The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

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  • Canning Pot Lid Knob Cleanup

    Tomato Canning season has returned and my puny contributions involve maneuvering large pots of boiling water and, this time, cleaning up corrosion under the lid knob.

    The corroded OEM screw vs. the shiny stainless steel screw:

    Canning pot lid knob - OEM vs new screw
    Canning pot lid knob – OEM vs new screw

    The dark rim under the washer remained after hitting the area with sanding pad grits from 320 up through 1200, which seemed sufficient.

    The OEM screw had a self-tapping thread, but I’d rather use a machine screw with an insert. Start by lining up the existing screw hole on the drill press and clamping the knob firmly in position:

    Canning pot lid knob - hole alignment
    Canning pot lid knob – hole alignment

    Then drill to fit an M5 brass insert, while testing the hole depth:

    Canning pot lid knob - insert test fit
    Canning pot lid knob – insert test fit

    Slather the insert with JB Weld epoxy, seat it in the hole, cure overnight, assemble in reverse order, and the lid was ready for the next canning session:

    Canning pot lid handle - in use
    Canning pot lid handle – in use

    Yes, those are jars. The process is called canning:

    Canning pot lid handle - in use
    Canning pot lid handle – in use

    Get over it, like I had to.