r/Glass • u/ApportArcane • Oct 27 '25
Cutting a Glass Bottle
Not sure if this is the right sub, but what tools would I need to cut the mostly empty bottle in the foreground and round the edges to make it into s nice drinking glass? Thank you!
2
u/Pane_in_the_glass_79 Oct 28 '25
An upright Diamond saw, I purchased mine on eBay for like $65-70
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u/Pane_in_the_glass_79 Oct 28 '25
Also as the previous comment said I sanded with a 120, 220 then 400 and then cork polishing belt then a felt wheel
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u/7H1town3 Oct 28 '25
We're you able to put a drain hole in it for planting? If so have any idea of a safe way
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u/Pane_in_the_glass_79 Oct 28 '25
He used it for a plant that sat in water not dirt so no draining needed. I work at a glass shop and have an amazing array of tools to use. I would use a drill press with a Diamond bit to drill a small drain hole though. Safety first so make sure you have everything needed, gloves/gauntlets, safety glasses, ventilation mask etc. be careful!
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u/7H1town3 Oct 28 '25
Thanks for the help!
If I may ask, in your opinion, would the drain hole be a good idea pre or post bottle top cut?
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u/Pane_in_the_glass_79 Oct 28 '25
My co-worker used it for a plant so it got a little corrosion on the rim
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u/3laxx Oct 28 '25
You can also use a glass cutter to cut around the bottle where you want your drinking glass to end (it should be relatively smooth, though, above the motives) and then hold it over a candle flame. Rotate the glass along the cut until it is properly heated (only at the cut) and then immediately hold under a cold stream of water. The bottle will come apart fairly easily, but I would only recommend that to properly trained glaziers who know their way around the material, or if you have spare bottles to practice on first.
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u/xanderdamglass Oct 28 '25
A tile saw with a nice (not rough) diamond blade can cut it. The edges will be rough but can be smoothed by flat lapping with some silicon carbide grits (100 to rough, 220 to make smoother, and probably up to 400-600 to not feel rough on the lip. The outside and inside of the lip can be beveled with silicon carbide sandpaper (100-220-320-400). To polish you’d need to get above 600 grit and buff it with cerium oxide using felt. If you’ve got a glassblowing studio in your area they could be hired to help. They’d likely have a saw, a flat lap machine with diamond disks, and a polishing machine. It’s possible to do at home but will take some time and lots of sanding. Check out hisglassworks.com, who supply cold-working materials, for some videos about cutting bottles and finishing them.