Wine Bottle Accent Light

When you're finished with this project, you will have a low-cost accent light made with commonly available materials. The project is simple and produces great-looking results. If you want to do this with a bottle that has sentimental value to you, I recommend that you practice first because glass is a hard, brittle material and you need to get a feel for the process to increase the likelihood of success.

This instructable is easily adapted to assembly-line processes... Once you have all the jjgs built and materials together, you can whip out bottle after bottle. Total time per bottle is about 10 minutes.

Step 1 Equipment and Materials List

Here's the materials and equipment list:

Equipment
- Craftsman drill press or equivalent (you can do this project with a hand-held drill, but you'll have less control)
- Safety glasses
- Gloves
- Bottle and stopper jigs (See below for materials; instructions included)
- 1/2-inch diamond hole saw
- 5/16-inch drill bit
- 7/16-inch Forstner bit or standard drill bit the same size (the Forstner bit will work best, because it drills a flat-bottomed hole)
- A condiment bottle or other type of squeeze bottle
- A box knife or other sharp cutting tool
- Pliers

Materials
- Wine or liquor bottle, with cork or cap
- 12-inch section of wire coat hanger
- A 12-inch piece of 2x8 for the jig base
- 2 12-inch pieces of parting stop or similar material
- 6 1 1/2" wood screws
- 20-bulb string of white or multicolored Christmas lights
- #00 rubber stopper
- Modeling clay
- Goo-Gone brand adhesive removal product

Comments

[henri_cervantes]

i found christmas lights to be much too hot, the glass bottle becomes too hot to handle. LED is a better solution. ikea used to sell a great string of lights, they didn't market them as christmas lights, but that's what they look like.

[hock3ydud3]

If it is throwing off glass dust at all, you need to wear a respirator rated appropriately. It is horrible for your lungs. Good instructable, I'm going to attempt to make a few of these as christmas presents!

[KEUrban]

Very good point. Inhaling glass dust can lead to silicosis, which is very bad as you say.

If you ensure that the clay reservoir is filled with water, glass dust is captured in the liquid. If you were doing dozens and dozens of these, I'd wear a respirator for sure.

[desnotes]

Great instructable...I have always wanted to drill holes in glass for different projects. From reading your instructable I know that getting the proper drill bit is important. What about drill speed? I have a drill press for my dremel and would build a jig but what speed did you use to drill through the bottle?

Thanks,

[e-mail]

[KEUrban]

I set my drill press at 1,100 RPM when drilling bottles. I put scant pressure on the bit, allowing it to cut at its own pace. Keep the bit lubricated with water.

In my experience (and contrary to some other 'ibles that say it takes minutes or hours to drill through glass) it takes about 30 seconds to drill through a wine bottle, and a bit longer to go through thicker-walled bottles like liquor bottles.

Good luck!

Kenneth

[seekertat]

The drill press does work wonders and fast; however, if you do put pressure on it, the glass where you're drilling will break. Also, odd shaped bottles (pear shaped) are difficult to work with but they can be done with the drill press too.

[KEUrban]

For odd-shaped bottles I fill a plastic bag with sand and put the bag in a small box. Then, nestle the bottle in until it's in the proper orientation for drilling.

[desnotes]

 Thank you for the response. Drilling glass has been something I've always wanted to do and now I have all the instructions. Thanks again.

Mike
desNotes

[leannehr]

I love this project, I made a couple and want to put a cute bottle stopper on it but then I really think it will get to hot and if I try to sell them I don't want to risk fires for someone else. I have 20 light strand and I want LED lights but they are all to long with to many lights. Does any body know where to get LED's around 6 feet in length that are not battery operated? IM DESPERATE! I've looked every where! Thanks!

[KEUrban]

I'm glad you like this project.

I've looked for short LED strands but all I can find are battery powered strings. Even with stoppers, none of mine get very hot. Please post if you find a source, though.

[cattco]

hi, can the labels be left on the bottle then the bottle lamp sold for profit? just wondering if this is legal because i also make these for family but a friend wants to put them in her shop. thanku :)

[KEUrban]

That's a good question. Since I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV, I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer. Fellow instructabrarians? Any direction for Cattco?

