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<div dir="ltr"><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration:none">Vanessa,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr"><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration:none">Others (especially EU collections folks who deal with more of these jars) may have better tricks, but I have, in the past, used warm water and acetone in cases where some adhesive putty or wax has
been used. I let it pool on the lid of the jar for a while. The acetone will cool the jar by evaporating, so you may have to alternate them. If you can leave the jar in the sink, run warm water continuously over it for 5 or 10 minutes as Paul suggested, that
usually works.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-decoration:none"><br>
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-decoration:none">You can scrape any sealant/wax out of the perimeter with a sharp dental pick or similar tool in order to increase the penetration of your warm water or other solvent and decrease the friction between the lid and the
jar.<span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-decoration:none"><span><br>
</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-decoration:none"><span>The real trick is rocking/wiggling the lid back and forth</span><span> gently. You want to use a decent amount of force, but it’s not about brute strength, it’s more about making the lid move that first little
bit.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-decoration:none"><span>Once it budges at all, it’ll generally lift right up.</span><br>
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</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-decoration:none"><span>For future reference -- for clamp top jars with gaskets of any kind, puncturing the seal with a putty knife or awl is the easiest method to open them. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-decoration:none"><span> </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr"><span dir="ltr" style="text-decoration:none"><span>-Nate<span id="ms-outlook-ios-cursor"></span></span></span><br>
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<span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">-<br>
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<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Callomon,Paul <prc44@drexel.edu><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, November 15, 2023 9:02:39 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Vanessa Pitusi <vanessa.pitusi@uit.no>; nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu <nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Nhcoll-l] Large specimen jars need opening - help!</font>
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Hi Vanessa, Stubborn tapered ground-glass lids like those you show often loosen if you simply pour hot water over them, as the jar neck expands further than the lid. Don’t make the water too hot, though, as the glass could crack –
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<p class="x_MsoNormal">Hi Vanessa,</p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal">Stubborn tapered ground-glass lids like those you show often loosen if you simply pour hot water over them, as the jar neck expands further than the lid. Don’t make the water too hot, though, as the glass could crack – I find hot water
from the tap is usually enough to do the trick.</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; color:black">Paul Callomon</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; color:black">Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates<i></i></span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; color:black">Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; color:black"></span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; color:black">1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA<br>
<i><a href="mailto:prc44@drexel.edu"><span style="color:#0563C1">prc44@drexel.edu</span></a> Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170</i></span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><b>From:</b> Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Vanessa Pitusi<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, November 15, 2023 2:42 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Nhcoll-l] Large specimen jars need opening - help!</p>
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<p><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; font-variant:small-caps; color:black">External.</span></b><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; font-variant:small-caps"></span></b></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="color:black; background:white">Hi!</span>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in; background:white"><span style="color:black">I posted the following on a Facebook page for Museum collection managers and was advised to ask here for help. So, any answer would be greatly appreciated!</span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in; background:white"><span style="color:black">I work at the Tromsø Museum (Norway), and we have numerous large and tall glasses containing specimen. The ethanol level on some of them is starting to be low, but we
do not know how all of them were sealed.</span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in; background:white"><span style="color:black">Some were sealed with linseed oil putty, which I was advised to open by warming. However, some have no putty but are firmly stuck. Any advice on a good solvent to use
to open those? The Internet tells me something like Xylene could do the job, but just wanted to get some more opinions.</span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in; background:white"><span style="color:black">Secondly, does anyone based in Europe know of any suppliers that make such glasses and lids?<span class="x_apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in; background:white"><span style="color:black">Photos for reference of size and lids (that I am after).</span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in; background:white"><span style="color:black">Kind regards,</span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in; background:white"><span style="color:black">Vanessa Pitusi</span></p>
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