Drinking Glasses from Wine Bottles

Making drinking glasses from wine bottles has been around for years, and while it is relatively easy to cut a bottle, making a nice useful drinking glass is a little more difficult.

Yeah, I can go to Target and buy a set of glasses, but it is pretty cool to be able to use/recycle bottles that in many cases go in the trash.

And of course, you can always take pride in the fact that you made them yourself!

WARNING: There is the possibility of injury from broken glass when performing the steps in this instructable. Proceed at your own risk!

Step 1: Get Your Bottle

Although you can technically make a glass from any bottle, I prefer wine bottles because they are much thicker than your typical bottle. Beer bottles in particular are very thin and more likely to break and cut you.

You'll also notice that most wine bottles have a big "dimple" on the bottom called the "PUNT". It is OK on a bottle, but not so nice in a drinking glass. Some people like the punt and glasses made from these bottles are often referred to as "punt glasses".

I prefer the flat-bottomed bottles commonly used with certain types of white wines. If you only drink red, try Bordeaux bottles, they are often flat on the bottom.

Beware: the nicer the bottle, the worse the wine usually tastes!

Comments

[chuckr44]

Hi there, I tried it this week and got the label off by soaking in hot water with a little dish soap. I even simmered the bottle (after cutting) in a pan of water. But I still have a lot of glue on the bottle. Will acetone get the glue off? Or do I need something else. I guess they're making better label glue these days.

[Catgaskill]

Chuck, I don't know if you have a dishwasher, but I put mine in the dishwasher and most of it comes off, then I take a scotchbrite pad and soapy water to get the remaining glue .. Hope this helps,,<3

[jarikcbol]

i know that this is an ooooold post, but i wanted to respond. The very best thing for removing label glue residue is lighter fluid. NOT FIRE, just lighter fluid. it seems to be the perfect solvent for label adhesive. a little on a paper towel will often take it right off. a little more, and a green scour pad will take off the most stubborn sticker from a glass bottle.

[satabor]

Goo Gone works. I've used it successfully several times.

[crkalino]

Definitely going to second the notion of Goo Gone.

[Greenehouse]

Try using WD40. With a little bit of rubbing it takes the adhesive right off in no time.

[microdot]

I heard somewhere that Mayonnaise will remove the glue residue left after removing bumper stickers. Maybe that would work on bottles too.

[Estwald]

Most labels will slide right off after soaking the bottles overnight in a water and ammonia solution.

[mas9779]

nail polish remover or some form of alcohol

[judysjubilee]

I make cheese trays. I remove labels from wine bottles with a kettle of boiling water. Pour it into the bottle and leave it for 10 minutes then use a razor blade and some labels come right off in tact. Then I soak the bottle in a little soapy water and when the residue is soft I get it off with lighter fluid and razor blade.

[Cryptonat]

I wouldn't use a razor blade, too much chance of scratching. As largejunglecat suggested, NAPTHA works wonders. Pretty much all lighter fluid that goes into Zippo and similar liquid fuel lighters are NAPTHA. (Haven't found one yet). Best bet: Go with Ronsonol Lighter Fuel (yellow bottle).

[mulder]

Baby oil is very good at getting sticker residue off of things....just put some on a cotton ball and rub the goo for a few seconds and it will come right off.

[danab123]

there is this stuff called 'googone', which is great at removing all things sticky, it's cheap, in the grocery store, and it smells great!

[kill-a-watt]

hmmm, I just looked at the MSDS for GooGone, and it's a mixture of mostly naphtha and a little of that citrus solvent and one other ingredient. Reading the comments here I detect a trend.

[largejunglecat]

I recommend zippo-type lighter fluid. It contains NAPTHA which is an awesome solvent for glues that can't be removed with soap and water. Definitely wash the glass thoroughly after using this, though.

[largejunglecat]

Oh, and denatured alcohol works wonders here, too. Both of these options are much cheaper than products like Goo-Gone, but I think they work just as well.

[Rectifier]

I'll chip in in favor of the solvent made from orange peels. Just one tiny squirt of that stuff will strip most anything sticky off, even when alcohol fails. Never tried lighter fluid, but it would definitely be the stinkier option when you're indoors.

[technosapien]

Goo-Gone is your friend. It never fails to remove adhesive from anything I need it off of, and has a clean citrus scent.

[fstedie]

I used a razor blade scraper to take a lot of it off. some bottles come off clean, others take a little bit of work. you can also use Goof Off or something like that. Acetone might be overkil...

[JohnRyancrouse]

a much better way of breaking the glass in a "controled manner is to score a line around the bottle only once and then to slowly pour hot water then cold water then hot water then cold water and then pop viola its in 2 nice pieces..... way better then breaking and using a candle

[Orngrimm]

In summary nothing new to me, BUT:
You had a very smart idea there with the protection with duct-tape!

If i saw that correctly, you used this Aluminum-type-duct-tape for this?

Also normally i dont use a candle to stress-break the glass at the cut. I simply hold them under the hot water from the faucet and "shock" it with cold wather from the faucet. Repeat once or twice and you have a very nice cut.

