# Some advice.



## Adam Fausch (Sep 25, 2016)

This is just a prototype so looking for some pointers.

What does anyone think of overall design. Is inch wood too big?

I want to use the lid of the jar in the project. If I file, sand, and wash it out good do I have to worry about metal that much?

Is normal stain and poly ok if it is going to have m&m's or jelly beans in it? It will be resting in the lid so contact with wood should be short. 

Thanks


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## Spinartist (Sep 25, 2016)

Once the finish is completely cured it should be safe.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## Schroedc (Sep 25, 2016)

Do those take mason jar rings? If so, bore your pocket 2/3 of the way onto the wood and then put the smaller hole in the wood itself. That saves you having to punch a hole in a lid and do all that clean up. Most I've seen use mason jars and just the ring.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Adam Fausch (Sep 25, 2016)

Schroedc said:


> Do those take mason jar rings? If so, bore your pocket 2/3 of the way onto the wood and then put the smaller hole in the wood itself. That saves you having to punch a hole in a lid and do all that clean up. Most I've seen use mason jars and just the ring.




Good point these are baby food jars so a little smaller but there may be smaller mason rings.


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## DKMD (Sep 25, 2016)

Should be a low impact item, so I'd probably just glue the pieces together and pin nail them to avoid having all the screws. Aesthetically, I'd probably make the base piece a little larger than the top piece. Since I'm a turner, I'd probably make the whole thing round except for the slide, but that's beside the point.

If you put M&Ms in that thing, I'd be forced to turn it over and unscrew the jar before pouring the contents in my mouth.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Funny 2


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## Mr. Peet (Sep 25, 2016)

I made candy dispensers 20 some years ago. I sold them to cover book costs and nerd stuff. Having worked a little in the food industry, I was informed to use natural wood, unfinished where the food would touch the wood. That not is another world of issue. I made a few years later and used plastic lids from mayonnaise jars, and bored the hole in them. Newer canning rings, after 1980, have much thinner protective coats on the steel, and rust through. Rings from the 70's worked great. I even made a few with the old galvanized lids, and of course offered them as decorative only to cover my tail.

Adam, you like to work. I went the lazy way, datoed the end grain on a 4" x 4" Western red-cedar' porch post cut off. Used 4 nails for the top, 4 for the bottom and had a hole in the slide for the goodies, with dowel plug stops. Baby jars, smaller and more challenging. Eliminating the sharp edges in the drilled lid sounds "fun". Mom was still around and made doylie laced rings for around the jar to draw attention from the nails. Someone in the family has one. I could get a picture. Did one with a gallon pickle jar. No clue where that ended up.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Tony (Sep 25, 2016)

I do think at least the sliding board should be thinner. Tony

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## NeilYeag (Sep 25, 2016)

OK, I would go all out on this, cover the screws with contrasting dowels, make the slider thinner and also contrasting. Finish with Shellac, Heck M & M's are finished with shellac. 
*“Shellac: Candy Coating From The Rear End Of A Beetle”*

Maybe etch the jar with some design. Maybe a colored jar not just clear. Maybe a spring loaded slider, with a hidden mechanism. 

Probably a similiar approach that @Brink might take, ha....

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## rocky1 (Sep 25, 2016)

Adam Fausch said:


> Good point these are baby food jars so a little smaller but there may be smaller mason rings.




Mason rings come in 2 sizes only, large mouth, and smallmouth. Smallmouth being the same size used on your standard mayonnaise, peanut butter, whatever quart and most pint jars. Using the Mason Ring and lid does open the window to all nature of decorative canning and jelly jars, and makes replacement of the rings/lids easy in the future. Sizes on canning jar lids have remained constant for over half a century now.

Since extended contact and sharp edges are both concerns, how about using Mason rings and cut your lids out of plastic?


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## Adam Fausch (Sep 26, 2016)

rocky1 said:


> Mason rings come in 2 sizes only, large mouth, and smallmouth. Smallmouth being the same size used on your standard mayonnaise, peanut butter, whatever quart and most pint jars. Using the Mason Ring and lid does open the window to all nature of decorative canning and jelly jars, and makes replacement of the rings/lids easy in the future. Sizes on canning jar lids have remained constant for over half a century now.
> 
> Since extended contact and sharp edges are both concerns, how about using Mason rings and cut your lids out of plastic?




Yeah good idea, I saved all the babyfood jars from our kids so I have been looking for a project to incorporate them.


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## Mr. Peet (Sep 26, 2016)

Lots of basement dwellers fasten the lids to the underside of work shelves, then store finish nails, brads and so forth in the jar. A small label stating size, and seeing how much you have is handy....


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## rocky1 (Sep 26, 2016)

Mr. Peet said:


> Lots of basement dwellers fasten the lids to the underside of work shelves, then store finish nails, brads and so forth in the jar. A small label stating size, and seeing how much you have is handy....




The baby food jar storage method also adds considerably to utilization of storage space. If you have a standard 10 - 12 inch shelf, typically you only use about the bottom 5 - 6 inches of that for storage of small goodies. If you install the baby food jars you can also use the top 3 inches. I installed mine toward the back of the shelf, so they weren't getting beaten and banged taking things in and out of the lower part of the shelf. I actually built plywood boxes to contain all the little garbage on the shelves, and labeled them, so you can drag the whole box out when you want something. I would recommend screwing the lids on the baby food jars up, 2 screws to the lid, based upon my experience. With 1 screw they spin and won't open. Over time the threads in the lids will get worn and stretched, and may eventually need replacing. Simply easier if you can unscrew it and stick a new one up in it's place.


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