How can I cut the bottom off a wine bottle?

[simply_cats]

@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]

@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]

@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]

@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]

@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]

@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.