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easy glass bottle cutter made up of common parts

by andrea biffi on December 2, 2013 Table of Contents easy glass bottle cutter made up of common parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Easy glass bottle cutter made up of common parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: The sketch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: The components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: First holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: Let's make the joint... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: ...and the arm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 6: Let's assemble the cutter mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 7: Glue the beams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 8: The rollers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 9: Rail and rubber feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 10: Some finishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 11: The bottle stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 12: Test it! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 13: Solve issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 7 7 8 8 8 9

Step 14: What's missing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/

Author:andrea biffi

www.andreabiffi.com I'm a freelance engineer, graphic designer and photographer. I also love electronics, robotics, and everything that could be disassembled and hacked. I love travel by bicycle and shooting spherical and gigapixel panoramas. I wish to have enough time to turn into instructables every my brainchild ;-) I'll do my best.

Intro: Easy glass bottle cutter made up of common parts

It's interesting to know that you can make a glass from a bottle, engraving a cut all around the circumference and splitting it in two with a few tricks. If you plan to make many glasses and if you wish to obtain a perfect flat cut, you can preferably build your own cutting device. I will explain here how to make it from common and cheap objects.

Step 1: The sketch

After measuring some bottles, I planned to leave about 12 cm between supports, with the possibility to increase this distance to 17 cm. This is enough to cut the standard little beer bottles and also the 1 liter ones. My design is very simple. my intent was to build a jointed arm which could also shift along the axial direction, and sturdy enough to maintain the position while you push the cutting blade into the glass. So I decided to use what I already had in my house, and the device took gradually shape.

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/

Step 2: The components

The wood base is a salami cutter board about 14 x 25 cm, so it's perfect for my project. The other main parts are, other than the essential cutting blade, four furniture wheels, a piece of electrical conduit and some wood beams. The wheels diameter has to be not more than 4 cm, and it should be cool find wheels with a rubber surface. The wood beams are: one piece about 25 x 4 x 2 cm (length, high, width) one piece 11 x 4 x 2 cm about 25 cm total length of a 1 x 2 cm section beam The conduit is wide and long the same as the bigger beam (25 cm long and 2 cm wide in my case) and it has to be the type with a detachable cover. Then you need only some glue, different types of screws, a bolt and four rubber feet.

Step 3: First holes

All the holes on this device are made by hand, but you could better use a column drill to obtain perfect perpendicularity. I added a new hole in the bottom part of the wire conduit, so a total of three holes cover the full length, but you can also add two more holes, since they will hang better the "rail" on the wood board. Then I also made four little holes in the top cover, which is 8 cm long. These holes are not centered on the shorter side, to avoid interference between horizontal and vertical screws.

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/

Step 4: Let's make the joint...

A pair of long screws acts as joint of the wood arm. So cut a couple of wood pieces 3 x 2 x 1 cm and, about 7 mm from the border, drill an hole in the direction of the longer axis. Dispose the pieces on a flat surface, and mark the holes position from the conduit cover. Then drill the four holes for the screws.

Step 5: ...and the arm

Let's refine the arm head so that it could keep handy the cutter. I tried to use the cutter as it is, avoiding to drill it. A big screw keeps it steady into a groove engraved in the wood. Since I made some upgrades to improve the operation of the tool, I also replaced the screw with a bolt, and I tilted more the cutter, as you can see in the first picture of the next step.

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/

Step 6: Let's assemble the cutter mechanism

My first attempt was to screw the two little wood blocks directly on the conduit cover. This doesn't work, because the two-parts pivot (the two long horizontal screws) has more play than a single pivot, the plastic cover isn't rigid enough, and the arm was not very steady. So I added an additional wood beam to reinforce the device. After screwing the horizontal pieces together insert the arm and insert the long screws in the holes so to mark the position where to drill the hole in the arm.

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/

Step 7: Glue the beams

Place the "rail" over the bigger wood beam and mark the positions of the holes. Drill the holes but wait to glue the pieces to screw the rail in. Put two wheels on the board to have the exact position where to glue the big beam. I used two-elements glue to be faster, but you can also use normal wood-glue.

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/

Step 8: The rollers

Meanwhile the longer beam fastens you can drill the holes for the rollers. I used very short screws so the don't exit out on the board bottom side. The last two rows of holes are to shift two wheels so that a larger bottle could be held.

Step 9: Rail and rubber feet

Now assemble all the four wheels, screw the rail in place, add four rubber feet, clean the surfaces... the main piece is almost ready.

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/

Step 10: Some finishing

Since the cover moves loosely along the rail I decided to glue two nylon stripes inside the longer edges. Use cyanoacrylate glue, and to be sure the stripes are kept pressed during the drying, apply the cover on the rail as soon as applied the glue. This solution works great, and you can set up the resistance of the movement simply moving fast the "trolley" to and fro, since the heat will consume a bit the plastic, mitigating the opposition force.