[cbg3868]

I am not crazy about the tools you uses to polish or grind the rim of your class. Fortunately, I have stained glass tools. I would use a stained glass grinder for the initial smoothing. There are various grinding wheels that provide the initial smoothing. Next, I would choose various level of wet or dry sanding paper to fully smooth the edge. My favorite winery, Iron Gate, in Mebane, NC offers one of its best wines in a blue bottle. Therefore I have no trouble getting quality wine in a blue bottle.

[fstedie]

I have moved on to using a stained glass grinder since I first published this instructable. However, not all of us have access to such tools. Whatever you use, just be careful!

[technosapien]

Hi! If you use the wire brush to leave a metallic sheen, is the glass dishwasher safe (or drinking-safe)? Or will that sheen eventually fade off with use/washing over time? Thanks, great instructable!

[shabushabu4613]

If the wire wheel is made of steel (even stainless steel), I'd be worried about it rusting over time, but it may wear off before that. If the wire wheel is Aluminum, it will also oxidize, and dull. Some people will argue that excessive amounts of Aluminum can have toxic effects, but since the average person is estimated to consume 3-10mg of Aluminum daily as it is, I doubt that even if you ate the rim it would be a problem (much less so than the lacerations such an act would cause...). Nonetheless, at least a heavier metal, like gold isn't being used, which has well known toxic effects. The metal is most likely deposited as the wires pass over the rough crystalline structure, and as the wires help break off minute, weak, and incomplete pieces of the matrix, thus smoothing it, larger pieces of the matrix will become impregnated with metal scraped and broken off of the wires, also effectively making the surface smoother, as long as the metal is retained. How you handle these glasses is up to you.

[relict]

While gold can cause heavy metal toxicity, it's extremely rare. The human body isn't able to digest gold in pure form, and it typically passes through without harm. There are forms of gold that can be absorbed, typically used in folk medicine. Even in these forms, dosages have to massively exceed recommended levels before health problems arise.

[jmarusoi]

Easier method using thermal shock, any flammable liquid would do, see this video:
www.break.com/index/how-to-cut-a-bottle-with-a-string.html
 

[bigmark]

But does it work on wine bottle's???

[fstedie]

The string method is very crude imo and will not work well on wine bottles.

[Tkdwn]

Tnx :)

[athompson21]

thats amazing.

[jmendezg]

i can not find the BC Quick Cutter. Please help

[flyingpuppy]

Beautifully done! I've seen it done similarly with just a simple glass scorer here: http://www.diypics.com/how-to-cut-glass-bottles/

[DIY Dave]

Could you cut these with a wet saw?

[scunningham2]

how do you go about smoothing the edges, so as not to get cut??

[meanmonkey]

cracking off is a technique you can use to cut bottles i use it occasionally. it requires only a turn table of some sort, a small blow torch, and something to scratch the glass.
check out the link its pretty cool.

[Zafner]

Attention everybody reading this instructable: try this. It's awesome. I can't believe I never heard of this.

[didgitalpunk]

true the vid is pretty cool

[server support company nyc]

Wow great video meanmonkey and I agree with asmithwnc. There should be a proper cutter for bottles to avoid any accidents when you use the wrong one.

server support company nyc

[The Dark Ninja]

That is an AWESOME technique! I'm going to try this for sure. I'm going to try it on a wine bottle (of course.) Thanks again for the video!

[Carpenoctem90hrs]

Great link, I think I will give it a shot.

[thepelton]

I was happy to hear that Harvey's Bristol Cream comes in that blue bottle. I was thinking of some other projects that blue glass could be used for, such as making blue beads. Another project on Instructables shows how to make beads.

As for etching the lettering on the side, I have an Epilog laser that will do that. Epilog has it's own website.

[fstedie]

I also have an Epilog that I use at work but most people do not have easy access to a laser cutter which is why I posted this method. Those with access to a laser already know that it etches glass very well.

[didgitalpunk]

looks nice but your method of grindig glass is just awful.
if you have some experience in gassworking, you know that just heating it will make the razor sharp edges disappear. But you need to heat it progressively as well as for cooling it down.

[fstedie]

You said it yourself: If you have no experience in working with glass, flame rolling the edges is easier said than done. You risk making the whole unit very brittle and unsafe unless you anneal it properly.

Maybe you can write an instructable on how to do this properly and help us all out.

[didgitalpunk]

Will do!

[johnqpublic]

Dry grinding of glass can pose long term health concerns. If done with any frequency it can lead to a disease called Silicosis. When preforming this instructable keep this in mind and try to do the grinding as a wet process.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicosis

[ecordell]

Just wear a mask while you work? The glass dust will settle shortly after you finish and you can wipe it up with a sponge.

[daisydrop]

Frequent contact with dry glass dust will cause upper respiratory irritaion (think sore throat).  Coughing will typically clear that.  Silicosis occurs with long term exposure to silica-the main component in the production of glass.  You're concern for safety is appreciated.  Let's not forget saftey glasses and gloves too!

[HighFlyingA380]

Can I just take a Dremel with a basic cutting stone and hand cut the bottle?

