This Tek displays my lid making procedure for all style of lids. Grains, Agar (for isolates using ¼ pint jars) and “no-tilt” LC lids. I’ll start with grain lids then move to Agar and show you how to change an Agar lid into a “No-Tilt” LC lid, which is quite easy.
Link to My Journal Page
Example of jars (from left to right):
1/4 Pint Wide-Mouth jar, 1/2 Pint Wide-Mouth jar, 1 Pint Wide-Mouth Jar & 1 Quart Wide-Mouth Jar:
GRAIN LID DESIGN:
Supplies:
- (1) WIDE Mouth Jar Lids (ALL of my Lid teks Require WIDE Mouth Canning jars); Quart or Pint Jars to match Quantity.
- (1) Drill
- (1) ¼” (Inoculation Hole) & 3/8” (GE Hole) Forstner Drill Bits (Any Drill bit will due, but Forstners are the best IMHO for lids)
- (1) Tube Red RTV Silicone (Any Silicone rated @ or above 350 degrees Fahrenheit is good, because 15 PSI = 250 F. I prefer the RTV Red, however.)
- (1) Synthetic Filter Disks, cut to size. (All Pictures in this Tek are of 100mm SFDs. See the end of the post for why I ONLY use SFDs & Whatmans.)
- (1) Measuring Tape (Rulers work too)
- (1) Pair of Scissors, for cutting Disks (Not Pictured)
- (1) Disposable Glove (Optional)
- (1) Sharpie/Marker (Optional)
Pre-Construction
1. Smoke a bowl and/or have a beer (if you don’t smoke nor drink, skip this step).
Construction:
1. Put your Lid on a scrap piece of wood & load your drill w/ the ¼” bit, which is your Inoculation hole.
2. Grip your Lid tight & press the drill into the lid, not hard but w/ solid pressure as to not let it slip. I place the inoculation hole about ½” from the interior lip of the lid. It doesn’t need to be exact. It’s all a feel thing on how you inoculate your grain jars.
3. Start your drill to full speed & press (with the same amount of pressure as above) into the lid. You’ll feel the drill + bit doing the work. If you get over zealous, the lid will tear a bit, and you’ll have jagged edges.
a. Please keep this fact in mind when drilling all holes for Lids in this Tek, as I use the same drilling technique for ALL of my lids.
4. Remove the ¼” bit & replace w the 3/8” Bit.
5. Repeat Steps 2 & 3. However, I put this hole more towards the center about an Inch from the Interior lip of the lid.
6. Now trace circles on your SFD w/ two edges of each circle overlapping & another hitting the edge of the SFD. You don’t need any exact measurements; just make sure it’s enough to cover the 3/8” GE hole plus a little, because we don’t want our silicone on the Exposed Underside of the SFD. It’d restrict GE.
7. Cut Along the Lines to make your circles. Here’s a Comparison Picture
8. Gently Dab a Fine line of RTV silicone around the outer most edge of your SFD. (I wear gloves, because I hate having that silicone feeling on my fingers for hours after & gloves are cleaner.)
9. Press Down the SFD eyeballing the center to the center of the GE hole. Then, lift your finger & press in an outward circular motion from the center to the edge, which pushes the silicone to the exterior of the SFD.
10. As for the Self-Healing inoculation point, I like to dab a bit around the edge of the hole then slowly fill in the center from the underside first. Once I’ve got a good amount on the underside (as to not see any holes,) I flip it over and repeat. I swirl upwards at the end of the topside for a center location marker and cut it flat once it’s cured/dry.
AGAR LID DESIGN:
Supplies:
- (1) ¼ Pint Wide Mouth (You’ll see why it HAS to be WM in the next section) canning jar
- (1) Drill
- (1) ¼” (Inoculation Hole) & 11/64” (Whatman Hole) Drill Bits (Forstners preferred, but I use a normal steel/wood bit for the GE hole)
- (1) Tube of Properly Rated Silicone
- (1) Whatman (I use 13mm .22um, please keep the diameter in mind when drilling the GE hole, as this tek is for 13mm not the larger type)
- (1) Measuring Tape (Rulers work too)
- (1) Disposable Glove (Optional)
- (1) Sharpie/Marker (Optional)
Pre-Construction
1. Smoke a bowl and/or have a beer (if you don’t smoke nor drink, skip this step).
***SPECIAL NOTE: PLEASE IGNORE THE EXTRA HOLE IN THE LID IN THESE PICTURES!!! The Extra Hole is Explained in the Next Section
Construction:
1. Put your Lid on a scrap piece of wood & load your drill w/ the ¼” bit, which is your Inoculation hole.
2. See Steps 2 – 3 Above.
3. Remove the ¼” Bit & Replace w/ the 11/64” Bit.
4. See Steps 2-3 Above. I put this hole in same Location as my Grain Design.
5. Dab some Silicone around the Underside of the Stem of the Whatman.
a. Don’t put it over the Hole where the end of the Whatman is going to go through, because the silicone will go into the bottom of it; Plugging it.
6. Push & Twist the Whatman into place by bracing the underside of the hole w/ your free hand. Again, I urge you to not Force it. Work patiently, not Sloppily.
7. See Step Ten in my Grain Lid Design.
“NO-TILT” LIQUID CULTURE LID DESIGN:**Now I will show you how to turn my “Agar Lid” into an LC lid.
