Ammo Can Geocaches

Ammo Can Geocache
Primary Contact	Danspencer101
Created	01/03/2019
Completed	04/03/2019
Dormant
Version
Members
Manufacturer	{{{manufacturer}}}
Model	{{{model}}}
Location	[[{{{location}}}]]
GitHub / Repo	{{{repo}}}
Status	Complete
Type	Members Project
Live Status
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I've been re-purposing these ammo cans that I obtained as surplus from an Army Base near Cambridgeshire as geocaching containers. Ammo cans are perfect for geocaching as they are very hard wearing and completely waterproof! You don't see very many in the UK but they are very common over in the USA & Canada. This page simply shows what I've done to make the containers suitable for the general public and has some links to the 3D-Printed stencils if anyone else would like to copy them.

Stencil Design

The biggest worry with any ex-military container is someone calling the police as its quite a suspicious looking box. To try and mitigate this risk I've designed and 3D printed some spray stencils that will fully and completely obviously mark the Ammo cans as safe. I did the modelling in Fusion 360.

I wanted to include the geocaching logo in the design and so had to model a bridge that would hold the "head" in place without altering the logo by introducing stencil lines. Worked well.

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  Stencil CAD model.
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  Bridge that holds the head.
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  The complete 3D Print

STL File

The STL file for this stencil has been uploaded to Thingiverse:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3465438

Spray Painting

1. I first sprayed the entire box Matte Black to cover up the military markings.
2. Once that was dried I used a forest green spray paint and the stencil to mark one side of the ammo can with "GEOCACHE - CONTENTS HARMLESS".
3. I then sprayed one coat of clear laquer to try and prevent the stencil from flaking off.

Geocaching Text

The images here show the finished product:

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  Finished Text

Logo

I also wanted to spray a logo on the other side to try and prevent the cache from going walkies after I place it. As its final destination is a nature reserve I agreed with my contact at the reserve that I could spray the RSPB logo onto the box.

To do this I used two stencils and carefully aligned them between colours; Both stencils were 3D Printed. The white stencil had to employ the same bridges used on the first geocaching logo stencil to retain floating parts of the letters and birds head. This worked well.

Very happy with the outcome.

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  Logo Stencil Part 1
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  Logo Stencil Part 2
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  Finished Product