How do I do IT?

Paul Douglass

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I have a jar that I want to turn a wooden lid for. I'm trying to figure how I could make threads in the lid so it would screw. The only thing I could come up with is try to glue some small pieces of wood inside the lid that would work like threads. If I had a lid that fit the jar I would just fasten it inside my wood lid, but of coarse I can't find a lid that fits. Just thought someone here may have a secret method that is easy for a no-talent like me.
 

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I'm assuming you don't want to buy another tool just to do threads on one jar lid, and likely if you don't know the thread count on the jar, which looks pretty low, then buying the tool wouldn't be practical anyway. I have a thread chasing tool set that I bought a couple years back, played with them for a while, then haven't used them in about 2 years... money down the drain... plus they're a 20 tpi, which is pretty fine for wood threads... it looks like a wide mouth mason jar... have you tried looking at local hardware or Wallyworld for wide mouth jar rings... I make some jar lid tops that uses the mason/Ball jar lid rings that I epoxy into the wood tops.
 
paul most jars of same diameter will have that same thread.. so if your neighbor had a olive jar that size, the lid would possibly fit. as for chucks idea that looks like a small mouth size to me.. and either of those are readily avaible.
 
Chuck is on a good track. I've seen someone use a Ball jar, then use the ring (no lid) embedded in a piece of wood. I have some gift items I want to make along that line.
 
That doesn't look like a typical canning jar set of threads. A canning jar lid typically has 1 thread that goes all the way around.

That looks like there would be multiple tabs on the lid and that it would screw on with less than one full turn.

I'd probably take that jar to the grocery store and see if they have any jarred products that match.

Unless you are awfully attached to that jar, it might just be easier to get a new matched set! ;)
 
...Unless you are awfully attached to that jar, it might just be easier to get a new matched set! ;)

I was thinking the same thing. Find a jar/lid combo in the size you want, then you can spend your time working with the wood instead of hunting down a lid. (And I think trying to make a threaded wood lid to match that jar would be an exercise in frustration.)
 
Matching the depth, pitch and threads per inch will be quite the challenge. Now while I often enjoy such a task, unless that jar is so unique, I would just get another jar and cap and make a wood cover for that. Sometimes the wheel just ain't worth reinventing. Sorry I couldn't give you a better solution. Good luck.
 
Of course, if you really want a challeng, you could make a casting of that lid using some sort of resin, then clean it up, then use that... :thumb:
 
Paul i support your idea and effort. Sounds like a good challenge to try.
Why i say this is the threads on the jar are the type i have noticed are common on lots of food jars like for example pickles.

If you crack the solution you have a method for everyone to be able to put a lid on these jars made of wood. That it may not have been done before makes it even more interesting to tackle.

Now what i have noticed on these common jars lids is that whilst it looks like a thread it kinda is a very very short thread if one looks at it from the point of view of how far it needs to turn.

The common metal versions seem to just have a rolled lip with what i can best describe as a notch. You will know when we put one of these on alignment is neccessary to get the lid to initially drop then only rotate i am gonna say no more than an inch if that of movement on the circumference.

So the wood version will need to mimic that action.

The concerns i see with such a shallow thread would be wood grain type and orientation. Any one applying too much rotational tightniing force would sheer the single wood thread.

This is a challenge to achieve. Where is Toni i would like to hear him chime in looks like a lot of the brains here surrenderd before they got started. Not like the guys i have come to know. :)

But i guess they better at picking battles they can win. I aint sure a tradditional screw type lid is the way to go. Best of luck with the teaser.:)


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Turn the lid piece to size, then building a jig and using a dremal to cut the slots?

I'm thinking the lid piece rotates on one half and the dremal on the other. Where the two halves meet they would be an and angled face (same pitch as the thread) so when rotated the cut would spiral deeper. Cut each thread slot one at a time.
 
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Wish I could help. The only threads of that kind I have seen turned were done by a friend who is a retired machinist. He makes his own lathes and accessories. He has a spinning cutting tool and a Rube Goldberg set-up that chases threads on wood. Very clever and unique. Other than that, the insert idea is the only way I can imagine.
 
The part the lid would ride in would be something like the drawing below, then the dremal would ride along that slanted face and cut inward as the lid holder rotated.

Edit: The dremal would need to be mounted on a sled where the sled rides along that slanted face. The base of the jig would be "L" shaped with the lid holder pivoting on the upper half of the "L" and the dremal sled sliding back and forth on the lower part of the "L". Hope that makes sense.
 

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Or even simpler, turn a cap that fits around the threads, the drill some holes around the sides and insert some pins to catch the threads on the jar...
 
Now we are getting some where. Yes. I checked a lid this fits this type threads and it is just tabs that go into the threads. I am almost there with the lid I have been working on but it is not a smooth fit yet. It is the kind of thread that Rob is describing. I'm going to work it a little more, and if I can't get the tabs carved to fit smoothly, I going to give Brent's idea a try. I'm thinking that would work and actually be the easiest, and maybe even look more decorative. I'm working with cocobolo wood. So brass would look nice.
 
Sorry for chiming in late, I would keep it simple and much more effective.

I would turn an external lid of any size, shape, carving or inlay I wanted, with an internal recess that would accept the standard metal lid that comes with the jar.
All those sizes are standard, I can confirm it.
Then I would glue the metal one inside that wooden one with epoxy or other suitable glue. In this way I would have the best thread fit plus the tight sealing capability.

That would allow me to concentrate in making the nicest, craziest, or awesome lid shape I wanted, ( I'm imagining a few right now) with the certainty that it will fit perfectly.

As a tip, I would not underestimate the pressure that a thread can exert but that at the same time must withstand, I can see that thread breaking easily if made of wood. Yes you can tell me about the wooden vise threads but that's not the same size at all, and those they also break.
 
Or even simpler, turn a cap that fits around the threads, the drill some holes around the sides and insert some pins to catch the threads on the jar...

We used to have a rule that prohibitied guys as smart as you from joining. How did you get by the screening process? ;)
Really, that is simple. I like simply. It is one of those obvious ideas that make one think-----"why didn't I think of that?"
 
Well, I got the lid to work with the wood tabs I turned/carved in it. Remains to be seen how long they will last but I bet with cocobolo and the fact I won't be tightening the lid real tight they well last a long while. If not I will go the "pin" route. May make another one and try the pin idea anyway just for the fun. This jar is not going to be used for anything fancy, just to hold a little pipe tobacco.
 

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