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The Lid-Lifting Can Opener: One Lip Presses Down While the Other Lifts
O. J. Livermore, Worcester, Massachusetts · Public domain (expired patent)
YourGrandma

Created by

YourGrandma

6. October 2026IS
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The Lid-Lifting Can Opener: One Lip Presses Down While the Other Lifts

A fruit can's tin cover, pressed onto a rubber ring, can stick so hard that prising it off hurts the fingers. O. J. Livermore of Worcester, Massachusetts, received US 55,878, dated 26 June 1866, for a can opener for "Lyman's patent can": a handle, a part that passes over the cover with an inclined lip below it, and a curved piece whose angular edge goes under the cover's far side; raising the handle presses one side down and lifts the other. This rung compares the force holding a vacuum-sealed lid with what the lever gives, then bends the opener from flat bar and lifts a sealed jar lid with it.
Beginner
About 2 hours

Instructions

1

Holding force against lever force

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

A sealed jar before it

The embedded blueprint seals food in a screw-top jar. Livermore's lever lifts a pressed-on cover of the same kind without fingernails.
3

Read US 55,878

"In trying to remove the cover under such circumstances persons without proper conveniences at hand for the purpose often injure their fingers and nails." "Handle B is now raised, which causes the inclined lip D to force the cover down and toward the can on that side, while the angular lip a elevates the other side of the cover, as shown in red lines."
4

Bend the head

Cut 220 mm of 25 × 3 mm flat bar. Bend the last 15 mm down at about 60° in the vice for the inclined lip, 30 mm from it bend the bar level again: the part over the cover.

Materials for this step:

Mild Steel Flat BarMild Steel Flat Bar1 piece

Tools needed:

HacksawHacksaw
Bench ViseBench Vise
HammerHammer
RulerRuler
Permanent MarkerPermanent Marker
Leather Work GlovesLeather Work Gloves
5

Add the lifting piece

Cut 60 mm of the bar, curve it on the anvil, and file one end to a sharp angular edge. Drill both pieces and screw the curved one under the bar, its edge 70 mm from the lip.

Materials for this step:

Mild Steel Flat BarMild Steel Flat Bar1 piece
Machine ScrewsMachine Screws1 piece
Hex NutHex Nut1 piece

Tools needed:

HacksawHacksaw
AnvilAnvil
HammerHammer
Files (Hand File)Files (Hand File)
Center PunchCenter Punch
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Adjustable SpannerAdjustable Spanner
Clear Safety GlassesClear Safety Glasses
6

The patent drawing

US 55,878 drawing sheet, public domain (expired patent).
Step 6 - Image 1
7

Seal a jar and lift its lid

Fill a Mason jar with water from the kettle at the boil, put on a new flat lid, screw the band on and let it cool for two hours so the lid pulls down. Then remove the band. Try to lift the lid with the force meter's hook under its edge; note the force. Then set the opener on it and lift with the meter on the handle's end.
Step 7 - Image 1

Materials for this step:

Canning Jars (Mason)Canning Jars (Mason)1 piece
WaterWater1 piece

Tools needed:

Stovetop KettleStovetop Kettle
Force Meter (Spring Scale)Force Meter (Spring Scale)
Heat-Resistant GlovesHeat-Resistant Gloves
8

An opener that slips, bends or scratches

Lid-lifting can opener troubleshooting.

Flow

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9

History and honest limits

**O. J. Livermore** of Worcester, Massachusetts, assignor to himself and Clark, Sawyer & Co., received US 55,878, dated 26 June 1866. Lyman's cover fits over a rubber packing ring in a groove on the can; a groove lets a pin admit air, but the cover often adheres by corrosion and other causes. His opener works even before the air is admitted, though more easily after. **Honest limits.** A cooled Mason jar stands in for Lyman's can, and two screwed pieces for his one-piece tool. Your forces are the result.

Materials

5

Tools Required

16

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CC0 Public Domain

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