Circular Hole in a Bottle

[RubEric]

I wish to cut a round disk out of several wine bottles. The bottle has an etched figure I wish to remove for another purpose. I have a virtually unlimited supply of these bottles and they have no value so I can afford to make mistakes.

How should I go about cutting a 2 inch diameter disk out of a bottle? I had thought to use a diamond blade on my Ziptool to cut out a rectangle and then wet grind the removed piece.

A diamond hole saw may be a possibility, but they are EXPENSIVE.

What would you suggest?

Thanks, Eric

[gfretwell]

I think you can start chopping it down with a glass cutter and then nip away at it until you get something small enough to grind. Back in the olden days we had bottle cutters that were basically a jig to hold a glass cutter and make a clean score around the diameter. Then you tapped the crack around the score line, taking out rings. The biggest trick to cutting glass is make sure it is clean and use a sharp cutter lubed with a little mineral oil

[Roger Shoaf]

Where is the figure located on the bottle?

Assuming it is where labels are usually on bottles, use a glass cutter to score a line above and below the area you wish to keep, then use a curved rod to tap the area on the inside where the score marks were made. The glass should fracture along the lines.

Now that you have a cylinder, score adjacent to the figure and another score on the cylinder opposite the figure. Tap on the inside along the score lines and the glass should fracture where scored. Grind the figure out of the remaining chunk of glass.

[LouB]

Please post back on how you make it happen, and good luck.

Lou

[norminn]

I tried bottle cutting about 35 years ago - cheapie, but it worked. Moved on to my next hobby, which was decoupage :o)

Lots of bottle cutters available, if you google:

I would try a bottle cutter x2 on the bottle to remove a tubular section with the desired figure. Then use straight glass cutter, with section on a support, to score and remove the figure, Then, cutter and nippers 'til you get it fairly round. Sand or grind.

[Jon Danniken]

You can also use a nichrome wire heated to blood red (too hot or it'lll stick to the glass), and rock the score line on the wire. Going back and forth, stressing out the cool section with the hot wire, and it'll come right apart.

Jon

[Hustlin' Hank]

I would take it to a glass shop and have them do it. I doubt they would charge much. Call around and check them out. They could probably do it for less money than it is going to cost you for a glass cutter. Or, at least they can advise you better.

Hank

[JIMMIE]

About 30 years ago my sister in law did something like what you are doing, it would be funny if it was the same bottles. She cut the top and bottom off the bottles forming a cylinder and then cut the design from that in a rectangle. She nibbled it down as far as she could to the right shape and then took it to a glass dealer for final polishing and shaping. I believe hers was an oval. She made Christmas ornaments of them.

Jimmie

[JIMMIE]

I hope was am correct in understanding its the disk you want to keep.

Jimmie

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

OK- What are you guys cutting out of the bottles? I've been looking at the Frank's hot Sauce bottles for a while and trying to figure out how I make use of their little embossed peppers.

On the 23oz bottles they are up too high to remain if I made bloody Mary glasses out of the bottles.

Jim

[Frank Warner]

Bottle cutting with mostly homemade tools:

-Frank

[Not]

A good first step would be to find out what type of glass you want to cut. Not all bottles are the same. Those built to withstand pressure, such as beer or champagne bottles, are often tempered and harder to cut without unintentional breakage.

I'd be > I wish to cut a round disk out of several wine bottles. The bottle

[norminn]

The OP said, "wine bottles".

[Larry]

How should I go about cutting a 2 inch diameter disk out of a bottle? I had thought to use a diamond blade on my Ziptool to cut out a rectangle and then wet grind the removed piece.

A diamond hole saw may be a possibility, but they are EXPENSIVE.

What would you suggest?

Thanks, Eric

***** Hi Eric,

My suggestion is to go to your local Gem Club and ask them to use a rock saw to saw the bottle. You should be able to roughly cut out the area you want and then use their grinding wheels to shape it. Use a fine diamond wheel to finish off the edges so they are not sharp.

I am familiar with this type of equipment and have used it several times to cut bottles etc.

Here is a link to the Hervey Bay Gem & Mineral Club website.

on "Club Photos" on the toolbar and then "Photos Around the Club" You will see photos of the saws and grinding wheels to do the job.

Cheers, Larry

[charlie]

bottles are never tempered. i doubt that they can be tempered, as that requires heating both sides of the glass at the same time, then quickly cooling both sides at the same time.

[charlie]

someone with a wet tile saw would be able to do the same thing. there's lots more tilers than mineral clubs.

[Joe]

A 2" diamond core drill is about $50. It will do exactly what you want. If that is too much for your budget, find a more inexpensive hobby. Oragami comes to mind....

Joe

[SteveB]

Been watching this, and had to chime in with some ideas.

I found about a dozen broken whisky bottles, but just the shoulder, neck, and lip. They were 1889's and brown glass. Nothing special.

I made a jig for my diamond tile saw, and cut them diagonally, all equal, with some shoulder left.

I then mounted them on dowels on a board, and filled the void with epoxy. It is a fine looking hat rack.

If I was to do this, I would get a Dremel or equivalent and make a holder for it. I would then make a cradle for the bottle, and then make a cradle for the bottles. All of this would be adjustable for different sized bottles. A follower and distance gauge would have to be figured out so as to keep the Dremel wheel at a constant distance from the surface, and vertical for a vertical cut. This would be a little tricky, as the cuvature is going to change.

If you were going to use a core drill and just drill a hole in the bottle from the side, essentially, you would have up to four separate contact and pressure points, and just the right amount of pressure and lubrication would be needed, or you have toast.

I think one could be made by a good machinist, and someone who is good at math so that the bottle in the cradle turns true, and the Dremel keeps the same distance from the bottle. I do think that just having one contact pressure point would be better, and perhaps even diamond discs are available for Dremel/Foredom/et al.

Keep us posted.

Steve

[HeyBub]

As an aside, who would WANT a bottle with a hole in it (aside from the obvious one)?

[charlie]

drill it with the bottle submerged in a bucket so that it would be cooled by the water. a core drill works by grinding, not cutting, so it doesn't matter how many points it contacted the bottle.