How to Cut a Glass Vase

Cutting a glass vase is fairly easy to do. There are two ways to do it, but using a wire actually creates a cleaner edge. Whichever way you cut the glass, make sure you bevel the edges of the glass once you are done. See the "Warnings" section for more information.

Things You'll Need

• File
• Water
• 5-gallon bucket
• 4 cups of ice
• Wire (from a clothes hanger)
• Stove top
• Two pair of pliers
• 6-inch wooden stick
• 1 spool of cotton string
• Bottle of rubbing alcohol
• Matches

Instructions

Wire Method

1. Put on your safety gear, including goggles and thick gloves.

2. Score the glass vase where you want it to break, using the edge of a file around the outer edge of the glass. Don't press too hard when cutting the glass. Be very precise with your scratch, but make it at least as deep as a human hair. Only score the line where you want to cut into the glass. Keep the line as thin as possible.

3. Fill the glass vase with water to the level you wish to cut it at. Fill a bucket with water that is deep enough to accommodate the vase so that the vase is completely covered by water. Do not put the vase in the water yet. Throw 4 cups of ice into the bucket.

4. Bend a wire so that it follows the line you scored into the vase--and remains in place. With the vase sitting on a table, remove the wire. Heat the wire until it glows, using a stove top, but be careful to heat the wire evenly. Hold the wire with pliers and slip it back over the spot where it was. Move quickly on to the next step before the wire cools.

5. Plunge the glass, with the wire still hot, into the ice water using caution not to bump the glass, because it can cut you. Immediately use a wooden stick to carefully bump and strike the submerged vase on the part of the glass you are removing. The glass should break cleanly.

String Method

1. Follow the steps above but instead of heating a wire, place a cotton string around the location where you wish to have the glass break. The cotton string is then slipped off the vase and used to absorb rubbing alcohol. Squeeze out the excess so the alcohol does not drip or run down the vase.

2. Put the string back on the vase around the scored glass. Do not let alcohol get on the part of the glass you want to keep from breaking.

3. Light the string on fire and allow it to burn in a location where fire risk is minimal (like a fireplace).

4. When the fire starts to show signs it has reached its peak and is starting to decrease in intensity, plunge the vase into the cold water.

5. Strike the glass so it breaks around the crack by tapping firmly on the part you are removing.

Tips & Warnings

• Be careful to only cut the glass where it has a uniform thickness for best results. Make sure the heat from the wire doesn't have time to penetrate too far into the glass or the glass will break in areas that are not scored. The uneven expansion of the glass is what you are looking for.

• Be careful cutting glass. Always wear protective goggles, an apron and gloves. Glass is sharp and has the potential to break at any time during this activity. Fire should be used in carefully-controlled circumstances only. Make sure the room is well-ventilated. The alcohol should not be on your clothes or anything you don't want to burn when the flame is lit. The lid should also be on the bottle of fuel whenever possible and there should be no fumes present that will catch fire when the alcohol is lit. Glass is sometimes invisible or difficult to see under water and shards are going to be formed any time glass breaks. Clean up carefully after this project. Expect shards in the water, on your clothes or hair and around your work area as you clean up.

References

• Cutting Glass
• Cutting Glass Bottles With String

Resources

• Cut Flat Glass Sheets With Scissors (Video)
• How Not To Cut Glass Underwater (Video: Warning, Injury Shown)
• Drill Holes In Glass (Video)