Mason Jar Lids On Your Wood Lathe
By Ron Brown© 2014 All Rights Reserved This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Decorate you Mason™ with covers you turn from every kind of wood, synthetic material and even segmented assemblies on your lathe from Minis to the big boys.
I must give credit where credit is due. My friend Morris Schlesinger introduced me to this idea and at first, I thought he was nuts! The prospect of trying to thread a lid to actually fit the coarse threads of a Mason jar was mind boggling. Morris sent me three lids he made and I instantly understood. You are really turning a cover for the metal ring (the band) which threads onto the jar, like always, and seals the lid. The band is glued into the cover you turn since only the actual lid usually needs to be thoroughly washed.
Morris says he can’t make them fast enough and judging from the 100 or so that I’ve made and the public’s reaction so far, it is only a matter of what you are willing to let them go for and how much time you have to make more. And how many you plan on keeping for yourself!
Shapes are endless: Flat to look like a Mason Jar lid, Acorn shaped, Russian Onion top, Chinese vase style, ginger jar style, there is literally no end. You can even make a lidded box which threads onto the Mason jar with the band glued into the bottom.
Method #1: One inch thick material with a knob glued on.
Drill Press Method
Begin with your stock at least 1” thick. Grain direction is not important. The top must be flat enough to accept the knob material glued onto it and should be parallel to the bottom surface. Turn your lid material upside down on the drill press. You will be drilling the band hole from the bottom. For normal Mason Jars, you will be using a very sharp Forstner bit 2–7/8” in diameter. Jelly jars and wide–mouthed jars are different sizes. Purchase your jars first then obtain the proper sized Forstner bits.Drill 5/8” deep. Deeper if you will need to do much truing up of the bottom surface on the lathe.Drill a ½” hole exactly in the center of the lid blank completely through the lid blank. Be sure to back the lid blank up with a waste block to avoid blowing out the underside when the bit exits the lid blank.The Knob material should be exactly square and large enough to grip in your #2 – 50 mm jaws, usually at least 1–1/2” square x at least 1–1/2” long. Drill a ½” hole in the exact center of the knob material to accept a ½” stub tenon (short dowel) approximately 5/8” deep. I sometimes do this on the lathe to get a hole dead center.Glue a ½”stub tenon into the knob blank and set aside to dry sufficiently, minimum of 30 minutes. Wipe any glue squeeze–out away from the tenon. The tenon should be long enough to fully penetrate the lid blank.After sufficient drying time, glue the knob blank into and onto the lid blank. Don’t just apply glue to the tenon, but to the entire undersurface of the knob blank. You will need the extra holding power in order to turn the lid blank when mounted into the lathe.Mount the lid blank/knob assembly into your scroll chuck (the knob material will act as a waste block for now.Trim the tenon flush with the bottom and use a scraper to remove any glue around the tenon on the inside of the lid blank where the band will mount.Bring the tailstock up firmly against the lid blank assembly and begin truing up the bottom of the lid blank.Carefully bring the lid blank to round without getting the outer band too thin or it will split easily.Sand and finish the underside and the bottom rim of the lid blank.When the finish is dry, turn the lid blank around and hold it gently, but firmly in expansion mode in your scroll chuck.Bring the tailstock up to stabilize the lid assembly and shape the rest of the sides and the top surface of the lid. Apply whatever texturing you wish with the tailstock still in place to provide stability.Shape as much of the knob as possible with the tailstock in place then remove it to finish shaping the knob.Sand and finish your lid.Glue in the band with suitable adhesive. I use Aileen’s Tack Glue, or 100% clear silicone.
Method #2: One inch thick material with a knob glued on.
Lathe Drilling Method
Very similar to the first method, except we will drill the band recess on the lathe. Prepare the lid blank with the knob material and tenon firmly glued up. The drilling will put major stress on the glue joint.
Mount the assembly into your scroll chuck holding it by the knob blank – bottom toward the tailstock.Mount the appropriately sized Forstner bit into a Jacobs chuck in the tailstock and prepare to drill the band recess. I can’t stress enough how much stress will be put on the glue joint between the knob assembly and the lid blank during this drilling operation. Lathe speed fairly slow 300 to 500 rpm. Put you lathe in the lowest speed range for extra power. Hold the Jacobs chuck firmly during this operation. If you have not already done so, sharpen your Forstner bit. Drill the recess for the band to 5/8” deep as beforeClean up the bottom and proceed as in method #1.Method #3: Two inch thick material with a ½” dowel – Acorn type top.
Pin Jaw Method. I recommend drilling the band recess on the drill press as per #1 because the ½” dowel cannot withstand the stress of drilling without failing. The shape of this lid can be like an acorn cap or a turned lidded box, a finial box or even an onion top box.
Proceed per #1 except there is no square knob material, only a ½” dowel. Use either pin jaws or a ½” collet chuck to grip your lid blank assembly and true up the bottom. An extra step here is to hollow out as much of the inside of the lid blank as practical given you are holding it by a ½” dowel. Your objective is to reduce the weight so it doesn’t feel clunky.Proceed as in #2.
Add whatever texture or decoration you wish to your lid. If the wood is beautiful enough by itself, just finish and enjoy.
Ron Brown
Appendix & Photo Gallery – Mason Jar Lids by Ron Brown©
All rights reserved. Photos may not be published except by written permission from Ron Brown, et. al.
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