Glass Bottle Cutter V3
Intro: Glass Bottle Cutter V3
I have been collecting many glass bottles / jars for last one year, to make tealights or planter or wind chime beautiful out of them...Since these glass bottles are shaped optimum for storing food or wine, one needs to cut them to size. And cutting glass bottle at home is not easy
Yes there are many methods described on the internet.. And believe me I have tried them all (well almost ).. After a lot of trial and error, I feel that scoring a bottle using a diamond head and then treating it hot and cold water gives a very good result.
One can buy bottle scoring jigs, they are moderately high priced for the material used.. And when I look at these in India they are 4 to 5 times of original cost in US. So I decided to make them.
This is my 3rd attempt and I finally got a professional finish
What is needed in a bottle cutter ?
- The Bottle should be stable
- The length should be adjustable
- All bottles are not perfectly circular, the cutter should be felxible
- One should be able to work with small and large bottles
- the Score has to be aligned
- And start and the end score should match ( the ends do not match you will not get good cut)
In this instructable, I will share how to make a this glass bottle cutter
STEP 1: What Do We Need ?
Material
- PVC Wood
- 6mm threaded rod
- Some washers
- 6 mm nuts
- Diamond cutter / carbide cutter
- 2" Screws
Tools
- Jigsaw or Hacksaw
- Screwdriver
The VC wood is made of some plastic like material, it is lightweight and waterproof
If you are making this with regular plywood or wood, you need to sand it's surface and coat with varnish, this will close the surface and avoid tiny glass shards sticking on the wood
STEP 2: Base
To make the base
- Cut 215 x 75 mm : two pieces
- Cut 165 x 75 mm : two pieces for sides
- Make 45 degrees angle on the smaller ( 165 x 75 mm) as shown
- Make the cuts using a Jigsaw
- Use a super glue to temporarily hold all pieces together in place
- Now Screw them to fix all joints
STEP 3: Base Support
We need the cutter with adjustable length, for this we will use a 6MM rod.
This rod should be placed a little higher than the bottle, So I added two 115 x 36 mm pieces
Drill 6mm holes through it and pass the metal rod
STEP 4: Handle
For the handle, I had some left over wood ( I had cut a circular shape for a previous project). It had curved shaped and helped me to give a different look
- Attach the diamond cutter on the handle
- Add few extra screws to make sure the cutter does not move
- Drill a 6 mm hole
- Sand the handle with 80 grit sandpaper to give a smooth and curve edges similar to a knife
- Add Jute string to the handle
- Paint it brown
STEP 5: Finishing
- Pass the Handle on the 6mm threaded rod
- Add washers and nuts on both side of the handle
- Restrict the rod by adding nuts at the end
Yaaay we have finished
STEP 6: Testing Conclusion
Now for some testings
- Place the bottle on the cutter
- Lock the handle in position as per desired length, using the nuts
- Use a spanner to tighten nuts
- Apply slight pressure on the hand with your left hand and slowly move the bottle with your right hand
- The Score line should complete at the same point where you started
Steps to Cut bottle
- Once you have your score, heat the glass bottle ( at the scored area) with a Candle or hot boiling water
- And cool scored area either with Ice or ice cold water
- Thin bottles can be cut in a minute
- Let the glass bottle separate out but itself, do not pull them out early
- Sand the glass cut using 80, 180, 300, 600 grit to get a professional like cut
Please note that this method works best for thin glass bottles ( Wine or beer ) or glass jars ( Chutneys, Jam etc)
Now that I have a prefect cutter, I will recycle many glass bottles. In future I will post few of them
Hope you liked this instructable, Please share tips, suggestion and comments
20 Comments
thedud 5 years ago
Belle réalisation.
Merci pour le partage.
Jean
aCuriousCreator 6 years ago
Really nice. I made about 3 versions myself and still didn't work that well. I ending up just buying one and still feel a cheat to this day. Will have to have a crack at this design!
Amit_Jain 6 years ago
jmfwyatt 6 years ago
Gadisha 6 years ago
Great idea!
Amit_Jain 6 years ago
Iamm1ckser 6 years ago
have you worked out a way of adding a glass handle to these jars making them a mug ?
Redspringrose 6 years ago
Amit_Jain 6 years ago
Amit_Jain 6 years ago
nickiedog8 6 years ago
Very well written instructable! I am not sure of the cutter used, what is it originally used for? IF the handle was wider at the pivot point, it would not flex as much but it seems that you are happy with the way it is.
Amit_Jain 6 years ago
Amit_Jain 6 years ago
dananotech 6 years ago
Great design and instructions! You might try using wing nuts so you don't need a spanner to tighten the nuts in to place.
Amit_Jain 6 years ago
Gary2201 6 years ago
I like this design, I have a box of blue bottles and want to shape them into a new project.
h9392 6 years ago
Great project ! I like the design of placing the cutter/scorer on a handle and locking the cutter in place (left to right.) More even pressure can be applied to the bottle while cutting. Going to make this bottle cutting jig !
Amit_Jain 6 years ago
seamster 6 years ago
Very good cutter design, I like it!
Amit_Jain 6 years ago