Tabasco Bottle Shot Glass

by seamster

51K61747

Intro: Tabasco Bottle Shot Glass

Make a shot glass from an empty Tabasco bottle!

This is a relatively easy project, and only requires a few simple tools to complete.

This is the first time I've ever attempted to cut a glass bottle into two parts, and I was surprised by how easy it was. Unfortunately I didn't get a completely perfect break, as you can see in the photos, but I'm quite happy with it nonetheless.

Grab a glass cutter and your favorite drink, and let's do this.

Note: The frosted look of the glass in the main photo was achieved by simply keeping the glass in the freezer prior to taking the photo. Just in case anyone wonders! :)

STEP 1: Score the Bottle

There are numerous jigs and fixtures online that you can either buy or make to help you score glass bottles.

For a small bottle like this, you can do it quickly and easily with just a block of scrap wood and a basic glass cutter.

For this 2 ounce Tabasco bottle, I trimmed a piece of scrap wood to be 2 5/8" tall, which was the perfect height for setting my glass cutter on to score bottle just above the label, but below the curve.

Be sure to put a drop of oil onto the cutting wheel (I used sewing oil.) Press onto the glass cutter and support block with one hand, while holding the bottle firmly against the block and flat on the table. Gently but firmly rotate the bottle against the scoring wheel.

Make sure you create an even score all around the bottle.

STEP 2: Optional: Tap the Bottle

I'm not sure if this helps or not, but I gently tapped all around the scored line on my bottle.

Edit: As pointed out in the comments, this is not effective or helpful. Thank you, ironsmiter!

STEP 3: Also Optional: Protect the Labels

To break the bottle, I used a combination of fire and ice, alternating heating and rapidly cooling the glass until the shock breaks the glass along the scored line.

This method alone would quickly ruin the paper labels on the bottle, so in order to keep them intact you need to protect them from both the moisture and the heat.

To do this, wrap on a tight layer of cling wrap followed by tight a layer of aluminum foil.

Just make sure the protective layers cover the labels completely, but leave the scored line uncovered.

STEP 4: Fire and Ice (er, Snow!)

To heat and cool the bottle, I used a candle and a bowl full of real snow (we've got a couple feet on the ground where I live, so why not?)

Alternately, if you don't have fresh snow available, cool running water or a tub of ice water will work.

Rotate the bottle under the candle so the flame is focused on the scored line for about 20 seconds. Then plunge the bottle into the cold media (whatever you are using.)

Repeat until the bottle gently breaks apart. It took me about 5 or 6 cycles before my bottle popped apart and rewarded me with a puff of that excellent Tabasco-y aroma.

I then removed the aluminum foil and cling wrap to find the labels in perfect condition.

Photo 3 shows (or attempts to show) the crack spreading after the 3rd or 4th cycle.

STEP 5: Clean and Sand the Edges

At this point the glass edges are ridiculously sharp. You can either gently rinse out the glass now, or sand the edges.

Since I live on the edge, I quickly rinsed and dried it first.

I then used some 220 grit sandpaper to gently remove the sharp edges of the glass.

You can coat the outside of the bottle to protect the labels with either lacquer or some other sealant, or just leave it as is. If you leave it as is but want to keep the labels intact, this will need to be a "wipe-to-clean" kind of item.

That's it! I hope you'll make your own.

Hey, I've got a 1-year pro membership for the first person to make one of these and post a photo of it in the comments. There's only one catch: you have to do it with a perfectly clean break, unlike me!

Good luck!

40 Comments

ironsmiter 9 years ago

tapping on the outside does nothing good. Tapping on the side of the glass OPPOSITE the score (inside the bottle, in this case) will propagate the crack through the glass. You are using the temperature differential method to propagate the crack instead, so just skip this step (MY favorite is boiling water inside up to the score, and icecube on the outside; may be problematic with the tiny opening of a tabasco bottle though).

Clamping the block/glass cutter to the table will allow you to use both hands on the bottle. may make for a cleaner score/break.

bigblue1973 9 years ago

hi.... I found that if you put lighter fluid on some string then tie at the cut, set it alight then after around 10 - 15 seconds extinguish under cold water. The top should drop off or part with a little pressure.

GeorgeOfTheWorkshop 4 years ago

Hello

I tried this with old soft drink bottles to make drinking glasses, this is a nice spin to it. I will try it in the future 😄

kukopia 5 years ago

How far from the bottom is your score line and how many oz's is the shot glass?

seamster 5 years ago

I no longer have this, so I can't measure it. But from the photos I see it's a 2 oz bottle.

Darthorso 8 years ago

For some spicy drinks ;)

Yard Sale Dale 9 years ago

Has anybody tried tying stainless steel safety wire around a glass, then heating it somewhere just off the bottle with a soldering iron?

dollarseed 9 years ago

I was told that the better way, is to soak a piece of fine string in acetone, kerosene, anything flammable, and tie it around the bottle where you want to cut it. Light the string on fire, and once it burns out, dunk the glass into a bowl of ice water, and it breaks clean. No scoring needed. Haven't tried this method yet with labels, but it works great with larger bottles to make drinking glasses, and leaves a nice straight cut.

desoi 9 years ago

The Tabasco labels look cool but I'm wondering if there's a way to protect the labels so they can be hand washed instead of just being 'wipe to clean'? Making glasses out of painted bottles might be the way to go

herrbag 9 years ago

I would dip/ foam brush several coats of a water based polyurethane gloss finish. Alternatively, a dip in a bar-top epoxy.

Jessydinks 9 years ago

When I was in the army we cut beer bottles with engine oil. Fill the bottle to the desired height. Heat a steel round bar, 10mm to red hot and carefully put it in the bottle. Hold it in the oil for a while. The hot oil gives a clean break.

Orngrimm 9 years ago

I decapitated my bottles always with hot and cold water from the tap. Works a charm; hot-cold may to be repeated 2-3 times.

Gave me wonderfully clean and straight "cuts". Learned on YT:

ironsmiter 9 years ago

Dan has a presence here on Instructables. Lots of stuff posted, but I don't think the bottle cutting demo is one of them :-( https://www.instructables.com/member/GREENPOWERSCIENCE/

desoi 9 years ago

Just to clarify, by painted bottles I mean the bottle comes with the 'label' pre-painted / printed straight onto the glass and not a scrap of paper in sight!

JorisWillig 9 years ago

I actually read a pretty cool way to cut glass: You tie a thin string around the bottle, pretty tight. Then you take the string of without removing the knot and put it in aceton-containing nail polish remover and put it back on the bottle. Then light the string on fire and after letting this burn for a few seconds, douse the bottle in ice water. the bottle will break beneath the string.

buskrat 9 years ago

Instead of a candle take a cotton string soak it in lighter fluid wrap it around were you marked it with the glass cutter tie a knot in and light it on fire for 10 seconds or so then dip it under running cold water supporting both sides of the cut and then it will just pop off this method can be done with out marking it with a glass cutter but it will give a much cleaner edge
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