[robbied]

@syntheticfibres. You should not use the dremel wet, what johnqpublic was trying to say is you should do it by hand. I've made a couple of drinking glasses this way, and some deeper shot glasses (from vodka mixer drink bottles) but having the glass dust floating around got too risky for me. you can use wet and dry sandpaper in the same grits as you would the dremel. Sure it takes a bit longer, but in my experience, by hand you can produce a perfect even finish, something i'm yet to master with the dremel. It also keeps the process wet, so no worry about glass dust.

[james.bosch]

Check out 3 Ways to Recycle Soda Bottles and Use Them in Your Garden at http://blog.ecycler.com/2010/11/22/3-ways-to-recycle-soda-bottles-and-use-them-in-your-garden/ These glass bottles would make excellent planters, too.

[birdunks]

If you want to build your own jig you can check out this instructable by asdterror: www.instructables.com/id/Convex-Glass-Tile-from-Bottles/
I have not tried it yet but it seems simple enough

[9w2xyz]

chuckr44, zippos fluid works wonders for taking labels and crud off.

[kill-a-watt]

I used to use naphtha from the paint section of the hardware bigbox as zippo fluid. So that's a cheaper choice than those little bottles. Of course, that means you have a lifetime supply of label remover unless you smoke and use it in your zippo.

[thepelton]

WD40 is also a good gooey label remover.

[ronmaggi]

I have these Popular Mechanics encyclopedias from 1955 that say to use a whetstone on the glass edges to smooth them out. I've never cut glass, but I thought I would throw that in. Using a rotary tool may be better... How much was the bottle scoring tool?

[dragontearsoflove]

I plan to try this myself and while this still needs a little research...since I do have the set up for stained glass making (copper foil, diamond glass grinder, etc), I am strongly considering grinding down the lip of the glass on the grinder, then wrapping the lip in copper foil(tricky, but effective) and tinning the copper foil to create the silver edge to the glass and create a barrier to any sharp edges for the glass.

[imthatguy1125]

I searched for the bottle cutter but could not find it, do you have the link

[eyepodd]

ok so i was doing this and i dipped the bottle in some water after the fire and this was after about 5 mins of fire-water and repeat , so i went to shake off the execess water and the part that i was cutting broke away from the top and the procedded to smash into a zillion peices on my floor. i will be doing this ible again 5/5 thanks!!!!

[Iskaitinis]

Just made one, it was fun :)

[angelabchua]

Im totally going to make these!

[your dog]

I have done this before, only with a tile saw. it took a lot more sanding. I found that the green bubbly water bottle is the best choice

[babylemoande]

Where can I find the BC Quick Cutter? I have searched everywhere :(

[pink4tuesday]

http://www.delphiglass.com/

[Treshnell]

An alternative cutter is Ephrem's Bottle Cutter. It's also made out of metal, is easily adjustable, and comes with an accessory that allows you to easily cut on the tapered parts of the bottle (the cutting wheel needs to stay perpendicular to the glass for a good, clean cut).

The term "bottle cutter" is a bit of a misnomer, as mentioned, because you dont actually cut the glass, you're etching a line of very fine breaks.
Heat the score line with a heat source (Eph's cutter comes with a candle), then cool it quickly (rub ice on it, lower it into a bucket of cold water, etc). The contrast between the hot and cold breaks the bottle along the scored line.

Ephrem's bottle cutter comes with a silicone grinding power that you use to grind down the edge, and then you finish it with a bit of sand paper. It works perfectly well and results in safe glasses, but may not be as fancy as the dremel method outlined above.

Enjoy!
http://www.ephremsbottleworks.com/

[freetireair.com]

BTW your instructable is way informative.

[freetireair.com]

Yo, you use the wire brushes to polish up the edges? I've gotten mine ground down and rounded off but there seems to still be a bit of glass dust, etc. on the rims. I sent them through the dishwasher but they're still gritty...

[Earthymom]

this was a great tutorial. I have made these glasses before and used a diamond tip dremel  it took much less time than the sand paper method. You have inspired me to start making more glasses, thanks

[larkshyn]

Earthymom, I am being told there are several different kinds of diamond tips for the dremel, can you tell me which one you usually use for this?  My fiance and I want to make a bunch for vases for our wedding then later just use as glasses. :) Anyway, we just want to make sure we attempt fully prepared!  Thanks!!

[asmithwnc]

the ephrem's bottle cutter is an alternative to the bc quick.  all metal construction.  i've cut hundreds of bottles using this cutter.

[[ jack the young idiot ]]

is there an easy simple way to control the break of the glass or actually cut it?
like a stone or something to go round the edges
i dont know im just a kid lol

[robosilo]

great instructions. I was able to smooth the sharp edges with a sand blaster. I used tape to prevent the sand from marring the rest of the glass. Also, don't use a small torch to crack the glass. A light flame from a candle is the way to go. A hot torch heats the glass to fast and can shatter it.

[Amzy]

my grandma has some of theese at home they're awesome!
there's no empty bottles arround here, unfortunatley... well, for now (:

[TnT101]

i have the same cutter as you, for heating I use KEYSTONE Alcohol Torch.
(no soot) available
http://www.keystoneind.com/html/web-content/products/proline/alcohol_torch.html
for about $6... Do you get wandering fracture lines on the bottle as you heat it up?...maybe I'm heating it too much?

