shaker from an old jar

As wee needed a saltshaker in our engineer-office NOW and we needed a big one that is easy and comfortable in use, I made one from an old glas as I made it many times before. But now I took pictures. :)

You can make the holes with a nail and hammer or your pocket knife, when you do not have a drill close. If you have one make good holes for better use. For example when you want to use the salt shaker to put salt into the boiling water the holes made wit nails will close the holes fast.

But that´s not all, it is waterproof and transportable (read step4). You can make it with things you have at home (or outside) in 5 minutes!
It looks a bit rustic and might not be the right thing for a fancy dinner, but it is soooo practical that you will love anyway. :)

Step 1:

what you need

You need just an old marmelade/yogurt/whatever-jar with a screwable top the other things are optional: a drill (3-5mm is well) and some sandpaper to clean the holes from metal-chipping.
! do not forget to put some carton/scrapwood/whatever under the top, so that you save your table from being drilled. !

Step 2:

prepare the jar

Choose your jar wisely. It is nice to have a big one where you can fill the whole salt pack, but it is also good to have a smaller one for the table. Also read step 4.

Put the jar into boiling water, and cook it till the paper falls off. Dry it well.

Step 3:

drill the top

Drill slowly and do not hasitate to get nice holes. I made some more holes on the one side (for more salt in the soup) and on the opposite site i made some less (for an egg or steak). You can also make smaller or bigger holes, many or less.

If you do not have something to drill on, just leave the jar closed and drill on the jar. But be carefully then.

Step 4: Optimize

make it better

As you done the have-to-steps there are other tips to improve your shaker:

!! important !! If you need the shaker for a permanent use you should note that it will definetly rust when you have a metal top!! It will take (for a saltshaker) less than a half year, depending on the surroundings! To make it work for a permanent use I put some nail lacquer on the open holes and borders. Some other ideas:
-silicone
-latex
-galvanize
-soldering (tinning: use tin without toxic)
-use a jar with a plastic top ;D

Get the sandpaper to clean your holes, so that there are no metal-chipps standing out, pick the big ones with a tong. If you want beautiful holes: get an bigger drill and debur it with your hands (clean and nice).

Easy but important: Write SALT on it. I made one for work, and it is good for the people to recognize the content! ;)

The tops have often something writen on it. If you can not paint the whole top, you should write on it with a marker. But the best thing is (if you can choose) to get a jar with a clean one-color-top

!! be-smart TIPP : choose a jar you have twice and get the second top for closing your shaker for transport. !!
Now you can take it with you for camping, bbq and so on! Not that light but space-saving, waterproof and robust. :)
And yes, this is the best shaker ever, if you have a hut outside and your salt should not get wet from the moisure around.

Surely you can use and make a shaker for everything!
But remember to choose the right hole-size then ;D