[CLIFTON23708]

I'M GIVING AWAY MY TRADE SECRET. USE AUTOMOTIVE ANTI FREEZE!!! IT'S SLIPPERY, AND DOESN'T BOIL OVER.

[ncohen2004]

I just love these bottles....i bought one and love it but am a little fearful of the heat....i'm afraid the heat will shatter the bottle....am i being over cautious? The craftman used christmas lights.....

[KEUrban]

The light strings I use have just 20 bulbs, so the ones I've built never get hot, just warm. If someone crammed a 50- or 100-light string in I imagine it would get much warmer. Hot enough to shatter the glass? Most likely, not (in fact, I can't imagine that). But hot enough to melt the insulation? With 100 lights it might.

I'm glad you like them... They are pretty cool.

Kenneth

[ncohen2004]

thanks for your response....i do believe there are only 20ish lghts....it gets warm...not hot...and so now i feel much better using it...thanks again and happy holidays!

[Sowee]

I did this, but without drilling a hole. Its amazing, but gets VERY hot.

[KEUrban]

That's interesting; the ones I've made get warm but never hot. What type of lights did you use? Is it possible you nicked the cord?

[Holcan]

What does accent mean? Sorry for the ignorance D:

[KEUrban]

No such thing as an ignorant question! An accent lamp or light is a lamp that is used to make a design statement in a room. It is used in addition to the primary light (like a ceiling light) in a room. See: http://interiordesign.lovetoknow.com/Small_Accent_Lamps

[Holcan]

O I get it Thank you very much man

[spa31rky]

Great work! I seen this at a local flee market......the people were selling them for $35 dollars and up.......and they sold too!

[TabbyDeAnne]

This is fantastic! I also have wondered how to drill through glass and have lots of unused wine bottles so this is high on my list of "to do's"! Thank you so much for taking the time to teach us how!

[KEUrban]

You're very welcome. I'm glad you found it useful. I'd love to see you post your finished bottles!

[ragdolldude]

I've made several of these bottle lights, using the led's. I"ve put up to 60 led bulbs in bottles. I cut off the plug and feed the cut wires first into the bottle. I solder a lamp cord/switch to wire ends that are pulled through thedrilled bottle . Glass bits can be found on Ebay easily. I then feed the bulbs in through the neck of the bottle. I use a mechanics claw tool to grab the bulbs and wires to help spread them around the bottle for a more even look. I've also used an etching compound to "frost" the bottles exterior. I've left some of the led bottles lit for several days, with no noticeable heat.

[KEUrban]

That sounds very nice. I'd like to see a picture!

[ragdolldude]

I can't seem to upload photos. All photos are jpeg format, but can't seem to get them into the reply box. Suggestions?

[KEUrban]

Down below the reply box, lower-left, is an "add images" button. Once you browse to the file and add it, click the "Upload" button.

[wdwdash]

 I did this project yesterday - pretty cool results!

[KEUrban]

Glad you like it!

[luvit]

i;ll finish my wine tonight and do this. i have a string of lights in my shopping cart. they don't work, but that;s ok. i don;t have electricity.

[and-reas]

I wanted to do a instructable about this exact same thing! Oh well, gonna make it anyway. Thanks for the tip of the reservoir =D

[porcupinemamma]

very pretty

[j0nny]

I am planning on making some for a gift. However, i plan to use some glass frosting spray on the inside of the bottle to hide the lights a bit and make a cool lighting effect. It might look dreadful but i'll post how it goes. Oh, and thanks for the great instructable!

[wiccanman82]

thats a great idea, im moving from maine to boston to go to le cordon blue college and this will be a great addition to my new apartment... I love it thanks for the great idea

[KEUrban]

Thanks for the comment! Good luck at Le Cordon Bleu!

[kitze]

Hey! Great idea, even though there already is a very similar project on this site where the result looks even better imho - and it uses LEDs! Every project is great that has LEDs in it! :)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Bawls-Blue-Crystal-LED-Light/

[KEUrban]

See my reply earlier about the suitability of this project for LEDs... I used regular bulbs because that was what I had on hand. LEDs are awesome, I agree. I like the instructable you linked to, but I find it a bit scary to fill the bottle with shards of broken glass!

[jianqiang]

good idea with the water to soak up the glass dust, I couldnt figure a way around that in my head.

[elgoetsch]

Just what I need!