I need 14 inch barrel cut into 3 equal parts.

Question

I have a barrel/drum that is 14 inches across and 36 inches long I need to cut it into 3 equal parts longways then cut the ends off to form a long continuous 9 foot trough without the joints being taller than each other(even joints as if it was made that way, 9 feet long) so not to jab/cut with the longer point, problem is the barrel has a rounded top instead of s 90 degree points on the edges where side and top meets so measuring is very difficult. Any ideas? Would it be easier to first cut the ends off then divide the round barrel/pipe into 3 parts? I have 15 barrels to cut this way, they really need to match. Thanks

Answer 1

You need to cut the ends off first so that you have a pipe about 3 feet long.

If you take an end-on view of the cylindrical pipe you effectively convert the problem to two dimensions.

So we are looking at a circle which you can liken to a clock face. Mark off where the 12, 4 and 8 would be (these are sectors of 120 degrees each). These are the points where you need to make lengthwise cuts. All the pieces should have exactly the same size and shape, so should fit together to form a 9 foot trough. The trough should end up with a depth of 3.5" and a width at the top of just over a foot.