[tkjtkj]

re: that alcohol torch .. looks handy! BUT at the site there is NO link to actually buy it .. Its pictured as item 1820015 , i think it was, but
no purchase link at all.  Infact , none of its products seem avail online..
i guess i could make one, of course

[TnT101]

No worries..
http://www.mudhole.com/New-Products/Alcohol-Torch
if you do a search, you may find one cheaper...

Heres one in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzqNmLJG7JU

[fstedie]

Since writing this Instructable over a year ago, I am now putting the scored bottles in the oven at 175* for about 10 minutes.  I then take it out and run it under cold water.  I get faster, more even breaks with this method!

[TnT101]

that sounds convenient.
That alcohol torch is STILL a good thing to have.
Theres a 90 deg. tube that overlooks the flame.
A slight squeeze to the plastic bottle blows a pin-point flame straight to whatever your working on. ie; wood burning, smoothing plastic on models etc...

[heathbar64]

I once saw description of how to cut a bottle just by filling it to the level you wanted it cut at with oil, then thrusting a hot poker into the oil. No scoring needed. I tried it and it worked perfectly ONE time, and after that never could get it to work again. Has anybody tried this? What am I forgetting that made it not work anymore?
Hmmm, thinking about it now, I wonder if I needed to chill the bottle first.

[ricogato]

I can't find the BC Quick bottle cutter anywhere on the internet even after 2 hours of looking.  Can anyone help me by telling me where I can buy this product or getting instructions for making one?  Thanks BH

[XOIIO]

Very nice! Too bad I'm not old enough to buy wine, I's so do this as a gift.

[{tauney}]

I'm trying to find this bottle cutter of yours...all I'm finding is the crappier, weaker plastic versions. Which I suppose works, but yours looks so much more hard-core...

[fstedie]

I couldn't find the BC cutter anymore either but really, any cutter that can make a straight scoring line across the bottle would work. 

[DarfnageL]

I'm having a hard time getting a clean break, I've tried a few times and I'll either get a crack going down the bottle from the score line, or even a little spider webbing going out from the score mark. What am I doing wrong?

[kikiclint]

your cutter might not be perfect enough.  If your score line is broken at all, it creates places for the glass to run off randomly.  Practice scoring on something, and find out the right pressure, and then make a single continuous line, and try it again.  If it doesn't look like a single line, your cutter probably has a chip or something to break the line.  Just some experience from two years as a glazer.  I haven't tried this yet though.

[tiger2tame]

Another way of heating the bottle after scoring is to take a peice of cotton string dippen in Alchol,  Ring it out a bit before putting it on the score.  Light it and then dip the bottel in water wile it is hot.  This is a trick a lot of glass cutters use.

[suzyqhoo]

Nice instructable!  I have cut my own bottles before, but could never get the edges smooth with the included "shavings" that you were supposed to grind the edge in.  This looks do-able to me!  Thanks for posting!

[amandapanda31]

This is great! I saw something like this on www.uncommongoods.com and i wanted to figure out how to make my own instead of spending so much money on 2 glasses. Where can i buy that chemical for the etching and is there a specifiv type of paper you have to use for it? thanks!

[suzyqhoo]

AP, the glass etching cream is called Armor Etch and it is sold at Michael's Arts & Crafts (@ $13 for a small bottle) and probably at Hobby Lobby too.  One bottle will last you a year or longer, it takes very little cream to accomplish the etch.  Very cool stuff!  And Michael's sells the stencils too, although I think they are kinda pricey.  I get a roll of contact paper from the dollar store and make my own masks/stencils.  Good luck!

[bluelily17]

 I couldn't get the string method to work on any of the wine bottles I tried.  I'm going to attempt scoring it first.  Better charge my dremel too...

[blaineak]

i would like to se an instructable on how to make one of those bc quick radial glass bottle cutters, though i might be able to figure it out just by looking

[jackOrip]

Yeah, the only thing I would have trouble getting would be the cutting head and nylon rollers. Everything else i have in the toolshed. doesn't look to bad to build.

[nweiss81]

 I totally agree. It looks like basic hardware. Maybe we could figure it out...i am putting it on my to-do list and if i make any headway, i will let you know...

[qwertyboy]

if you need the nylon rollers, try McMaster Carr

[artsman23]

Hey great tutorial to help recyle stuff. Thanks

-Eric from http://www.glassetchingsecrets.com

[stickmop]

I've made an Instructable with a variation on scribing the cut using a Workmate and some clamps. The bottle rotates in the Workmate gap while the glass cutter is clamped to the surface.

So far I have all my fingers intact. :-)

[mcnnowak]

Flip the unused side (the neck of the bottle) over and you could make a ... wine glass shaped thing

[hulma]

dude why the cuttin thing jus soak cotton string in kerosene and burn it around the bottle full of cold water it'll crack right off

[hishealer]

Punctuation is our friend.

[Estwald]

Blue glass does nothing to stop UV light that can change the taste of the wine.

[hishealer]

However, Reisling is a good choice!

[meddler]

I saw a page somewhere, where a guy did pretty much the same with a file. He made a jig of some kind with the file set in it and rolled the bottle on it, then did the rest with the candle. Wish I could remember that page.

