Bottle Cutter

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Bottle Cutter

Bottle cutter.jpg
Type: self-made tool
Material: glass bottles
Used with: clamp, boiling water, ice water
Location: metal workshop (below "Dremel workbench")
Tutors: Lukas
Similar (More or Less): glass cutters

A cutter for bottles! It cuts glass bottles! I like bottles!

How to Use

hot & cold water work pretty well to stress the glass until it breaks at the mark

More info coming soon...in the meantime, ask Lukas for help if you're interested :-)

  1. set stopper to desired distance
  2. clamp both boards to a table/workbench
  3. insert bottle
  4. lower cutting arm with even, moderate pressure
  5. score a line by rotating the bottle once
  6. heat & cool the line repeatedly to crack the glass
  7. get ready to sand/polish the edge for quite some time...
if you're lucky, you may be able to rescue an imperfect cut by carefully nibbling with smooth pliers

Useful guide for repeatable temperature shocks and sanding of the edges: "Make: Projects - Bottle cutting", Makezine

Make sure the score line only goes around once with no overlap! Reportedly, colored bottles need less scoring force. [1]

Project Ideas

What can you make out of cut bottles?

  • lamp shades
  • candle holders
  • drinking glasses
  • vases (perhaps self-watering)


How to Make Your Own Cutter

See Project:Flaschenschneider for project ideas and details on the build!