Thats the trick. The funnel sits in the mouth of the bottom bucket, and because the buckets I used taper, you cut the bottom out of the other one up far enough so that it fits inside the rim of the funnel. I cut mine about 3.5 inches up, but thats not a definitive answer, It took me about three tries and would depend on how much your bucket tapers. You dont want a tight fit because you want to be able to stuff the O ring down in the gap.
Before you rush out and spend money though...
1st... I haven't tried to use it for beer yet so I have no idea whether it might fall to bits, or maybe work OK, but simply be ineffective at doing the job. So your're risking a bit of time and money on an untested adventure
2nd... although my funnel worked out really well from the viewpoint of everything fitting together nicely. It wasn't actually the one I was looking for. To be really effective as a conical, the sides would need to slope at a 60 degree angle. Otherwise the yeast doesn't slide down properly. Mine are more like 45 degrees, so the yeast might just pile up on them. Also, the funnel is meant for (I think) straining bits and pieces out of grape juice for wine, and has a ridge inside it to hold the little straining plate that came with it. Yeast is definately gonna collect on that!
So... Its not going to be the most effective conical in the world. But it should still do a fair bit of the job. And will hopefully save a couple of transfers here and there and make racking a bit easier.
Thanks everyone for all the nice things you have been saying.
Dan
