Bill got to help with this one! Mostly because he said I would hurt myself with the drill press - keep in mind that he's the one who had to get his thumb stitched up a couple of years back because of the drill press!
This was a fun project. It was fairly easy and cost effective (also known as cheap!). I had the jars & lids already, the only thing I actually had to buy was the pump mechanism. I got it at the dollar store, as part of a bottle of anti-bacterial hand cleaner. The hand cleaner got poured into a big bottle I have of the stuff, the empty bottle was recycled and the pump part was re-used.
The easiest way to find the center of a circle is to trace & cut out a piece of paper.
Fold it in half, then in half again which is 4ths, the center point should be the center of the circle. I marked it with a sharpie marker.
Then Bill drilled the center hole, after first marking it with a nail because he thought he needed to in order to be able to see the center when he attached it to the drill press.
The finished lid. It had to be smoothed off at this point, there were a few sharp points on the cut edges. Also, the size of the hole needs to be the same size as the largest part of the pump that will be under the lid. It needs to be as close to the same size as possible, in order to have a good seal.
I used a mason jar that I had on hand.
Bill had some JB Weld brand epoxy that he had, being an engineer means that you generally have every tool known to man and frequently in multiple quantities. The pump needs to fit snug on the lid, and it needs to be attached so it won't come off. He held the piece upside down after putting it through the hole, then he coated both the lid and the pump piece with the JB Weld. It had to be held upside down for about 24 hours to cure, so it was hanging from my plant stand and attached with clothes pins. After it was dry, I held it up to the jar, marked with a sharpie where I thought the bottom of the jar would be and cut just above it. Which was actually a touch long, so I had to cut off another small piece. It's cut at a slight angle. It needs to be just above the bottom of the jar but not actually touching the bottom. (Bill said that JB Weld is about the only thing out there that will stick to both plastic and metal.)
The pump tube is just barely off the bottom of the jar.
Filled with dish soap, the entire lid is on and it's now at my kitchen sink!
Even if I'd had to go buy the jar & lid, it would have been a fairly inexpensive project to make. Vintage jars would be fun, also.
**EDIT**: I strongly suggest that you coat the metal pieces with a shellac or laquer, a varnish might work as well. This needs to be done on the inside parts of the ring as well as the inner, flat part of the lid. The reason for this is because the metal will rust. I didn't do this with mine, and it eventually rusted to the point where I had to throw the metal pieces out and make a new one. You don't want to use anything too thick, or it will possibly keep the ring from fitting on to the screw threads on the jar.
**EDIT**: I strongly suggest that you coat the metal pieces with a shellac or laquer, a varnish might work as well. This needs to be done on the inside parts of the ring as well as the inner, flat part of the lid. The reason for this is because the metal will rust. I didn't do this with mine, and it eventually rusted to the point where I had to throw the metal pieces out and make a new one. You don't want to use anything too thick, or it will possibly keep the ring from fitting on to the screw threads on the jar.
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