[femilyoxx]

I have tried the thing when you wrap the bottles with the soaked string and then put it in water but my bottles keep cracking. HELP please idk what to do I have tried duct tape but it still cracks. :(

[fstedie]

the string method sucks. get a bottle cutter. once scored, you can put in the oven for a few minutes and run under water. clean breaks every time.

[syntheticfibres]

My dremel's in the post and I've never used one before. How do I use it wet? Cheers.

[missgdwrench]

great idea i have the bar in my town saving bottles for me i'm using them to make a bottle flower box i seena entire house made like this so i was looking for something to do with the extra bottles that i have. my husband does tile & mable work so i have a wet saw & dremel tool i would agree to use the dremel tool wet i also make opal rings using my dremel tool and i will dip the stone water grind for about 2 sec then dip in water again it keeps the dust down and keeps the stone from getting hot! Thanks for the great idea!

[Friedto]

I've seen a blow torch used to fix one of my mother's expensive wine glasses that broke right at the stem from the cup, could you take a blow torch and "fuse" the bottom of cup with the area where the cork goes

[spryor71]

HAHA... Torch Fail. But hey... good idea!

[shortone]

be careful doing that! When glass is exposed to heat too quickly, it tends to explode... trust me on this

[Kryptonite]

It's the rapid expansion and contraction that happens with the changing of the temperature that causes the "explosion", but if the whole glass item cools and heats at the same rate then it won't.

[shortone]

exactly

[Kryptonite]

Nicely worded reply.

[shortone]

haha thank you :)

[turnerfromdh]

i think that's only Pyrex

[Sir Toby]

I have not tried this myself but i have read somewhere thet you can take a string of yarn. Dip it in (direct translation from Swedish) red acohol(?). String it around the botle. light it! Let it burn out. Quickly dip the botle in cold water. Now the botle should snap of from the tension built up in the glas.

[Tobita]

I've known the method differently; you soak the string in kerosene,wrap it around the bottle twice, light, let it burn for around two minutes and dunk in ice water.

[headlessbubble]

I have done this several times now. Great idea and good instructable! thanks

[dogsgomoo]

Nifty.

I'm thinking of combining this with the "Self watering recycled vase" as I really hate how the plastic bottles look. And to avoid most of the dry grinding I'll just duct tape and then metal tape the edge as I won't be drinking from. Or maybe use something else to prevent the sharp edges from posing a hazard.

Have you tried the glass cutting jig on square glass bottles?

(As a side note. I just spell checked my post and the Instructables spell checker doesn't recognise Duct in duct Tape! I think that's some sign of the apocalypse.)

[davethescubarock]

You could make wine glasses by sticking the bottom of the bottle onto the top you cut off... not sure if there's already an instructable for this...

[shortone]

ooo i've seen those! they are super cool :D i think the ones i saw were made out of beer bottles though

[newbeatle]

seems interesting, but i heard about a method to do this with a wire cord or something like this, but i dont know how to do. good effort and a ecologically way to recicle glass bottles

[silver912targa]

Just soak the cord into something flammable like Thinner. Wrap it around the bottle real tight. Light it, and let it burn for a while (don't know how long you'll have to "try and error" it. And then under the water tap. Crack, there's you divided bottle. Michel Portugal

[jameyer]

Michel: Does this method still require the scoring?

[silver912targa]

Sorry I don't understand the question. I'm Belgian so English isn't my mother tongue. Michel

[jameyer]

Do I still need to cut the line into the bottle if I am using the cord method?

[silver912targa]

No, not at all. It's very easy. The trick is, the burning cord really heats the place where you want your bottle to be divided and when you then cool it with cold water the bottle cracks because of the enormous tension the heat/cold caused. Hope this helps. Michel

[omnistructable]

Another way of cutting the bottle. Fill it with oil, up to where you want to break it. Take a metal rod and heat it until its red. Hold the filled bottle with a damp cloth while pushing the red hot rod slowly into the oil. Any oil will work, old cooking oil works good. The rest you know.

[jameyer]

The idea sounds good in theory, but what about the flammability of the oil? Is the hot metal enough to cause it to ignite? What about sparks?

[Deadicated]

Do you think I can use them to make soy wax container candles? The melting point of soy wax is about 150˚

[omnibot]

It should not be a problem since glass needs over 1000 degrees to melt, the flame could damage the glass but since wine-bottles tend to be thick it should work but beer-bottles are more fragile. Try it and find out.

[raeraethejetplane]

What is this "wire wheel" you speak of? Is it part of the dremel like a tool bit?

[omnibot]

I suspect it is the rotary wirebrush.

[lesrebnav]

waow, wonderbar instructable !!!!!

[jany]

vinegar will take off the gum. soak a cloth with full strength vinegar and let is sit for a while. Just make sure you do it before the cloth dries.

[FreshPineSent]

£PIC WIN!

[frazeeg]

Using a wet tile saw works pretty well to cut. You just have to turn it slow so that you minimize chipping. Anyone know a good way to get the drinking edge smooth like regular glasses? That's just about all I need and these will be perfect.

