Re-Purposing Broken Bottles

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DeepSeaDan

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Greetings!

Lately I've been finding beautiful old bottles that are, regrettably, missing their blob-tops. In the past, I used to leave them, but now I'm bringing them home, with the idea of cutting them, to create glassware. Has anyone here done this? Being old glass that is thick & often bubbled, I'm dubious of having success.Then again, you never know till you try!

To that end, I've ordered a glass cutting tool. My plan is to start on new glass bottles ( recent dinner parties have left me a good stock of empty wine bottles! ), then slowly work my way into older glass as my proficiency increases.

Here are two broken bottles with very nice embossing, that I think would make great beer glasses:

Broken Blobs.jpeg

Cheers,
DSD
 

DeepSeaDan

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That is a great idea! Just be sure to grind the edges so people don't get sliced mouths!

Good advice! I plan to sand them into smooth perfection, as a glass splinter in the chops is no way to enjoy a frosty one!
 

Robby Raccoon

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I've seen such things, but, yes, you have to grind and round (if possible) the edges: that no one gets cut.
 

Mr. Hemingray

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I do a lot of glasswork with stained glass and use a diamond glass grinder all the time. This will be perfect for your endeavors. I have a Whizling glass grinder and it makes short work of smoothing down sharp, dangerous glass edges. Might find a grinder cheaper on eBay.

http://www.thegrindershop.com/inland
 

DeepSeaDan

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Hello Mr. Hemingray,

Well, I've got some cut! Practiced on wine bottles a bit first. I used the filing stone that came with the glass-cutter kit I bought, but it doesn't quite do the trick. These Whizling glass grinders you speak of look like they'll do the job. Which one would you recommend for my needs?New life for old glass.jpg
 

hemihampton

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I 've been saving broken bottles for past year just for this reason. Bought a glass cutter off ebay 6 months ago but still haven't tried it yet. Whats the name of the glass cutter you bought & how good does it work, Did you have any not cut & not work or Malfuntion? Curious.LEON.
 

DeepSeaDan

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I 've been saving broken bottles for past year just for this reason. Bought a glass cutter off ebay 6 months ago but still haven't tried it yet. Whats the name of the glass cutter you bought & how good does it work, Did you have any not cut & not work or Malfuntion? Curious.LEON.

Hey there Leon. I bought the "Creator's Bottle Cutter" on Amazon. It works quite well. I experimented on various bottles-of-a-lesser-nature to practice. Heavy, raised embossing proved the biggest obstacle, but a rep. from the manufacturer gave me some tips, and my cutting improved. The other factor that is critical is heating time. I learned that less time is better, as overheating can cause crack propagation. I was also advised not to over-rotate the bottle on the cutter by any more than 1/4", and that was good advice.

So...have at er' & let's see how you make out! Btw, can you recommend to me a reasonably priced polisher that will make my glass edges smooth?

Thanks Leon,
DSD
 

hemihampton

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I have a little pnuematic (air powered) polisher I use at work to polish small parts ect ect & I'll have to try it on these bottle tops once cut, as of now don't know how good it will work but I'll let you know. THANKS, LEON.
 

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