DIY Recycled Wine Bottle Glass
Making your own recycled wine bottle glasses is a fun way to reuse wine bottles. You not only get to continuing enjoying the beautiful colored glass that wine is sold in, you save money by not having to purchase drinking glasses. Creating drinking glasses from empty wine bottles is also a good way to do your part in making sure that the resources that went into making the wine bottle is not wasted. You not only give your wine bottle a new life, you give it a new one, as a drinking glass.
Things You'll Need
- Metal glass bottle cutting jig
- Wine bottle
- Light machine oil
- Lazy Susan
- Small butane torch
- Bulk silicon carbide grit (at least 80 mesh)
- Scrap window glass (at least 8 x 8 inches)
- Small spray bottle
- Paper towel
- 220-grit silicon carbide sandpaper
Instructions
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1
Loosen the backstop adjusting screw and slide the backstop of your metal glass-cutting jig back so that when the wine bottle is on the jig rollers the cutter is lined up where you wish to cut the bottle. This needs to be before the bottle starts to narrow into the neck.
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2
Tighten the screw to secure the backstop at that position.
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3
Apply a drop of light machine oil on the glass cutting wheel.
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4
Set the bottle into position on the cutting jig and apply firm pressure against the bottle towards the cutting wheel while you rotate the bottle one complete rotation.
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5
Place the bottle upright on the center of a Lazy Susan.
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6
Light a small butane torch, direct its flame slightly above the cut line, about four inches away from the wine bottle, and rotate the turntable consistently and evenly with your non-dominant hand. Continue rotating the Lazy Susan and applying heat until the cut is complete and the neck of the wine bottle lifts up easily.
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Place a small amount of bulk silicon carbide grit onto the center of a piece of flat scrap of window glass.
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8
Fill a small spray bottle with water and use it to dampen the grit and window glass.
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Set the cut glass edge against the glass that has the grit on it, apply light pressure against it and move it around on the surface of the grit in a figure-eight motion until the edge is completely polished. Add additional grit and water when necessary. When the edge has no glossy spots remaining, it will be smooth and uniformly etched all over.
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10
Wipe the edge with a paper towel to dry it completely.
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Apply steady pressure against a small piece of 220-grit silicon carbide sandpaper and use it to round the inner and and outer edges of the lip of the glass. Continue sanding the edges until the lip feels comfortably smooth as you run your fingertip around it.
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Tips & Warnings
To remove any paper labels before starting the glass cutting project you can soak them in a bucket of water and a 1/4-cup of dishwasher detergent.
Always wear safety gloves and goggles while creating your wine bottle drinking glass.
References
- Photo Credit Wine bottles in a corner with room to write image by Albo from Fotolia.com