[ljrodgers]

There is another way to finish the edge. Start with a round metal cookie sheet, one with a raised edge. Sprinkle a small amount (1/8 tsp) of carborundum abrasive grit and water on the cookie sheet. Place the sharp edged glass upside down on the cookie sheet. Move the glass in a circular motion keeping it in contact with the upturned edge of the sheet. Start with 120 grit and then 220 and 400 washing the cookie sheet thoroughly wash between grits to remove all traces of the previous grit. Keep grinding until there is a uniform frosted edge. Polishing is also possible using this same method, but you will need to add a thin rubber liner to the sheet to hold the polish. carborundum grits can be purchased online and do not cost very much.

[fuhrysteve]

I'm not sure if it's the same stuff as "carborundum abrasive grit," but I read somewhere that you can use "valve grinding compound," which you can get at an auto parts shop. Apparently the stuff comes in a tube (looks like toothpaste, but i'm not sure if it's like a paste or powder).

"Put the valve grinding compound on a sponge and wet it. Then you lay the sponge down and turn the glass up side down on the sponge and start twisting. The edges will come out smooth and rounded. And that's how to make drinking glasses from glass bottles." -From a comment made here.

[Tedd]

Awesome idea!
Being in a family of four, and everyone having a bad memory when it comes to who's is what glass, and being wine-lovers, I can't wait to make some! Just need a dremel tool...

[bennylope]

Sounds good, but glass, unlike metal, does not actually have a crystalline structure. All ceramic materials, including common glass, are "glassy", meaning non-crystalline. 'Tis why it can be transparent.

[polyparadigm]

Not quite so. I make transparent, crystalline ceramics for a living. The crystals have to be either extremely tiny (a few tens of nanometers, say) or have very symmetrical optical properties. The polyester in a plastic soda bottle actually has some crystal structure to it, and the crystals will grow to the point they begin scattering light if the bottle is heated a bit (over, say, a far-away lighter flame...) Most pottery (minus the glaze), as well as the advanced ceramics in piezo speakers and body armor, is crystalline through-and-through. Glass-ceramics such as Corningware and vaseline glass have microscopic crystals embedded in glass. You're right in saying that most transparent materials aren't crystalline. It's a good general rule, with a few exceptions.

[squares]

The molecular structure of crystalline motifs are generally orders of magnitude smaller than a nanometre. In some crystals with particular structures and space groups light will pass in straight lines along the planes which exist through the internal polyhedra. I hear the transparency of PET and glass wine bottles is also fairly dependent on one or more of various oxides being present.

[ozzbat69]

you are all pretty close, but if you really want to do this the easy and clean way, after heating the bottle/glass for a few moments. The heat slightly causes the glass to expand on either side of the score line evenly. Place an ice cube on the top side of the bottle/glass over top of your score line. This causes the heated glass to rapidly contract from the cold of the ice cube which results in a quick even separation of the glass. It's really quite cool when it separates. PS: you don't need the glass to be melting hot, just a bit of heat, and when you place the ice cube on top you will know when it's enough. Enjoy, haven't seen one of these devices since I was just a kid, good work...

[toogood]

you could to do it this way, sorry about the pics
>blue =glue
>red =cut
>green =smooth

[lukus001]

I've got a pair of glasses like that, their very nice. Probably not ideal for wine bottles due to their larger sizes (small bottles naturally are fine). The larger size of wine bottles make them more ideal to be turn into tumblers /straight glasses like the above Instructable.

http://www.firebox.com/product/1161?src_t=sbk&src_id=glass for an example with image people. Grolsch ones are a perfect size and don't break despite how many times I've dropped them.

[Dorkfish92]

hmm, pretty good idea, mabey glue it with silicone glue or something of the sort on the inside? You should make that an instructable.

[GorillazMiko]

Wow, this Instructable is great! I might try this out, and I hope I don't cut myself!

[charred]

wow! very impressive Instructable. great job

[mattface]

Man these are the dogs danglies. You could make kiddy beakers from beer bottles...

[nsaltz94]

bawls glasseshere is a picture of teh bawls glasses

[fstedie]

yeah, don't like the logos. I also don't recommend soda or beer bottles, they are usually pretty thin as compared to wine bottles.

[hifonics-viii]

I use to go and drink at the lake and when he had old bottles, like mesican rum we used to tie nylon rope maybe like 4 times arounf and while someone held teh bottle i would pull the string back and forth and then put the bottle in the water and it would cut perfetly..

[mackc]

You should try goo gone. I think it's around $5.00 tops and it's a pretty good, safe glue solvent.

[AzurusNova]

What would be kick ass to try this with is the Bawls bottles. Im sure you could make a great glass set out of those, or even better yet, make some lamps out of them. Im sure that would sell big. :P

[fstedie]

There is someone on ebay already selling glasses made with Bawls bottles. the only problem IMO is that they are really skinny and wouldn't really make practical drinking glasses. Oh yeah, and you're stuck with the Bawls logo (can't find a way to easily get it off without totally scratching up the glass)

[noahh]

I heard it works better if you put it in the candle, then dunk it in ice cold water. I have not tried it but I read it gives you a fairly smooth cut.

[fstedie]

it doesn't necessarily work better, just possibly faster. you'll still get an extremely sharp edge which you'll have to smooth out. try it, you'll see ;)

[noahh]

You would know better than me. I have never tried one of these.

