Keg Polisher: Give your kegs a shine

So the first question that may be asked is “Why?” For me it came after I successfully built an effective keg washer and had nice clean kegs on the inside but that were scuffed, scratched, dented, and oxidized on the outside. And not that it’s necessarily an issue but we all know, a scratched and oxidized stainless surface is harder, if not impossible, to sanitize. Not that the outsides need to be sanitized . . . but it surely can’t hurt and they certainly look nicer.

So I began thinking of how I could efficiently recondition the outside of my Corny kegs. It started with my 2-roller rock polisher. It was too small, too slow, and provided no way to keep the keg in place. And then I thought about using a wood lathe but all I could think about was knocking my teeth out if the keg spun off the lathe. But the lathe seemed to be my best bet . . . so I started off with thinking about rotational speed (RPMs). I wanted slower, maybe about 500 RPM, so I hit the obvious places like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist — where lo and behold, I found a 1994 vintage Craftsman wood lathe, ½ horsepower, 12-in. (30-cm) max diameter, variable speed that could accommodate up to a 36-in. (0.91-m) length of wood. Unfortunately it’s slowest rotation was 875 RPM but it looked as though it could work and the price was right at only $75. I’m not a wood lathe expert but I knew I had to make some modifications.

Next came the tricky part, how to keep the keg firmly attached since wood lathes are made for wood, not stainless kegs. The solution I came up with was to get a ¾-in. (19-mm) thick, 9-in. (23-cm) pine circle from a hobby store. But I needed something to attach to the wood circle that would accomplish two things, center the keg to hold down wobble and keep the keg secure on the lathe. I needed a bowl-like piece with slightly slanted sides and about 8 in. (20 cm) in diameter across the bottom. I finally found it at a Tractor Supply store — a stainless steel dog food bowl.

I bought two dog food bowls (I renamed Keg Centering Cups), one for each end of the keg, both mounted on a wood circle. What I quickly discovered was that there is absolutely no standard or consistency to the rubber end on Corny or Firestone kegs, there is a pretty wide variance. Also, my 3-gallon (11-L) kegs have NO rubber top, only a single handle and I had no way to securely attach them to the lathe. I was getting a substantial wobble, some worse than others and I kept thinking about my teeth, I needed a better way. In looking through my stuff, I found a Corny lid that had a pressure relief dead center of the lid. I removed the pressure relief and now have a perfect center point on that end of the keg. Success!

I’ll probably never have to re-polish my own kegs in my lifetime, we are just not as abusive to them as their commercial life was. That’s why I’ve offered up the machine’s use to members in my homebrew club, and this project to you.

Tools and Materials

• Wood lathe (I found a 1⁄2-HP, 12-in./30-cm lathe)
• Lathe faceplate (I purchased a 4-in./10-cm size)
• 9-in. (23-cm) pine circle
• (Michaels)
• Spot Puppy Litter Feeding Pan, SKU: 240845899 (Tractor Supply Company)
• MT1 Live Center Tailpiece
• Several grades of polishing abrasives and liquid Bar Keepers Friend
• Small length of 1⁄2-in. (2.5 cm) silicone tubing
• 5⁄8-in. (16-mm) leg cup floor protectors