How can I cut the bottom off a wine bottle?

[OpalCat]

I want to make a windchime out of some wine bottles, but I need to cut the bottoms off of them. How do I do that?

[feppytweed]

a fine blade on a coping saw or hack saw would most likely work. I would reccommed against a band saw, as the spinning blade may shatter glass and/or send bits of glass around the shop/garage.

[Johnny L.A.]

Bottle cutting kit.

Google bottle cutting kit search results.

[The Surb]

My stepdad explained how to do it.

Soak a string in kerosene and tie it around the bottle. Light it, let it burn, and then plunge it into cold water. This should crack the bottle. If it does not break you then take an object, insert into the bottle and tap it apart.

It should seperate. If/when it does, sand the edges so you don't get cut.

It seems to me that I tried this on a Mountain Dew bottle (back in the olden days when they were glass) and it worked. But good God I can't swear to it.

Obviously all the warnings about safety glasses, gloves, dangerous crap that could cause you grievous injury, and my not being liabel for your mis-adventure all apply.

Good luck.


Oh yeah, if it DID work, the cut was uneven and the string may have to be taped or somehow made to lie straight around the circumference.

[jnglmassiv]

Have you ever done the pebbles-in-the-Snapple-bottle trick? You take a few pebbles, maybe the size of half a pea and drop them in a Snapple (or similar) bottle. The rocks should be somewhat rough and not water-smoothed like from a streambed. Look at the side of the street next to the curb. Anyway, vigorously turn the bottle in such a way that the pebbles spin along the bottom of the bottle. After about 30 seconds, if you tap the bottom of the bottle, the floor simply drops out.

Maybe this would work if you spin the rocks longer.

[BoringDad]

Originally Posted by OpalCat

I want to make a windchime out of some wine bottles, but I need to cut the bottoms off of them. How do I do that?

Sounds like a good excuse to buy a Dremel rotary tool. Everyone needs one!

[OpalCat]

Originally Posted by BoringDad

Sounds like a good excuse to buy a Dremel rotary tool. Everyone needs one!

I have TWO! But I don't know any bit for it that would smoothly cut thick glass...

[Rhubarb]

A simple method of cutting bottles is to scribe a single line in the bottle using a triangular file or glass cutter. The score does not need to be too deep, but it does need to be continuous and uniform. Then heat the bottle evenly along the score mark, then cool quickly. the method mentioned byt the surb sounds promising. I always used a candle or lighter and the results were mixed. To cool it, an ice cube works very well.

The trickiest part for me was getting the score to come out evenly. If it doesn't meet up exactly, then you end up with an uneven cut or a jagged edge.











PS - Disclaimer - Be sure to wear applicable personal safety equipment, including leather gloves, safety glasses, earplugs, hardhat, respirator, shin guards, flak jacket, cuirass, and any other items you deem appropriate

[OpalCat]

In your opinion, what is the best alternative to leather gloves?

[Lazlo]

For this I'd use cut resistant gloves, but I don't know what kind of brick and mortar you can buy them from. I know that auto parts stores like Checker, Autozone, or Pep Boys carry synthetic mechanic's gloves that should give adequate protection.

[gabriela]

(hijack)

My God! Opal! You exist!!!

(newbie)

[OpalCat]

*looks down, pats self a few times*
Yup! I do!

Hey Lazlo, thanks for the link! I just may have to get some of those gloves... I don't have ANY type of protective glove at the moment, and have had bad luck with canvas/rubber type gloves in the past... but for ethical reasons I refuse to buy or wear leather.

[matt]

I was trying to do this a while back, cutting the bottoms off tabasco bottles to make glass candle holders with the same external diameter as tealights.

I tried:

1) Boy Scout method - fill to where you want the break to be, and sit in the ashes of a fire. Supposedly, thermal stresses should break the glass at the fill line. Instead, I was left with a little tabaso bottle full of merrily boiling water.

2) Grinding disc. Not a dremel, but a larger set-up with a vice and a 1.5mm thick spinning blade. I was delicate as possible, but I still cracked it - frictional heating produced a red-hot spot. If you try a dremel, use it at lowest speed, go slow, and practice on something you don't care about.

3) Hi Opal!

4) Burning string and plunge! This actually worked, although the result wasn't as clean and neat as I'd hoped.

I'd suggest going the glasscutter route, either with a purpose-made kit, or improvised with a conventional glasscutter. I doubt a saw would work for a whole bottle, although I have used a small hacksaw to notch pyrex tube before snapping it to length.

[OpalCat]

Given the sharp-edge issue and also the fact that the particular wine bottles I'm considering have a pleasantly flared bottom, which shape would be lost if the bottom were removed, I'm considering instead trying to drill out a hole in the bottom of the bottle. The main thing is, I can't just leave the bottles intact, because they'd fill up with water and dirt and bugs and stuff.

So given the new plan... how would you drill a hole in the bottom of a wine bottle? What kind of drill bit would cut glass? Or is there a better method than a drill?

[danceswithcats]

Carbide bits are used for drilling items like ceramic tile and should work on glass. Regarding gloves, check out a craft place which sells woodcarving supplies. They should have knit gloves which incorporate Kevlar (used in police officer vests) which will afford your hands good protection.