[Mr. Rig It]

Good instructable, I may be able to utilize this new knowledge in another project. Thanks for all the hard work.

[Mr. Rig It]

Excellent closeups and notations, good job.

[5Volt]

Great idea, the Instructable is very well documented with good pictures. Congratulations. A.

[Darkshot]

HOW COOL!!!! awsome dude i would make this..but my mom would TOTALLY freak

[fstedie]

uhhh, yeah, get your paren'ts permission first....

[Whatnot]

So if you can grind it with dremel bits can't you cut it too with say a diamond wheel? it would come out ugly I guess unless you attached it to something that keeps it in place and gently turns it perhaps, but did anybody ever try to use a dremel cutting wheel on glass? I'm curious.

[fstedie]

it would definitely come out ugly, meaning you'll only be sanding/grinding more just to get the edge smooth enough to drink from.

[whatsisface]

I've seen glasses made out of the neck of the wine bottle, with the bottom of the wine bottle fixed to the end bu melting it, making a sort of champagne flute/ wine glass.

Nice instructable.

[stripmind]

i made a couple of these a few years ago. though it was a fun idea, in the end, I didn't think that the wine-bottle thickness worked aesthetically as a champagne flute. Grinding the base out of the bottom of the wine bottle more than doubled the amount of grinding needed (the bottles I liked to use were thicker at the bottom), and the end result wasn't as nice to use or to look at. Attaching the two pieces also added a lot of work.

[dacker]

In the mid-1970's, when environmentalism was in its early stages, you could buy a kit to turn bottles and jugs into glasses, vases, and other useful recepticles. After scoring the bottle with the mechanism, you used a heavy, bendable rod to tap the glass from the inside.

Oh wait! I just found it here, but for about 5X the price from 30 years ago. (Man, I feel old now!): Bottle & Jug Cutter

[fstedie]

Yep, you can definitely still use one of those. However, I think the candle/water method is much cleaner, more consistent and safer than the tapping method.

[stripmind]

I also like the candle and water method better than tapping. But ice-water in a tray works better than running water - in my experience.

[TheRevJester]

I do these. I also didn't want to spend all year doing them. However, I found out that the black/grey rubberized ceramic cylinder/bar bits for dremels give you a somewhat finished edge. They look (and feel!) much nicer. I also use a 300 grit diamond drum for the rough grinding. It is quick and lasts forever!

[stripmind]

thanks rev-jester. when I've made these in the past I spend a lot of time grinding away. i'd like to make more, but didn't how time consuming the grinding was. I also didn't like the glass dust, and built a box for it (old cabinet, part of an extra sheet of plexi, trash-bag w/rubber gloves duct-taped to em).

[fstedie]

do you have a picture of the Dremel bits you use? I would love to try others.

[Slinkytreekreeper]

Attach a duct venting clasp to the bottle and use the hard metal edge to score a line with. This is like a thin steel belt with a screw to tighten. All chainstore DIY paces sell these for a couple of quid. The candle technique is way more consistent for me. Used to stand in a pan of heating water to the cut line till it started to bubble then put it in the freezer inside a bag till you hear a 'plink'.

[LakeLivin]

I like this idea. A hose clamp seems like it would be an extremely cheap & easy alternative to the cutting jig. Have you tried it to see if you could easily score a clean line around bottles without slippage problems (either the hose clamp on the bottle or the glass cutter off of the clamp)? One down side is that you'd be limited to cutting only the 'straight' part of a bottle as the clamp would slip on any part that was slanted or curved.

[chuckr44]

Would a propane torch from the hardware store get hot enough to melt the sharp glass edges and make them safe?

[Suppafly]

a propane torch would probably work, I remember in chemistry class, any time you'd break a pipette or chip a test tube or flask, we'd melt the hot edge on a Bunsen burner. Since you just need to melt a thin ridge or glass, it doesn't take a ton of heat, its not like you are trying to melt the whole bottle.

[fstedie]

test tubes and pipettes are very thin, wine bottles are very thick. also, read below: you'd be stressing the glass in such a way that it would make it too fragile and prone to shattering unless you annealed it.

[fstedie]

No, a propane torch won't work, the melting temperature of glass is well over 2,000 F and I doubt that a portable torch gets over 700. Even if you used an OxyAcetylene torch it would likely not come out right. I'm no glass expert, but I believe you'd need a kiln and glass working tools to do it right.

[BobbyMike]

You can use a propane/oxygen setup. You just need the right torch to get it hot enough (you don't need to get it molten at 2000 degrees, glass is workable down to about 1000 degrees). We used to use such a set up (with a jeweler's torch) when we were glassblowing. We used it to clean up our puntys (or pontils) on the bottoms of our glasses, vases, etc. "Scientific" glass is made from borosilicates and has a lower melting point (and lower expansion). I would hesitate to use it to smooth the glasses lips though because you would need to anneal the glasses (and probably pre-heat) the glasses, which can be tricky. If glass isn't properly annealed you can set yourself for an exciting moment later. My wife used to make glasses from bottles using a small portable record player to spin the bottle and heated the scored lines using a torch free hand. We actually are in the middle of collecting a box of bottles to do the same thing. Being lazy I planned on setting up a mini production line using the same method.

