Introduction: Glass Bottle Cutter V3

I have been collecting many glass bottles / jars for last one year, to make tealights or planter or wind chime beautiful out of them...Since these glass bottles are shaped optimum for storing food or wine, one needs to cut them to size. And cutting glass bottle at home is not easy

Yes there are many methods described on the internet.. And believe me I have tried them all (well almost ).. After a lot of trial and error, I feel that scoring a bottle using a diamond head and then treating it hot and cold water gives a very good result.

One can buy bottle scoring jigs, they are moderately high priced for the material used.. And when I look at these in India they are 4 to 5 times of original cost in US. So I decided to make them.

This is my 3rd attempt and I finally got a professional finish

What is needed in a bottle cutter ?

  • The Bottle should be stable
  • The length should be adjustable
  • All bottles are not perfectly circular, the cutter should be felxible
  • One should be able to work with small and large bottles
  • the Score has to be aligned
  • And start and the end score should match ( the ends do not match you will not get good cut)

In this instructable, I will share how to make a this glass bottle cutter

Step 1: What Do We Need ?

Material

  • PVC Wood
  • 6mm threaded rod
  • Some washers
  • 6 mm nuts
  • Diamond cutter / carbide cutter
  • 2" Screws

Tools

  • Jigsaw or Hacksaw
  • Screwdriver

The VC wood is made of some plastic like material, it is lightweight and waterproof

If you are making this with regular plywood or wood, you need to sand it's surface and coat with varnish, this will close the surface and avoid tiny glass shards sticking on the wood

Step 2: Base

To make the base

  • Cut 215 x 75 mm : two pieces
  • Cut 165 x 75 mm : two pieces for sides
  • Make 45 degrees angle on the smaller ( 165 x 75 mm) as shown
  • Make the cuts using a Jigsaw
  • Use a super glue to temporarily hold all pieces together in place
  • Now Screw them to fix all joints

Step 3: Base Support

We need the cutter with adjustable length, for this we will use a 6MM rod.

This rod should be placed a little higher than the bottle, So I added two 115 x 36 mm pieces

Drill 6mm holes through it and pass the metal rod

Step 4: Handle

For the handle, I had some left over wood ( I had cut a circular shape for a previous project). It had curved shaped and helped me to give a different look

  • Attach the diamond cutter on the handle
  • Add few extra screws to make sure the cutter does not move
  • Drill a 6 mm hole
  • Sand the handle with 80 grit sandpaper to give a smooth and curve edges similar to a knife
  • Add Jute string to the handle
  • Paint it brown

Step 5: Finishing

  • Pass the Handle on the 6mm threaded rod
  • Add washers and nuts on both side of the handle
  • Restrict the rod by adding nuts at the end

Yaaay we have finished

Step 6: Testing Conclusion

Now for some testings

  • Place the bottle on the cutter
  • Lock the handle in position as per desired length, using the nuts
  • Use a spanner to tighten nuts
  • Apply slight pressure on the hand with your left hand and slowly move the bottle with your right hand
  • The Score line should complete at the same point where you started

Steps to Cut bottle

  • Once you have your score, heat the glass bottle ( at the scored area) with a Candle or hot boiling water
  • And cool scored area either with Ice or ice cold water
  • Thin bottles can be cut in a minute
  • Let the glass bottle separate out but itself, do not pull them out early
  • Sand the glass cut using 80, 180, 300, 600 grit to get a professional like cut

Please note that this method works best for thin glass bottles ( Wine or beer ) or glass jars ( Chutneys, Jam etc)

Now that I have a prefect cutter, I will recycle many glass bottles. In future I will post few of them

Hope you liked this instructable, Please share tips, suggestion and comments

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