Introduction: Wine Bottle Goblet

One of my favorite materials to use for my projects is recycled bottles. The amount of items that you can make with them is only limited by your creativity. When I was looking for project ideas, I saw that people had make wine glasses out of recycled bottles so naturally I had to give it a try. While the project started out as a wine glass it turned into a goblet as the project hit a small speed bump. Either way, I am very happy with the results and the goblet turned out great.

Step 1: Supplies

For this project you will need the following supplies.

  • 2 Recycled bottles ( I ended up using a wine bottle and a beer bottle)
  • Bottle cutter
  • Kettle
  • Stove
  • Hot glue gun / superglue
  • Xacto knife
  • Lighter
  • Sandpaper/ file/ dremel
  • Large pot for an ice bath
  • Screwdriver
  • Hammer

Step 2: Cut the Bottle

The first step of this project is to cut you bottles to get your base and bowl pieces. At first I attempted to get both pieces from the same bottle but sadly found after the first break that getting two clean breaks from one bottle was very difficult and led to a shattered bottle (which is why I called for two bottles). Using the bottle cutter, you etch a circle around the circumference of the bottle to create a high stress point that the bottle will hopefully fracture along. Then you use rapid heating and cooling with boiling water from the kettle and an ice bath that will introduce stress into the bottle causing it to break along the etched line.

Step 3: Remove the Sharp Edges

If you have ever cut a bottle or accidentally broken one, you know that the edges are very sharp. Since this will be drank from, its very important that there isn't that edge to cut your mouth. The base should also be sanded as not to damage any surface that the goblet may be placed on. Generally, it's just a good idea to get rid of the dangerous sharp edges. Use your sandpaper,dremel, or file to work down the sharp edges. Since the break on the bowl was not a perfectly even break, I wanted to file it down to make the goblet rim a bit more even.

Step 4: Prepare the Cork

One of the things that I wanted to make sure of was that the goblet wouldn't leak everywhere. Using the corks that already have sealed the bottles seemed like a logical solution to my requirements. I cut the cork in half since I didn't feel like I needed a full cork to seal the bottle. Since these are used corks, there is a small leak in them from the corkscrew. To seal it I used a lighter to heat on of the ends of the cork and seal the hole. I then used the xacto knife to taper one side of the cork to prepare it to be inserted into the bowl of the goblet.

Step 5: Seal the Bottle

With the tapered edge facing down, I pushed the cork into the opening of the bottle. Using the rounded end of my screwdriver and and hammer, tapped the cork into the bottle until it was fully sealed. Then I used some gorilla glue to prevent the cork from moving and to help prevent leaks.

Step 6: Add the Base

Finally once the superglue was cured, I glued the base onto the bowl. I attempted to use the superglue the first time but it was turning out pretty ugly and the foam from the glue was really hurting the appearance of the goblet. So I cleaned it off before it had a chance to dry and used a hot glue gun instead. Since hot glue is not as strong as super glue it takes a bit more however it can me pushed, moved, and "sculpted" where you want it while keeping a decent aesthetic. Once it dried, I washed it out and it was ready to use!

Step 7: Finished!

That's it, you now have a goblet that the vikings of Valhalla would be proud to own (and its made of recycled materials!!) Overall, this is a fun and fairly easy project that can be finished in an afternoon and gives a really unique piece of glassware. Thanks for reading!

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