheet; epoxy the first under its centre and the second along its side so it lies close to the slotted plate's edge.
Materials for this step:
Mild Steel Flat Bar1 piece
Mild Steel Sheet1 piece
Two-Part Epoxy1 pieceTools needed:
Hacksaw
Tin SnipsFiles (Hand File)
Whetstone
Clear Safety Glasses7
7
Set screw and handle
Set screw and handle
Drill the sliding plate for an M5 screw through the slot with a washer and nut. Fit a hardwood handle with epoxy.
Materials for this step:
Machine Screws1 piece
Flat Washer1 pieceHex Nut1 piece
Hardwood Dowels1 pieceTwo-Part Epoxy1 pieceTools needed:
Cordless DrillDrill Bit SetAdjustable Spanner8
8
The patent drawing
The patent drawing
US 80,326 drawing sheet, public domain (expired patent).
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9
Cut a round and a long opening
Cut a round and a long opening
Cut a round hole in one sealed can about the pivot. On a second, cut four straight sides with the side knife, rocking the handle along each; time both and measure the openings.
Materials for this step:
Tin Can1 pieceTools needed:
Stopwatch
Digital Caliper 6-Inch
Leather Work Gloves10
10
Knives that slip, bind or wander
Knives that slip, bind or wander
Side-knife can opener troubleshooting.
Flow
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11
History and honest limits
History and honest limits
**F. S. Wyman** of Chicago received US 80,326, dated 28 July 1868. The plate and side knife should be one piece of steel, with a nib guiding it in the slot, the knife tempered to hold an edge. He did not claim the circular opener, patented by S. D. Lecompte on 19 September 1865, nor the side knife broadly, a similar device having been patented by S. P. Chapin on 17 July 1866; he claimed the side knife rigidly attached to the adjustable plate.
**Honest limits.** Epoxy stands in for his one-piece steel plate and knife, and nothing is tempered. Your times are the result.
Materials
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Tools Required
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