Can was from the 70's

Made a plate to cover the bottom, cut a cardboard template and fit it then cut out piece from a door of an electrical panel I had changed. Nice thick metal and welds really nice





Cut with jigsaw and used bench grinder to make it fit inside bottom



Top is really flimsy with seam removed so I bought a piece of 1/8 x 1/2" flat stock and bent it for inside of can. Just have to hand bend it to fit

Ready for putting it back together. I cleaned can and sprayed it with Ospho, wiped residue off with scotch brite pad and just used paint on hand. Inside black and outside bronze.



Back is 2 1/2 zinc hinge with 1/4-20 bolts/lockwashers and nuts

Put 2 draw latches on each side as 1 in the front would not keep the sides lined up. Had to put them where it kept sides in the best position so they are not same on each side







Put some caulk under cap before I threaded it on. I am pretty happy with it and it will hold a lot of stuff.

Very nice!  I love projects like this.  I was raised on a farm where we hardly ever threw anything away because we would usually use it for something else down the road.  Seems in todays world the new word is "repurposing" an old object into something new......

Whatever.  Dad always just said "Don't throw that way!  We may need it someday!"   Between my Grandpa, Dad and myself we have several creations from old parts and pieces! 

My favorite of all time is when my Grandpa was having problems with stray dogs sneaking in and eating his dog food.  He always had a broken lamp or other plug in appliance around so took a looong wire off of one of them bolted it to a metal dog pan.  He then waited paitently in hiding for the stray dogs to sneak in.  When they had their head buried in the bowl of food, he would plug in the cord and give them a shock!  It didn't take long to convince the strays to go somewhere else!