[OpalCat]

Would you recommend a slow or a fast drill setting for going through glass?

[danceswithcats]

Slow is preferable, as heat leads to dulling of the bit. Check the power tool section of Home Despot or Lowe's for glass drilling bits, or just use carbide tipped bits designed for drilling in masonry.

[Chronos]

In your opinion, what is the best alternative to leather gloves?

You can get chainmail gloves at food service supply stores. They're intended for use with meat-slicers, but I imagine they'd also work well for this.

Meanwhile, if the only reason to open the bottoms is to prevent them filling up, why not just hang them upside-down?

[ChipsNDip]

Originally Posted by jnglmassiv

Have you ever done the pebbles-in-the-Snapple-bottle trick? You take a few pebbles, maybe the size of half a pea and drop them in a Snapple (or similar) bottle. The rocks should be somewhat rough and not water-smoothed like from a streambed. Look at the side of the street next to the curb. Anyway, vigorously turn the bottle in such a way that the pebbles spin along the bottom of the bottle. After about 30 seconds, if you tap the bottom of the bottle, the floor simply drops out.

Maybe this would work if you spin the rocks longer.

I have GOT to try this!

[GaryM]

Opal,

I myself would not use knit gloves to work with cutting glass. Kevlar or not, I think there's a good chance that small chips could easily work their way through the knit to the inside of the glove. That might be worse than having no gloves at all.

I'd look for some knit gloves with a rubber or Nitrile coating that the small chips couldn't penetrate. The rubber would also provide a better grip on the glass.

[simply_cats]

Originally Posted by ChipsNDip

I have GOT to try this!

Please report back on if this works... I'm completely fascinated by the idea.

[MrDibble]

There's already someone on the 'net who's done the research - with pictures!

[Kevbo]

Originally Posted by OpalCat

I want to make a windchime out of some wine bottles, but I need to cut the bottoms off of them. How do I do that?

Go to the hardware store and buy a glass cutter. This has a small hardened wheel that scores the glass when rolled across the surface under pressure.

Stand the bottle on a flat, hard surface...a table top for example. Find a board that supports the glass cutter high enough to score the bottle where you want to cut it. If you want to get fancy fasten the cutter to the board with screws and large washers. Spin the bottle against the cutter. DO NOT attempt to score it more than once. It is OK if the wheel fails to score short sections. Using kerosine for lubricant on the axle of the wheel can be helpful

Once the bottle is scored, some of the tricks above can be used. One not mentioned is to install a loop of wire in place of the soldering tip in an old-fashioned, transformer-type soldering pistol. If you make the loop the correct size you can use it to apply intense heat to the entire score mark.

Working wet, use a fine whetstone, or emory paper to clean up the cut edges.

[Belrix]

I cut the top off a bottle one time using a triangular file to score a deep groove then breaking it. Might work in this case.

$.02 - B

[spingears]

Originally Posted by OpalCat

Given the sharp-edge issue and also the fact that the particular wine bottles I'm considering have a pleasantly flared bottom, which shape would be lost if the bottom were removed, I'm considering instead trying to drill out a hole in the bottom of the bottle. The main thing is, I can't just leave the bottles intact, because they'd fill up with water and dirt and bugs and stuff.

So given the new plan... how would you drill a hole in the bottom of a wine bottle? What kind of drill bit would cut glass? Or is there a better method than a drill?

The Big Box Store with the orange paint job has carbide tip spade drill bits for the very ourpose of drilling holes in [the bottom of wine bottles] and other glass or ceramic [tile] items. Run fairly fast, UNDER [water if possible], wear safety glasses, and use moderate pressure on drill.

[BoringDad]

Originally Posted by OpalCat

I want to make a windchime out of some wine bottles, but I need to cut the bottoms off of them. How do I do that?

Wait, I didn't pay much attention to the purpose of cutting the bottom off. You plan to take wine bottles, hang them on wires, and let them bang against each other in the wind? Wouldn't that lead to "Ding ding ding DING DING CRASH!!" in high winds? Followed by picking up lots of very sharp stepping stones?

[DocCathode]

Originally Posted by Chronos

You can get chainmail gloves at food service supply stores. They're intended for use with meat-slicers, but I imagine they'd also work well for this.

Last time I checked, those ran about $80 per glove. While having ginsu-proof gloves is very cool, I'm sure you can get gloves that are just as good for cutting glass for less than $160 a pair.

[OpalCat]

Originally Posted by BoringDad

Wait, I didn't pay much attention to the purpose of cutting the bottom off. You plan to take wine bottles, hang them on wires, and let them bang against each other in the wind? Wouldn't that lead to "Ding ding ding DING DING CRASH!!" in high winds? Followed by picking up lots of very sharp stepping stones?

The bottles wouldn't be on very long wires at all, so they wouldn't have the opportunity to swing far or build up much momentum. They'd be on short wires, hung close together. Given how thick bottle glass is, I think it would have to be a pretty high wind to cause them to break, and in a wind that hard, most sane people would take down their windchimes anyway.