[Nhcoll-l] Large specimen jars need opening - help!

Wed Nov 15 10:04:15 EST 2023

Hi Cathy,

If the jar is a ground glass with a knob on the lid, bring the top of the jar up to eye level and you’ll often see that the lid tilts at a very slight angle; this helps so that you can exert some pressure against that side of the knob once the jar has been warmed using the warm/.hot water.  Make sure that there is some fluid in the seal before you start as it eases the loosening of the lid.
Xylene can work sometimes but is user-unfriendly!  Linseed oil sometimes works but it takes a long time.

For flat circular lids I use a Tiranti spatula edge on and search around the edge of the seal for a weak spot. Push the spatula into the seal very gradually but do not prise the lid up or you risk cracking or spalling the lid and the tiny glass spalls often travel directly to the eye! I always wear lab specs.

With all good wishes, Simon

Simon Moore MIScT, RSci, FLS, ACR
Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian.

www.natural-history-conservation.com

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> On 15 Nov 2023, at 14:41, Hawks, Catharine <HawksC at si.edu> wrote:
> 
> Sometimes it works well just to put the jar in a low try of warm water to slightly warm the bottom. The resulting pressure change inside the jar will loosen the lid.
>  Cathy
>  From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Shoobs, Nate
> Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2023 9:13 AM
> To: Callomon,Paul <prc44 at drexel.edu>; Vanessa Pitusi <vanessa.pitusi at uit.no>; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Large specimen jars need opening - help!
>  External Email - Exercise Caution
> Vanessa,
> 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.
>  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.
>  The real trick is rocking/wiggling the lid back and forth  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.
> Once it budges at all, it’ll generally lift right up.
>  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. 
>  -Nate
>  -
> Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks
> College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University
> Museum of Biological Diversity
> 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212
> 614-688-1342 (Office)
> mbd.osu.eduFrom: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Callomon,Paul <prc44 at drexel.edu>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2023 9:02:39 AM
> To: Vanessa Pitusi <vanessa.pitusi at uit.no>; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Large specimen jars need opening - help!
>  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 – 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 – I find hot water from the tap is usually enough to do the trick.
>  Paul Callomon
> Collection Manager, Malacology and General InvertebratesAcademy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
> 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA
> prc44 at drexel.edu Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170
>  From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Vanessa Pitusi
> Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2023 2:42 AM
> To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Large specimen jars need opening - help!
>  External.
> Hi!
>  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!
>  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.
> 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.
>  Secondly, does anyone based in Europe know of any suppliers that make such glasses and lids?  Photos for reference of size and lids (that I am after).
>  Kind regards,
> Vanessa Pitusi
>  Sent from Outlook for iOS
>  Sent from Outlook for iOS
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