I already made the lampshade from hot glue and fishing line (https://www.instructables.com/id/Hot-Glue-Airy-Lam...), from coffee grounds, I also crocheted the lampshade (https://www.instructables.com/id/Lamp-Made-of-Yarn...). This time I decided to make a lampshade from glass. Of course, I would want to melt glass on my own, but I am not the owner of a glass melting furnace or a special burner. So, I decided to use glass bottles. Do not forget that by recycling glass bottles, we help reduce pollution and waste. I like shapely curves of the champagne bottles, so I chose them to create my lampshade. But it seems to me that you can replace them with any other glass bottles with similar shapes.

Designers and artists use bottles as lamps, but I don't like when the styles of bottles remains unchanged. Since I wanted my lampshade not to resemble a bottle as much as possible, I decided to combine the two bottles and not leave the upper part of the bottles. Although I must say that cutting a champagne bottle lengthwise is not so easy. So, in this instructable you will also learn how to cut glass bottles at home without buying circle cutter.

Let's breath new life into glass bottles and work to combat the harmful effects of pollution.

P.S. I'm tired of fighting with sites that steal my instructables regardless of the license (which is indicated in the upper left corner). Sorry but I decided to add attribution to my photos. I know it looks a little annoying, but it annoys me even more to see my works under someone else's authorship or for sale.

Supplies

2 empty champagne bottles (5 mm thick glass) in emerald and marsh color (but if you have no experience in cutting bottles, then you need more bottles),

a candle,

matches (or lighter),

a bucket or big bowl full of cold water,

glue for glass (I used Loctite Glass Glue),

wire,

a piece of wood board measuring not less 8 x 20 x 2 cm,

3 planks of wood measuring 13, 13, 8 cm long, width and thickness 1-2 cm,

6 nails 25 mm long,

a glass cutter and oil/lubricant,

a hammer,

a vise,

pliers,

boards to substitute under bottles and change the level of cutting,

a file and sanding paper 120 grain,

drill and glass drill bit,

a ruler,

a pencil,

masking tape,

rag,

sturdy work gloves,

NIOSH-approved N95 mask,

protective glasses.

Step 1: Cleaning the Bottles

As with any glass, the first thing you need to do is clean the glass surface. Any grime on the glass can ruin your score.

Soak the bottles for several hours in warm water.

Remove labels and wash bottles well.

Leave the bottles until dry well or wipe using a cloth.

Step 2: Cutting/Scoring the Bottles on Top and Bottom

You need to cut the bottles into pieces: cut off the top and bottom of two bottles, and then cut along one bottle of marsh color. In this step you will cut the top and bottom.

Cutting bottles (especially bottles with thick glass) is not so easy as this is not an ordinary smooth glass. Champagne bottles have a glass thickness of 5 mm. It's not so easy to break glass with such thickness, especially bottles. There are many ways to cut glass bottles: with flame, with boiling water, with yarn and so on. I chose the method with flame.

First, you need to make a straight cut. Of course, you can buy a circle cutter, but I don't think it's rational if you only need to cut several bottles. I suggest you to use a vice to get a perfect line around the bottle: fix the glass cutter in the vise in a horizontal position, and then just simply substitute the boards to change the level of the bottle so that the cut will be 3 cm from the bottom and 8 cm from the top. If you use the glass cutter without oil tank in it then put some oil on the cutter. Smoothly spin the bottle with a little pressure towards the glass cutter (see photos). It will help you to get a perfect line around the bottle. You will notice that glass cutter making a notch in the bottle. You have to make two cuts around the bottle - on top and bottom.

Remember that working with glass you need to observe safety precautions. Work in an area that is easy to clean, keep pets and children away. Wear protective glasses, a dust mask, sturdy work gloves, a heavyweight long-sleeve shirt, long work pants, and work boots.

Step 3: Breaking Out the Top and Bottom of the Bottles

Now you have to break the glass. As known, the glass breaks due to thermal shock: difference in temperature between two surfaces of the glass induces stress in the material and the cracks start to develop. We will use this to beak the glass.

As I already mentioned, I use the method with flame (heating using flame of candle, cooling using cold water in a pot).

Using candle, heat the score line by constantly rotate the bottle (directly along the line that you made with the glass cutter) to get even coverage.

Make several rounds and then dip the end you are breaking off in the bucket or big bowl full of cold water.

Repeat this various times until it snaps and the base/top of the bottle finally separates from the body. Be careful and watch for cracks so as not to miss the moment of separation of parts.

Here are my tips:

Do not try to get the result quickly and, accordingly, do not heat the glass too much at one time. Better spend a little long time with multiple heats and chills than quickly ruin the bottle.
Always spin/move the bottle. The stronger the flame, the further keep the bottle away from the flame and the faster spin it.
You can use a low power torch from a gas stove, but one torch, especially in a longitudinal cut.
Do not use running tap water, as this can result in many small cracks across your cut (not where you wanted).
I do not recommend using too high contrast cooling (the chance to spoil the bottle increases).

Soot remains on the glass during using the candle. Rinse the glass. Be careful to avoid sharp edges.

Step 4: Making the Stand to Cut the Bottles

To make cut along bottle you have to build a stand that will make this cutting easier.

Nail the two 13 cm long planks to the sides of a wooden board. The space between the two planks will depend on the width of your bottle (in my case, 4,5 cm). At the end of these planks, screw on the 8 cm long plank (see photo).

Step 5: Cutting Along of the Glass Bottles

Place the bottle on the stand. Make the score line. You can use the glass cutter in the vice (place the stand with bottle against the cutter on necessary level) or just freehand it. The score must run from one edge of the glass to the other edge.

Then repeat step 3. The risk of ruining the bottle at this step is higher than when cutting off the top and bottom. So, be careful when heating. Watch the flame heat only the score line. Do not heat too much.

In result you will have three glass parts of lampshade: two halves of marsh color and one whole of emerald color.

Step 6: Edge Sanding

Don't worry if you have small protruding pieces of glass at the edges. Remove them gently with pliers and clean off the edges using the file or rough square of sandpaper. Then use finer grit sandpaper. It is better to do it in water, as the dust from glass is very harmful to health. The dust caused by drilling glass, known as silica dust, can cause a certain type of lung cancer known as silicosis. You have to make the edges smooth to avoid cutting yourself.

Step 7: Assembling the Lampshade

You have to drill holes in the top of glass pieces to fix the halves of marsh color to the sides of the whole piece of emerald color. Place the halves to the sides of the whole piece and mark the place for the holes (not less 2 cm of the edge): one hole in each piece of marsh color (halves) and two holes from the opposite side of whole piece of emerald color. Add masking tape over the spot you want to drill. Put glass piece in the bowl with rag. Add water to keep the cutting area cool throughout the drilling process or form a donut-shaped ring of plumber’s putty around the spot and keep it filled with about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) of water throughout the process. Make sure the glass is firmly supported on the backside. Put on mask and drill holes, placing only very light pressure on the drill. By the way, there is already a great instructable about drilling holes in glass bottles https://www.instructables.com/id/Drilling-Holes-in...

Thread the wire through the holes and bend. Glue the parts together for best fixing. Wrap the wire around the top end of the lampshade.

Run the power cable through the the hole in the lampshade and connect to the lamp holder. Using wire fix the lampshade to the cable.

Screw in the LED lamp and enjoy the work done.