craftgrrl | hanging candleholders out of old tea tins?

hey, ladies, help me out.

i looked through the memories and didn't see anything terribly relevant (although i may have missed something)-- seeing paperlanterns, vellum lamps, metal "punches," what-to-do-with-cans (although i already know exactly what i want to do with it, for which read on), et c.

never mind. i know what want, i know what i need, and i know what i have to work with: i only kdon't know how to go about it and *** how NOT to screw up. ^__^
i have a feeling i've missed a vital issue of readymade.
AAAAAaaanyway.

i have a new apartment with antique wiring. my balcony is exceedin' dark, and i want light. i cannot, for various shameful reasons, run yet another extension cord out there, so porch lights are right out: however, i have the luxury of pre-installed (thank god, cause this is thirty feet up) rows of hooks on the outer edging of the balcony roof, all the way around.

i also have a good collection, somewhere around 15-18, of old, washedout colored tea tins, weird regional-food cans, et c.

here is a representative sampling (dug out of conveniently located boxes; i don't really have a jasmine tea obsession)-

IOW, lithographed tin, some with tops and some without.

what i want to do is use the extant hooks, a modicum of chain, my poprivet gun, tin snips and if necessary some very small hinges to make some hanging candle lamps. i'm going to cut out enough of the upper tin to give out light from tealights, hinged doors that will latch with wire hook-eyes, and hang them as-is otherise.

here is my long-overdue question:

does anyone know major pitfalls on this sort of thing? i don't see tiny hinges -- smaller than 1"-- at my local Ace: where should i get them? can i use a homemade 14ga. steel wire alternative?
should i cut the tops out to avoid the heat factor? what will happen if i don't?

the tins are, in the main, about 1/32" thick. do i need to reinforce the bottoms to hold tealights or other flaming objects?

all help is appreciated on this: precise metalwork is new territory for me.

thanks folks!

~n