Acerbic.org

We drink a lot of Perrier, we buy the large bottles by the case and we always have a bunch of empties floating around in the recycle bin each week. When I came across this Make:Project on bottle cutting I just had to try it. Especially when I realized I already had all the tools and supplies I'd need in the shop.

Well the Make instructions were a total FAIL when I tried them. Just couldn't get a nice clean break with the torch, so I did a little more reading on bottle cutting for ideas. The next method I tried was to scribe my mark as before - did you know glass cutters work best when lubed with a light oil like 3-in-1 or honing oil? - and then tap just above the scored line from the inside of the bottle. To do this I put a nail through the end of a 1/4" dowel and rounded the head a bit. Put that through a short 3/4 dowel to use as a depth stop and a rocker to help me hit just above the line. A few taps and... BAM! Nice thin crack appears right where I scored it. After that it was easy to chase the crack all along the bottle.

After chasing the crack all along the bottle with the tapper the top should lift right off.

I shouldn't need to warn anyone reading that broken glass is sharp and not suitable for drinking out at this point. I again deviate from the Make article by using 80grit wet/dry sand paper on a granite tile instead of loose silicon-carbide. It's less messy and was handier than getting getting the loose grit out of the rock polishing kit, but I will try using loose grit on another bottle later. I started at 80 grit and worked my up through 400 grit, lubricating with water as I went. The surface tension of the water is enough, BTW, to keep the paper firmly in place while you lap the rim of the bottle, no glue is necessary. After lapping I took a minute with some 320 grit paper and rounded the inside and outside edges.

Perrier bottles cut this way hold a solid Imperial Pint, which makes them excellent beer glasses as well as all around great tumblers.

Comments disabled me instead

Recent Related Entries

To my biggest fan... - 2011-06-16

Day of the Duck - 2011-03-13

Black Market Bacon - 2011-01-09

Walnut Mirror - 2010-11-28

Granddads pocket knife - 2010-10-02

Bacon! - 2010-08-28

Dork Lamp - 2010-07-31

Saucisson Sec - 2010-05-13

Strawberry Jam - 2010-05-08

Multi-Media - 2010-03-05

Bottle Cutting Part 2 - 2010-02-16

Perrier Bottle Glasses - 2010-02-14

I need some bagels - 2010-01-17

Pizza! - 2010-01-16

Saturday Afternoon Smoke - 2010-01-16

Sparky stuff - 2010-01-13

Gizmos! - 2010-01-05

Shop Clean Up - 2009-12-30

About this workshop blog - 2009-12-29

Email Me!