Image Notes 1. you can see nylon stripes

Step 11: The bottle stop

Glue the last wood beam so that it will act as stop for the bottle. Check that it's high enough to reach also the biggest bottles.

Step 12: Test it!

Time to try the device. I engrave a big Barbera bottle, and a smaller Birra Moretti one (both typical Italian drinks). Unfortunately there were a couple of mistakes in my design: 1. as I explained before the arm joint was not very sturdy 2. the cutter's blade wasn't reaching the glass of biggest bottle, because the steel frame touched at first 3. blade route was a bit misaligned with the circumference, and it drifted out of it

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/

Step 13: Solve issues

Solving the issues was not hard: 1. I added the 8 cm wood beam between conduit cover and wood blocks, that makes the joint stronger 2. I re-designed the arm with a tilted groove 3. I filed the groove surface with more attention to alignment, and I added a more reliable bolt as connection for the blade These improvements are already included in the previous steps, but you can see more detailed pictures of the arm here.

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/

Step 14: What's missing?

Glasses? Yeah, you're right... since I'm not very skilled in this technique, despite the perfect groove, I've broken all the bottles I've at home! You've to wait some time, that I'll drink more beers and I'll try again... meanwhile you can look the many good step-to-step and video instructables about this same topic .

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/

Related Instructables

HomeMade Modern DIY Simple Herb Garden by Adjustable homemademodern Glass Bottle Cutter by lidsdad

Want to cut wine bottles? Build this jig! by grammers

Make a Glass Bottle Cutter & How to Cut Wine Bottles for Cups (video) by artsman23

Cutting Glass Bottles by ProRock

Beer Bottle Lamps by fabulouswailer

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Comments
30 comments Add Comment

Raitis says:

Dec 4, 2013. 11:56 PM REPLY I've cut a plenty of glass bottles this way and still do that if I need a straight cut since the cut is so much cleaner than on tile cutter. For getting them split nicely I prefer using a butane torch type lighter and a steady hand for turning the bottle, or, when I need it all perfect an old turntable to turn the bottle for me. Just make sure, that you don't apply too much heat too fast (like a few revolutions of bigger distance warm up is enough), and if you're working on a thinner glass, don't remove the heat immediately too. As for using cold water, ice cubes and all that stuff - it speeds up the crack occurring, but increases the risk of cracking the wrong way too, so I'm not using this method anymore, unless there is a stubborn bottle like some of champagne ones, where the glass is thick and it just doesn't seem to crack. In that case apply thin stream of water over the heated score line (or towards the side you can afford to crack) while holding the bottle horizontally. That way water goes all around the score to the bottom and does the trick where it's needed. Sorry for the over-explanation, I think I should just write an instructable on all of these glass related things...

Raitis says:
Oh, and the instructable itself is excellent!

Dec 5, 2013. 12:00 AM REPLY

andrea biffi says:

Thanks for the over-explanations, it has been appreciated :-)

Dec 5, 2013. 10:56 AM REPLY

Andsetinn says:
Nicely done.

Dec 5, 2013. 7:10 AM REPLY

I would've made the bottom support adjustable. If you make the bottom of the wood arm wider the cut should be steadier. When I break bottles I use very slight pressure on the cutter, only enough so I can just barely see the scratch. Then I use hot running water to expand/contract the bottle until it breaks. Just put the bottle under running water, let it heat up and then remove and let it cool, repeat as necessary until you hear it break. I was amazed how little effort it took.

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/

andrea biffi says:

wow, that seems very simple, I'll give it a try!

Dec 5, 2013. 10:55 AM REPLY

Mad inventor says:

What a nice model!

Dec 5, 2013. 5:32 AM REPLY

I was needing to make one of these, and I wasn't shure about what kind of bearings to use, but now I'll use the same type of wheels that you did. Thanks for sharing!

andrea biffi says:

you're welcome :-)

Dec 5, 2013. 10:54 AM REPLY

Rohit.Agrawal says:
HI Andrea, Good work! The only flaw I can see in this and reason why you could not get perfect cut is the placement of your cutter.

Dec 5, 2013. 4:34 AM REPLY

Instead of placing your cutter on the top of the bottle, if you would place your cutter at the bottom and keep some space and then put bottle on the cutter instead of cutter on the bottle. This way the pressure on bottle would work and the base of your model would give a strong base to your cutter. Adjust some place between cutter and the bottle placement and you see it would work like charm. Hope my suggestion would help you. Thanks Rohit

andrea biffi says:

Dec 5, 2013. 10:53 AM REPLY Woow Rohit, this is an awesome idea... it really needs to be designed completely different, and there are some hard challenge to beat, but I think that should be a winning project.

valasoft says:
very lovely project

Dec 5, 2013. 4:07 AM REPLY

unclelar says:

Dec 4, 2013. 2:46 PM REPLY I made something like this 30 years ago and used a piece of nichrome wire to heat the score made with the glass cutter,popped apart very easily.Never broke a glass.If you try this make sure to wear eye protection in case it should pop off small glass chips.It did this on some of the bottles I did but not all of them.Made about 6 sets of 12 glasses and gave as Christmas gifts,people never saw this before and really liked them.

