How to Cut Glass Bottles in Half

Specialized bottle cutters create a smooth cut line.

Empty glass bottles can be kept and used for a variety of uses. If you are making a craft project, such as transforming the glass bottle into a lamp, you will most likely have to cut the bottle. While cutting flat pieces of glass can be done using special saws and blades, cutting round bottles with these tools will break the glass. To get a perfect circle all the way around the bottle, specialized cutting techniques must be used.

Things You'll Need

• Glass bottle cutter
• Tea kettle or pot
• Water
• Stove
• Work gloves
• Safety glasses
• Sink

Instructions

1. Place a glass bottle cutter onto a flat work surface with the blade of the cutter on the bottom facing upward.

2. Remove the cork form the bottle, if applicable, and insert the bottle into the cutter so that the rubber plug goes down into the mouth of the bottle. On some bottle cutters, you place the back end of the bottle on the rubber sections instead of the mouth. Refer to the manufacturer's instructions for proper positioning.

3. Place one hand firmly on the top of the glass bottle to hold it in place but leave your fingers open so that it can still rotate. Turn the bottle with your other hand to begin cutting it. As you turn, you will hear a scraping sound as the blade cuts into the glass.

4. Continue rotating the glass bottle no more than twice until you cut a visible groove in the glass.

5. Fill a tea kettle or pot with water and place it on a stove burner turned to high. Allow the water to come to a boil.

6. Put on work gloves and safety glasses and take the boiling water and the bottle to a sink. Pour a small stream of boiling water over the cut line that you created in the glass. Rotate the bottle as you pour so that you heat the entire cut.

7. Turn on the cold water faucet and hold the cut line on the bottle under the cold water for approximately five to 10 seconds.

8. Remove the bottle from the cold water and pour additional boiling water on the cut. Place the bottle back under the cold water and the top of the bottle should fall off. Depending on the thickness of the bottle, you may need to repeat the process three to four times before the cut line breaks off.

References

• Everything Stained Glass: My Favorite Glass Bottle Cutter
• YouTube: Wine Bottle Cutting 30 seconds Perfect Edge Bottle Cutter GreenPowerScience Bottleneck Guitar Slide

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish