It’s been a while! Hey everyone. Was on here for some support and had a recent project I wanted to share. Jan wanted spice jars, and ended up with some mason-jar type jars. She didn’t want the regular lids and this was a cool way to label them too!
37 Likes
Did you replace the standard jar lid inserts or just put the wood over them? Wondering about sealing and if the lids are deep enough to handle both?
3 Likes
So these ones are 
maple ply, and we replaced the center metal lid. We will glue it into the rim using something that is food-safe. They fit just fine.
We are also looking at using veneer, which we will stick to the center metal lid with the sticky back, and then glue that into the rim.
5 Likes
Love these! That font is perfect for them, well done
5 Likes
Oh yeah. Love these!
3 Likes
that’s cool.
two other options. they make wooden mason jar lids (available on amazon). they also make regular lids that are metal and cover the whole top (w/o the replacable middle piece) and you could put veneer on that.
both of those would probably give you a better seal than putting the plywood inside the ring, which could be important for some spices/herbs that clump or could have issues w/moisture.
6 Likes
That’s just cheating…
4 Likes
I AM A PROUD CHEATER!!!
Summary
(and stupid discourse says “is that a complete sentence?” and won’t let me post just that.)
7 Likes
Thanks for the ideas. The solid metal ones would look odd with a piece of veneer stuck to the top of them I think. The wood ones are cool, but ultimately a different look without the metal ring, and also quite expensive compared to just using the plywood.
I am a bit worried about the seal a bit, so I’m looking into options to improve that… part of why the veneer+metal lid was considered.
1 Like
Dried herbs and spices are really only good for a year. The plywood will seal just fine.
Keeping them in a dark cabinet and at a cool temperature will have much more of a beneficial effect.
1 Like
that may be less accurate with ground spices, which are very vulnerable to moisture and clumping.
What about using the metal rings and veneer over acrylic? That way you’d get the same look but the acrylic would help guard against moisture seep.
1 Like
I’m more concerned about having cut plywood gassing out near my herbs.
I’d be much cooler with a veneer top or the dedicated wooden tops.
So this project went on hiatus for a while, though Jan is serious about moving forward with creating a spice business and has been researching various jars and options. For Xmas she wanted to give a couple to her friends, and she got some that use a rubber-sealed bamboo lid.
First, this project was tossed on my with only about an hour to complete it.
- To print on a pre-existing lid I needed a template so I measured the lids and created one.
- I did a test and found that the lids were too thick to sit on the bed.
- A couple of tests without the bed and redesigns of the template later and I had this (yes I used dice as lifts… I was on a tight deadline!):
- I forgot to adjust the design to match the new template, so a couple of the lids were off-center. Not too badly though as I was 10 minutes past deadline and my wife was wrapping her gifts as her friends arrived!!
3 Likes
My daughter is a baker and would love this idea. Going to keep watch for the “solution” on ensuring everything stays fresh with wooden lids.
Like the dice as a stand… 
1 Like
We’ve had these in the jars for a little over 5 months now and have had zero issues. No spoilage, no scent, etc… That said, I think we’re looking more at the metal lid + veneer option as it makes the inner lid not as thick as the plywood, and does get a better seal while presenting the same effect. That and the price between veneer and plywood isn’t that different.
He’s on these forums isn’t he? @AltonBrownPewPewPew ?
3 Likes
Tools on hand, makes total sense to me.
