So after my last machining expedition I was presented with a new idea. Usually I come up with my own ideas and then execute them. It isn’t till after I have machined, or built, whatever it was I planned that someone then comes forward and says “You should…”. Where was that idea when I first started the project?
The plan for the following project came after I machined my 5 shooter smoke holder. The suggestion was that I needed to build something that could hold an entire pack of cigarettes and fit into the cup holder of a vehicle. Now I am not a smoker however…good idea I figured…should be able to make something work.
So as I pondered the details I came up with the mental blueprints for a can of smoke. The idea was to machine a billet aluminium can that would incorporate a removable lid and would hold a pack of cigarettes. Some of the details required preplanning so I sat down and AutoCad’d the important details. First off I wasn’t sure I was able to fit and entire pack of 25 smokes into the square area of a can. Turns out I can’t. The best I could design was a can to hold 22 cigarettes. Since I couldn’t fit an entire pack I reworked the design down to 18 which allowed me to build in a central screw to and allow a little more “wiggle room” for everything to fit.
I had initially designed the can to spec and had all the angles, and dimensions, figured out. When it came down to actually machining it I just winged it using an actual can to take dimensions from as I went. I will confess the can isn’t built perfectly to spec. An actual can has a diameter of 2.600” which would had required a chunk 3 inch 6061 aluminium stock to be used and machined down to almost 2.50 inches. I opted to use a piece of 2.50” stock and therefore built the can .100” smaller in diameter. In order to compensate for the slightly smaller diameter I shortened the entire can proportionally.
In the end I think it worked out well. To look at the can on it’s own it looks real, other then the billet aluminium bit. Anyway…onto the build.

The project obviously does not involve very many components. It is basically comprised of 2 chunks of 6061 aluminum, a top and a bottom. Starting first with a 2.500″ blank to cut the bottom 2/3s of the can from.

Next was onto the inside of that can that would hold the 18 smokes. A central thread was cut in order to incorporate a screw on lid.

Moved onto the milling machine where I programmed the DRO for 18, evenly spaced, holes. First off was to use a centering bit to mark all the positions.

I included a new detail to this particular project. I had the opportunity to use a 36″ Roland vinyl cutter so I decided to make a sandblast template. I dedicated a weekend to learning how to use the vinyl printer and the associated software that went with it. I bought some plain white vinyl and only wasted a yard learning to cut. After an hour of figuring out my mistakes I finally got the hang of using the printer.

I took the sample vinyl template and applied it to a scrap piece of aluminum I had. Into the glass bead blaster it went.

This is my test sample after being bead blasted and the vinyl removed. A bit of acetone cleans off the adhesive residue and I am left with a fairly clean logo. Works great!

So with my sample piece turning out to be successful I moved onto making the vinyl templates for the can of smoke.

The white vinyl looks pretty good as is however not good enough. Wait till the blast cabinet has its way with it.