hi,bluebs4.make sure theres someone there to ring an ambulance,HaHa.no,,,,joking aside its realy quite safe if you follow this(i take no responsibility)unscrew the brass fitting on top of the bottle and remove(i find this works better when the bottle is empty Ha HA HA,no..............put it upside down in a vice if you have one,then stand it outside somewhere and fill it up with the hose pipe right up to the top,(i normally leave it now for a couple of days but dont know why it just me.empty the water out fill it again this time just abit then grind away(i only fill it again to stop it moving while i cut it)the smell of gas what you now smell is only the odour that the gas company put in the gas (because gas without it does not smell)they put it in so you can tell when there is a gas leak.you could get a couple of little orange flashes when grinding from gas that as soaked into the steel canister,how i combat this is i have a fire in the gas bottle as soon as i have cut off the top.hope this helps you out and look forward to seeing your stove,anything else you want to know just ask,
(NOTE THIS IS ONLY ADVICE AND THE WAY I DO IT PLEASE TAKE CARE)