***I first got this Idea from
Morelman in this thread I liked his idea, but felt I could improvise a bit on the design & make it easier (or requiring less hardware).
Supplies:- (1) “TranscendingLife’s ¼ Pint Agar Lid Design”
- (1) Gripping Pliers
- (1) Drill
- (1) Dremel Tool W/ Cutting Attachment (Or an Equivalent/Better Option for cutting SS tubing)
- (1) 3/16” Bit for the Stainless Steel Tubing Hole in Lid
- (1) 5/32” 304 or 316 Stainless Steel Tubing (Length To Be Determined by Quantity Needed.) We use SS Tubing, because it is extremely Durable, wont’ Rust quickly & Handles the Temp. of the PC @ 15 PSI.
- (1) Tube of Properly Rated Silicone
- (1) Measuring Tape (Rulers work too)
- (1) Sharpie/Marker
- (1) Disposable Glove (Optional)
Pre-Construction1. Smoke a bowl and/or have a beer (if you don’t smoke nor drink, skip this step).
Construction:1. Put your Lid on a scrap piece of wood & load your drill w/ the 3/16” bit.
2. Grip your Lid tight & press the drill into the lid, not hard but w/ solid pressure as to not let it slip. I place this hole as close to the lip as I can, about ¼” from it. I ensure that the tubing will go to the deepest part of the jar by placing it here.
3. See Step 3 of “Grain Lid Design.”
4. Measure your Tubing:
a. 4” + a Little (no more than 3/8”) for PINT jars.
b. 6” + a Little (no more than 3/8”) for QUART jars.
5. Mark the spot w/ your Sharpie.
6. Cut w/ the Dremel Tool. I cut a line in the marked spot then gradually work towards the opposite side cutting through the tube, using the initial Cut as my guide.
7. Once the Tubing is cut to size, Quickly (no need to Rush It, you just want to utilize the heat you’ve created in the steel) Slice a Notch about 1/8” to 1/4” Deep into the Center of the end that you just Cut away from, or not the factory cut end of the Tube.
a. If, you’re in the center portion or Between two cut pieces, Cut away from the most Recent side that cutting was performed on, as to help w/ the Notching of the Tubing due to the heat retention of the steel.
8. While the tubing is still Warm from Cutting/Notching, Bend the Notched Sides of the Tubing W/ Pliers to 90 Degrees. The objective here is to mimic, as Closely as we can, the bend of the lid w/ the lip of the Tubing. However, it’s not that Big of a deal if we don’t.
a. DON’T STRESS OVER THE PREVIOUS TWO STEPS!! ALL WILL BE CORRECTED W/ SILICONE SHORTLY.
***NOTE: If you’re not changing the Agar Lid to a “no-tilt” lid, See my Agar Lid Construction Above. I Silicone my Whatman & Inoculation Point Before Siliconing in the Tubing.
9. Dab a Healthy Slug of Silicone just Under the Base of the Lipped Tubing. I run the tube in a 360 Degree motion while dabbing silicone on it.
10. Place the Strait end of the Tubing in the 3/16” Hole & PULL it down from under the Lid w/ you free hand. Pull until snug, while Bracing the Underside of the lid w/ Your free Hand.
a. You’ll see that the Tube will snag a bit to where you can readjust to support the lid w/ your free hand. Or you can just let it drop, once the tubing is secured in the hole, gently press on top of it, setting it in place.
11. Seal the top of the SS Tubing w/ Silicone, leaving no gaps between the lid & tubing. You shouldn’t be able to see the tubing anymore.
a. Don’t go overboard if Pushing silicone directly into the Tubing, because, if you go too deep, your needle won’t be able pull your LC out. I just apply the Silicone like I do on my Inoculation Points.
12. Dab some Silicone around the SS Tubing Under the Lid, making a complete seal w/ the lid. You may want a toothpick or Q-tip to apply it. I wear a glove when doing this; thus, I just use my finger.
Here are My jars in action:
<--ATL#7
<-- Dancing Tiger
<--PE6 Clone from Pin
<--Z Strain LC
<--Enoki Golds using Grain lids (PF tek no Dry Verm Layer)
The Army:
OK. Now for why I won't Use anything But SFDs or Whatmans:
First, check 13Shrooms Journal herePros of SFDs:
1. You never have to replace the filter; the lid will wear out before it. Therefore, when your lid is done, you just cut the RTV w/ a razor/knife under it & reapply it to a new prepped lid.
2. You DON'T have to put foil over your lids when PCing. This saves time, money & effort.
3. If you prep your SFDs like I do in this tek, you get 5-6 Filters per 1. Therefore, per lid it's about 15-20 cents. Not that expensive at all. When I first started in mycology I purchased 48 100mm SFDs. I still have 12 sitting around, yet to be cut.
Cons of Polyfil or Tyvek:
1. You have to replace it almost every time.
2. You have to use Foil over your lids when PCing.
3. They're not good as filters.
***I'm not going to discuss SFDs vs. Polyfil/Tyvek in this thread, so please abstain from doing so, as I feel I've explained why I will ONLY use SFDs, and why I tell others to ONLY use them.
UPDATE - Cheap Lid Filter Substitute for SFDs Using EZ-Felt Via
Barakanatens Tek HEREAs always, if I forgot anything, or if anything is unclear, please let me know as I will explain the procedure in more detail through editing of this tek.