[ironsmiter]

*nod nod* without proper annealing(very slow, controlled cooling inside an insulated box, and/or a temp/time controlled kiln) the glass will cool off and then suddenly shatter.

[stripmind]

i tried this - first i just tried to hit the rim with the torch. this quickly resulted in a crack in the wrong place. then i tried heated the glass for 20 minutes in my oven to get the heat up. with the torch on it, the rim was still too stressed and started crumbling/shattering and sending tiny fragments of hot glass in different directions. I hadn't gotten any rims to melt smoothly before I quit and went back to grinding.

[ironsmiter]

well, I see one issue right off. 500 degree in a home oven is much too cool for annealing, If I remember my tempature settings right, 900 degree F is a usual minimum.with borosilicate glass being 1100(?) for post-torchwork cooling, you must slowly cool, over a couple HOURS, not 20 min. Once the glass reaches under 800 degree(usually) you can cool it off much more quickly. My notebook(must admit, i was never a glass worker... and my notes are from a VERY limited, supervised run, under the direction of experts) says cooling times for bottle slumping(wine bottles) should be "cool overnight from 1300 to 850" so 6-10 hours?

[Nano_Burger]

Glass of course has a crystal structure to it and can't really be cut at room temp but rather broken in a controlled manner.

Technically, glass has no crystalline structure...its amorphous. But for the purpose of this instructable it really does not matter.

[coolnamestaken]

could this etching cream work on a laptop?

[Einarjon]

Did some some googling: "Lets you create permanent etched designs on windows, mirrors and household glassware. ... Will not etch plastics or some Pyrex."

I guess it's "glass, mirror, ceramic, porcelain, marble, or slate" only.

[fstedie]

it is made specifically for glass etching but I don't know. unless of course you have a glass laptop....

[alex26i]

This is very very usefull, you know there is a method I heard, but was never able to make it work. Your suppose to be able to use a shoelace and wrap it around the bottle moving it back and forth fast, causing that spot to get hot, then you run cold water over that spot and the bottle is suppose to crack.

[Mr.Cire]

how do you find the score line?

[fstedie]

you create the score line with the bottle cutter, which is really all that it does. once you make the score line, it is pretty easy to see. you can actually make it out in one of my pics.

[NHquilter]

When I was a kid, Ronco made a set up to cut glass bottles into wine glasses, etc. We had it, but I don't think it ever worked well. You can use the top of the bottle as a bell or a few of them make wind chimes.

[suenf]

For grinding the edge of the bottle, have you tried a stained glass grinder? Anyone who works with stained glass will have one, and most studios rent studio time if you wanted to make a bunch and then rent an hour. I'm assuming it would be a lot faster than the Dremel/hand method.

[fstedie]

I thought about it but the machines are made for flat glass pieces, I'm thinking that it would be tough to get a good radius/curve on the edge using one. It would be great if someone tried it though...

[CupBeEmpty]

Would a pipe cutter for large gauge pipe work? Is it not sharp enough?

[fstedie]

Absolutely not! you'll hurt yourself. remember that you don't actually "cut" glass but rather score it and then break it in a controlled manner. You need a hard, sharp glass tool to do so.

[yomero]

awesome instructable, im definitely going to do some glasses, after the effect of the wine wears off, ofcourse!!!

[gowithflo]

Have you ever tried the flaming string of kerosene technique? I think it bypasses needing a bottle cutter but perhaps it doesn't work as well, just wondering if you have tried that already.

[fstedie]

it might work ok if you simply want to cut the bottle for like a flower vase or something, but if you want a consistent, even cut you need the bottle cutter. they are not that expensive, and as someone mentioned, you can even make your own jig if you wanted to.

[ironsmiter]

GREAT instructable. We ARE a DIY site.. and the jig looks simple enough to make. Not to try and take money from the hands of the bottle cutter company, but... A short visit to the hardware store looks like it would supply everything except the cutting head. and the Kheu website has those for $5... 2 foot of barstock, a foot or two of allthread, 4 nuts, 4 wingnuts, 3 beirings, and 4 nut/bolts .... a hacksaw, drill and some time.. will have to compare the above shopping list price total to the website'scost plus shipping. shopping list... an old pair of rollerblades(with at least 3 good wheels) the cutting wheel from a el-cheapo glass cutter(kind with the pot metal handle, and the ball on the end) 2 large bolts, and 6 nuts.

[netzirk]

I LOVE IT!!!!!! but where did you buy the glass cutter? I found one that looks kind of cheap (and made form plastic) online, which looks nothing like the one you pictured. Oh! and for more art, check out a back issue of BUST magazine which shows some nifty glass etching ideas.

[fstedie]

Here's the link to the one I bought:
Bottle Cutter

[canida]

Those look awesome!
Alert Tim!

[Chopsteeq]

That's pretty cool, nicely written instructable. I've always wanted to make glases out of bottles, but I lack all the tools needed =( One day, one day... hehe.

[ewilhelm]

Holy cow! It's a How to make a broken jar Instructable, but done right!

[fstedie]

yeah, I definitely don't recommend cutting a bottle/jar by hand...