How can I unscrew the base of my glass blender jar from the black plastic base when it's screwed on jammed tight after using it in the blender? All the jar gadgets I've tried haven't worked, and I've set the jar/base in hot water to no avail. I even put it in our workshop vice, but was afraid I'd break it. Is there a secret to this? It has had a tendency to do this before, but this is the first time I haven't been successful at unscrewing the base.

Pam, December 2004

Assuming there's no man in the house(:-), you set the jar in the base, and use the jar's handle to get a strong grip. If you have arthritic hands, you could put something in the handle, like a broomstick or something and use that for leverage, holding the base with your other hand. You remember what Archimedes said about levers, right?

Ole Lady, April 2011

If you ever do get it off, I suggest putting a new gasket on before you use it again; it's possible that the old one has rotted in place and glued things together. To prevent this happening again, you should unscrew the base and wash it every time you use it; you'd be amazed (and disgusted!) by how many people NEVER take the base off the jar. After a few months, there is a black gunk forming from old foods that is truly nasty.

I get new gaskets from www.goodmans.net, which has lots of Oster parts (including new jar assemblies if you can't get the old one apart!) for reasonable prices and low shipping charges. But there are lots of other sources; I've seen them for sale in discount stores as well.

Naomi Siegel, May 2006