Help, I need to buy a real pro shaker

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Alas, I may need to buy another real pro shaker -- the little lid of my lovely Baron is wedged on tight and I cannot get it off.  The plan is of course to buy another Baron (or two), but meanwhile does anyone have an idea how I might get the old lid off?  I tried hot water.  I might try soaking it overnight.

[Kerry Beal]

Alas, I may need to buy another real pro shaker -- the little lid of my lovely Baron is wedged on tight and I cannot get it off.  The plan is of course to buy another Baron (or two), but meanwhile does anyone have an idea how I might get the old lid off?  I tried hot water.  I might try soaking it overnight.

Cold inside, hot outside? Ah wait - you probably can't get inside.  Which part is jammed?

Edited March 10, 2015 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Hassouni]

If you insist on a cobbler shaker, I'd suggest the Usagi from CK. Everything they make is magic. Of course, I'd still recommend two metal tins above anything else.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Cold inside, hot outside? Ah wait - you probably can't get inside.  Which part is jammed?

 

Thanks, Kerry, but I tried that!  The part that is jammed is the small lid.  The bigger lid comes off OK.

 

Hassouni, the silver Baron is too much a part of me.  I use mine essentially every day, to the detriment of limes everywhere.  It is beautiful as well as functional.  I have ordered another one.  (And may it get here quickly.)  Even if I eventually get the lid off the one I have, one can do worse than having two silver Barons.

 

So far the best I have done is to hurt my hand.  I have yet to try boiling water, but I am about to.

[haresfur]

Alas, I may need to buy another real pro shaker -- the little lid of my lovely Baron is wedged on tight and I cannot get it off.  The plan is of course to buy another Baron (or two), but meanwhile does anyone have an idea how I might get the old lid off?  I tried hot water.  I might try soaking it overnight.

 

Strap wrench.  Get 2 - one for each half set twist in opposite directions. And heat.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have a tool somewhat similar to this but was afraid of ruining the silver plating.  As a last resort I was thinking of putting the recalcitrant lid in a vise and having at it.

[GarethLangston]

I'm not sure this is the best idea if you value the shaker, but I filled an old stuck shaker with water and popped it in the freezer until the lid was forced off by the ice.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I'm not sure this is the best idea if you value the shaker, but I filled an old stuck shaker with water and popped it in the freezer until the lid was forced off by the ice.

 

Unfortunately I think the ice would just force off the larger lid and not the small lid which is stuck.

[KD1191]

Unfortunately I think the ice would just force off the larger lid and not the small lid which is stuck.

 

Are the holes in the strainer large enough that you could put something (a skewer, chopsticks, etc.) through and push on the lid from the inside? Might take quite a bit of force, but at least any damage would be on the inside.

[cyalexa]

Alas, I may need to buy another real pro shaker -- the little lid of my lovely Baron is wedged on tight and I cannot get it off.  The plan is of course to buy another Baron (or two), but meanwhile does anyone have an idea how I might get the old lid off?  I tried hot water.  I might try soaking it overnight.

Try some wd40. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The holes are too small for chopsticks (besides, I think I would just ruin the chopsticks in trying).  I have some solvent for loosening things like screws that I intend to try once my replacement Baron gets here, which should be tomorrow...or today, depending on when this post comes through.

 

In the meantime my Hawthorne strainer fits perfectly -- which should be expected since they are made by the same company.  The Hawthorne is not silver, however, and Jerry Thomas would be offended.

[slkinsey]

So you're saying that the small cap is stuck to the strainer?  What I would do is hold it sideways and place side of the cap part against the counter.  Then give it a decent "karate chop" with your hand.  This should be enough to loosen things up.  Another thing you could do is put the end of a broad standard screwdriver (wrap it in a paper towel if you're worried about scratches) against the side of the strainer "nipple" underneath the cap and rotate it to force the cap up.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Sadly, the little lid is still stuck.  Thanks for all the suggestions.  Umamimart has given me wonderful customer support, but I ordered and received another Baron from a different vendor since umamimart no longer carries the Baron in silver.  I suspect stainless steel and gold would have Jerry rolling in his grave.

 

My new Baron is matt silver rather than polished silver, but they are both beautiful.  I can report the new Baron made an excellent zombie tonight!

 

I still have some more aggressive techniques to try.

[EvergreenDan]

Heat just the small cap over the flame of your range. I bet it will come off, assuming you can pull on it without burning yourself. Always works with stuck car parts.

[Anna N]

Heat just the small cap over the flame of your range. I bet it will come off, assuming you can pull on it without burning yourself. Always works with stuck car parts.

This must be a very common problem. Kerry Beal and I have come across so many of them in thrift stores. Beautiful cocktail shakers but useless because the small cap is immovable.

[Hassouni]

This must be a very common problem. Kerry Beal and I have come across so many of them in thrift stores. Beautiful cocktail shakers but useless because the small cap is immovable.

 

Ko

Ri

Ko

!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Sadly, no results so far.  I had high hopes for screwloose penetrant, but no success with that. 

[Adam George]

Mine did the same and came loose in a couple of days.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Did you do anything to it?

[haresfur]

If I were in that situation I'd wrap the small cap in thick rubberbands and put it in a vise if one was available, being very careful not to distort it.  Then take the wide part in gloved hands, curse loudly and twist back and forth.

 

If you don't have a vise, then maybe vise grips or big honkin pipe wrenches.

[ChrisTaylor]

I'd be inclined to ditch it and replace it. I say this not because I'm rolling in piles of money but purely because if it stuck once, it's likely to stick again after you bust it open and attempt to use it.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The cap is still firmly stuck.  I have yet to try the vise approach, but I intend to once I find a good way to protect the finish (no rubber bands small enough, though maybe after the next time I buy broccolini).

 

Kayoko of umamimart kindly credited me with $50 because of the stuck lid, even though you may recall I purchased the Baron in 2013.  She said there have been a number of reports of stuck lids and umamimart would probably discontinue selling the Baron entirely.

 

My stuck Baron still works as shaker as long as I pour with the Hawthorne...which I also purchased from umamimart.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

If I were in that situation I'd wrap the small cap in thick rubberbands and put it in a vise if one was available, being very careful not to distort it.  Then take the wide part in gloved hands, curse loudly and twist back and forth.

 

If you don't have a vise, then maybe vise grips or big honkin pipe wrenches.

 

Tonight I concluded the cap was not going to come off by looking at it.  It took two tries but the vise method finally worked.  Having bought some broccolini I put the blue rubber bands around the cap and fastened the cap in a machine vise that has a jaw with a V notch for holding cylindrical objects.  Sadly the best I was able to do was break a rubber band.

 

Next, I heated the cap under hot tap water and then put it in the vise -- with the remaining rubber band.  This time the cap came off!  (I omitted using gloves and the language.)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

You'll never guess what happened this morning.  I managed to tilt the larger part of lid of the Baron sideways and wedge it on to the bottom part.  Cold sober.  Which I am not at the moment, thankfully.  My excuse is that I was preoccupied with preparing chicken Tetrazzini.

 

Hot water didn't work, so I am trying the suggestion of using the expansion of the phase change to ice to force it off.  Thankfully I have a spare Baron.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

GarethLangston's ice trick worked!  I love eGullet.