DIY Mason Jar Lid

This is a relatively easy project, it can be done over a weekend, and it's great for batching out gifts.

In terms of tools all you'll need is a drill and a couple of hole saws, rest is optional.

You'll need:

Mason jar. You can find these at a dollar store, they're incredibly cheap.
Timber. This needs to be the same thickness as the jar lid. you could get this thickness by gluing pieces together, or use plywood to get a different look.
Dowels. I tried to use something contrasting.
Hole saws. You'll need 2 sizes, one close to the same width as the jar lid, and one that represents the outer diameter of the lid.
Sandpaper. I used a belt sander and orbital sander, but you could do this with just the paper alone.

Start by cutting 2 discs using the bigger of the 2 hole saws. This represents the finished width of the lid. One of these discs can be made of a different material and at any height because this will not interact with the jar lid.

After that take the disc with the same height as the jar lid and cut a hole out of that using the smaller hole saw. To make this cut safely screw the inside of the disc to your work surface. Once the wheel is freed it will end up on the outside of the hole saw.

You'll now have 1 disc and 1 wheel (the inside diameter of the wheel is roughly the same as the outside diameter of the jar lid).

I added an "S" for "Sugar" to my lid using a combination of 6mm and 8mm dowel, but you could customise this however you want. Simply draw the shape you want and drill holes along that line. Then once the glue has dried cut off the excess and sand flush.

Another idea would be to use tinted epoxy.

Now take the wheel and glue it to the disc. I used standard PVA wood glue and a single clamp, but you could get creative with clamping pressure.

Make sure you've done all the sanding to the inside of the disc if you needed to before gluing.

Once the glue dries sand the edge and if you need, do some final shaping.

I used 2 part epoxy for gluing in the jar lid. This is a very strong bond and only takes a few hours to set up enough so that you can continue working safely.

Find an object that fits inside the jar lid and clamp that down so the top surface of the jar lid contacts the inside of the new wooden lid.

Try to centre the jar lid inside the wooden lid. This will make it look good from any angle.

Once the epoxy is dry enough you can do the final sand and finish. I used a satin polyurethane.