Raitis says:
Do you mean that you hooked up a nichrome wire to a standard power outlet? Did it work?

Dec 4, 2013. 11:44 PM REPLY

andrea biffi says:

How did you heat the wire? That's interesting...

Dec 4, 2013. 11:27 PM REPLY

unclelar says:

Dec 5, 2013. 5:00 AM REPLY I used a transformer,it was a long time ago but I think it was 36v.I got the nichrome from work where it used to heat parts prior to being pressed over another sleeve that was frozen to make it smaller.

dimtick says:

Dec 4, 2013. 1:31 PM REPLY one thought that I had is to have the cutter mounted at a fixed position and instead have the bottle stop being adjustable - with some sort of clamp to lock it in place. lot less stress on the stop than on the arm. would require a little rethink but may work a little better. very nice instructable! clear instructions and great photos! nice job!

andrea biffi says:

You're right, but with my solution the tool is much more compact, and I don't need to add more wheels or to move them.

Dec 4, 2013. 11:29 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/

Mr.Sanchez says:
Finnally someone that show this in an easy way, thnks sooo much.

Dec 4, 2013. 2:50 PM REPLY

andrea biffi says:

too kind

Dec 4, 2013. 11:24 PM REPLY

mwojtylko says:

Dec 4, 2013. 4:09 PM REPLY Perhaps extend the arm bar (though leaving the cutter where it is), then attach some form of cord to the end of it and a hook (of sorts) on the bottom board in line with the arm. Doing this would allow you to position it, tie it off and not worry about the arm moving about. Only spot you'd need to hold onto (other than the bottle) should be where the arm is in the track. Just an idea.

andrea biffi says:

this will work but only if cord is very tighten and the blade is perfectly aligned with the circumference..

Dec 4, 2013. 11:23 PM REPLY

Ludvic says:
complimenti sei un grande :D very good man, you are amazing (sorry for my bad english)

Dec 4, 2013. 6:12 PM REPLY

andrea biffi says:

ahah grazie!

Dec 4, 2013. 11:19 PM REPLY

Deeg says:

Dec 4, 2013. 7:57 PM REPLY Nice quality build. I've done something similar to you except that mine is much more crude but it works pretty well. I've found that having two sets of wheels makes it really hard to get the blade to cut a perfect circle--as you noted the bottle tends to travels a little bit as it rotates and the cut doesn't line up. The frame probably needs to hold the bottle steady while it rotates. I'm gonna guess that the arm holding the cutter is also flexing too much.

andrea biffi says:

Dec 4, 2013. 11:19 PM REPLY Hi, your instructable is nice! Wheels work good in my tool, the cut was at beginning not straight because the blade was not good-aligned. But you're guessing right about the arm, now it works well but maybe something more firm will work better (maybe a steel joint).

ironsmiter says:

Dec 4, 2013. 8:17 PM REPLY Speed clamp the slide in place, to make sure your score is straight(no slipping). Then use alternating boiling water and ice cubes. I have done string with lighter fluid(nailpolish, rubbing alcohol, etc.) nichrome, Ring Saws, wet tile saws... even a diamond blade on a hacksaw frame. Boiling water(pour slowly straight from the tea kettle) and ice cubes, alternating... the best method to date. It doesn't take a BIG temperature differential to form the crack, and the lower the temp difference, the less likely the crack will wander. Just remember, ONCE around the bottle, with a steady pressure( should make a Zzzsssiiiitttt sound as you go). then STOP. if you go over the score a second time, you make it worse. A few drops of oil( motor oil works great. vegetable oil works OK also) right on the scoring wheel, and you should be golden. You are in control, but it is literally, as easy as breaking glass.

andrea biffi says:

Thanks for your advice, I'll try again soon

Dec 4, 2013. 11:13 PM REPLY

Matt2 Silver says:

Dec 4, 2013. 2:20 PM REPLY Really smart build, I built something similar to this a while back but I my design didn't incorperate the ability to adjust the position of the cutter. Well done, my only thought is that it might be nice to be able to lock the cutter into place. Thanks for sharing your project!!

andrea biffi says:

Thanks guys, I wish I had been able to make a glass... maybe next try.

Dec 4, 2013. 1:26 PM REPLY

r-philp says:

Dec 4, 2013. 1:02 PM REPLY That's an exemplary instructable! The device is well thought out, the parts are simple, and the steps and photos are excellent! I plan on trying this one myself. Excellent job!

laxap says:
Very well done !

Dec 4, 2013. 12:24 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/easy-glass-bottle-cutter-made-up-of-common-parts/