Bottlecutting gift
October 16, 2013 3:22 PM Subscribe
My boyfriend loves cutting bottles to make glasses, but he has limited success in making clean cuts. I'd like to give him a present to improve his success at it. Can you help? Budget is around $100. Tips for other cheap cutting methods are not needed; he's tried all of them (seriously).
He currently uses a cheapish bottle scorer and then alternates an ice cube with a candle, and he has about 50-75% success making good cuts. He also only cuts bottles with printed labels because he doesn't have a dishwasher-safe sealant and the candle/ice tend to mess up the label. He also has a hard time getting the lip to be smooth, even with increasingly fine sandpaper. So ideas for gifts that would help him 1) make cleaner cuts, 2) seal the label on, or 3) make the lip really smooth, that would be great.
Any ideas?
He currently uses a cheapish bottle scorer and then alternates an ice cube with a candle, and he has about 50-75% success making good cuts. He also only cuts bottles with printed labels because he doesn't have a dishwasher-safe sealant and the candle/ice tend to mess up the label. He also has a hard time getting the lip to be smooth, even with increasingly fine sandpaper. So ideas for gifts that would help him 1) make cleaner cuts, 2) seal the label on, or 3) make the lip really smooth, that would be great.
Any ideas?
I have no idea what nichrome wire runs cost-wise but it sounds really cool. I came by to suggest a cheap bottle cutter and then a torch like the ones used for lampwork beading to round the edges.
posted by kattyann at 3:36 PM on October 16, 2013
posted by kattyann at 3:36 PM on October 16, 2013
Kinkajou kits were on Kickstarter a year back. They sell for $50, and seem to be of good quality and to make nice, clean cuts. I haven't done anything more than watch their videos, but it seems like a decent product.
posted by Nightman at 3:42 PM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Nightman at 3:42 PM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
The nichrome wire trick doesn't melt the glass, it induces a stress fracture. Done right, it should be more precise than his current technique.
I don't have specific recommendations for smoothing the lip, but there are a range of abrasives available, including cheap diamond abrasive tools. Perhaps a dremel + some diamond polishing wheels from amazon.
Fire polishing glass works nicely, but I've only done it with heat-resistant glass, and I imagine doing it with ordinary bottle glass could end up with lots of breakage.
posted by Good Brain at 3:47 PM on October 16, 2013
I don't have specific recommendations for smoothing the lip, but there are a range of abrasives available, including cheap diamond abrasive tools. Perhaps a dremel + some diamond polishing wheels from amazon.
Fire polishing glass works nicely, but I've only done it with heat-resistant glass, and I imagine doing it with ordinary bottle glass could end up with lots of breakage.
posted by Good Brain at 3:47 PM on October 16, 2013
Here are instructions for cutting bottles using a dremel tool with a diamond-grind bit. Dremel (or knockoff) $30-90, diamond tools $5-15.
Someone demonstrates here using a grinder to soften the raw edges of the glass; those can be purchased for stained-glass hobby work, for $100-250. You could probably also use a dremel for this; stained glass grinders have always seemed to me like a table-mounted dremel with water-cooling.
posted by aimedwander at 3:49 PM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Someone demonstrates here using a grinder to soften the raw edges of the glass; those can be purchased for stained-glass hobby work, for $100-250. You could probably also use a dremel for this; stained glass grinders have always seemed to me like a table-mounted dremel with water-cooling.
posted by aimedwander at 3:49 PM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
A narrow belt sander would work well for this. I linked to one example, but you can probably find a better one in your price range. I used to work in a glass shop. We used these frequently on curved cuts.
posted by Talk To Me Goose at 4:00 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Talk To Me Goose at 4:00 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
bottles with printed labels
Can you explain a bit more about this? It seems like most bottle labels are printed either onto the bottle itself, or printed onto paper that is then applied to the bottle. You seem to be referring to one of these but I'm not sure which.
posted by yohko at 5:04 PM on October 16, 2013
Can you explain a bit more about this? It seems like most bottle labels are printed either onto the bottle itself, or printed onto paper that is then applied to the bottle. You seem to be referring to one of these but I'm not sure which.
posted by yohko at 5:04 PM on October 16, 2013
a torch like the ones used for lampwork beading to round the edges
I do lampwork and I wouldn't recommend this as a method for rounding the edge on a cut bottle.
posted by yohko at 5:09 PM on October 16, 2013
I do lampwork and I wouldn't recommend this as a method for rounding the edge on a cut bottle.
posted by yohko at 5:09 PM on October 16, 2013
I've no useful experience, maybe there is a idea or two here: How to cut glass bottles seamlessly via www.reddit.com/r/ArtisanVideos.
posted by tinker at 7:34 PM on October 16, 2013
posted by tinker at 7:34 PM on October 16, 2013
You can use a torch to melt regular glass, but you have to be REALLY careful about keeping the whole piece warm enough so it doesn't stress crack. My finest artistic achievement was creating a drip in the middle of a windowpane.
posted by gjc at 5:44 AM on October 17, 2013
posted by gjc at 5:44 AM on October 17, 2013
Response by poster: These are all great ideas- thanks!
yohko, I meant that he only cuts bottles with the label printed (screenprinted?) onto the bottle itself. He has some bottles that he'd really like to cut that have paper labels, though.
Is there any benefit to buying the whole Kinkajou bundle? Would it make sense to buy just the scorer and the silicone rings?
It's hard for me to tell what exactly I would need to buy/build to make the nichrome wire trick happen. I found this site but I lack even rudimentary knowledge of circuits. If someone has more detailed instructions, I'd be interested to see them. I think he'd get a kick out of that solution.
posted by deus ex machina at 5:58 AM on October 17, 2013
yohko, I meant that he only cuts bottles with the label printed (screenprinted?) onto the bottle itself. He has some bottles that he'd really like to cut that have paper labels, though.
Is there any benefit to buying the whole Kinkajou bundle? Would it make sense to buy just the scorer and the silicone rings?
It's hard for me to tell what exactly I would need to buy/build to make the nichrome wire trick happen. I found this site but I lack even rudimentary knowledge of circuits. If someone has more detailed instructions, I'd be interested to see them. I think he'd get a kick out of that solution.
posted by deus ex machina at 5:58 AM on October 17, 2013
Response by poster: Also- would the narrow belt sander be a finisher, or would it actually make the cuts?
posted by deus ex machina at 6:05 AM on October 17, 2013
posted by deus ex machina at 6:05 AM on October 17, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Since it cuts by melting the glass, it doesn't leave a sharp edge.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:32 PM on October 16, 2013