Spiral Cut a Glass Bottle - Making a Glass Spring

I've been using an uncommon method for cutting glass bottles, and out of curiosity I decided to see if I could cut a spiral along the entire length of a bottle. Well, it worked, and the result was a glass spring! Unfortunately, it is fragile and can break very easily, so I don't know if there is much use for it. Also, doing this took me a few hours, so it's definitely very time consuming.

If you want to watch a video with me starting the process, you can see that here:

https://youtu.be/K2ABCNFXGWI

Step 1: Scoring the Bottle

I started by making a 2-3 inch score line near the bottom of the bottle. You don't need to score the entire spiral, just where you want to start it.

Step 2: Starting the Crack

Using a hot soldering iron, heat up the score line. Hold the tip in one spot for about 5-10 seconds, then move it slightly and repeat that process until you reach the end of the score line. If the crack hasn't started yet, reverse the movement of the soldering iron. It may take some time, but keep doing this until a crack starts following the tip of the soldering iron.

For more information on this starting process, you can check out one of these other instructables that I've made:

• Cut Glass Bottles Using a Soldering Iron
• Cut Square and Odd Shaped Glass Bottles
• Cut a Hole in a Glass Bottle (Using a Soldering Iron)

Step 3: Marking Your Path

After the crack has started and you've reached the end of the score line, I recommend using a marker to draw a spiraled line for the path you want the crack to follow. Only draw a few rows at a time, otherwise you will probably accidentally wipe off parts of the line as you form the crack. The crack won't automatically follow this path, but it will follow the tip of the soldering iron. The line is just a visual reference for you to follow.

Step 4: Follow the Path

Use the tip of the soldering iron to extend the crack that you've already started. Just follow the line that you've drawn. There is no need to score this path, the crack will follow the heat of the soldering iron tip.

Step 5: Repeat the Process

Keep repeating the previous 2 steps:

1. Extend the line path that you've drawn
2. Extend the crack along that path

It's a time consuming process to crack the spiral all the way to the top of the bottle, so for this instructable I just did a few rows up the bottle. After cleaning off the marker ink with acetone, you can clearly see the first few rows of the spiral.

Step 6: And That's It!

After a few hours of this, I have a glass bottle that is cut into a spiral! But like I mentioned earlier, it is fragile. If you have any ideas of what this can be used for, please leave a comment. I would love to here any thoughts!