How To Create Suction With A Glass Bottle

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You may have seen vases made from bottles and wondered how they cut the glass. The process is simple, and with a few steps you can have other people wondering about your glass creations! Try one of these four methods for cutting a glass bottle to get a smooth, clean surface.

1

Score the bottle. To create the line that the bottle will break off at, use a glass cutter or a glass drill bit to score a line.^[1] If you want, you can use a support system so that you get a perfect line around the bottle, otherwise you can just freehand it.
2

Heat the bottle. Heat the line that you made with the glass cutter. You can use a small candle or a small butane torch. Focus the heat directly along the score line, and constantly rotate the bottle to get even coverage.

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3

Dip the bottle in cold water. ^[2] When you have spent around 5 minutes heating the bottle, dip the end you are breaking off in cold water. Do this in a sink or pot full of cold water, with optional ice.
4

Repeat the process. The bottle might require more stress than a single round of heating and cooling in order to break. Simply repeat the process of heating the bottle and dipping it in cold water until it snaps.
5

Sand the edges. Use a rough square of sandpaper to clean off the edges of the glass. As you remove any sharp points, alternate to a finer grit sandpaper. You should do this as soon as you are finished, to avoid cutting yourself.^[3]
6

Enjoy your cleanly broken bottle. Use the bottle to store pens, drink out of, or make a pretty vase. The options are endless!^[4]

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1

Score the bottle. You need to create a tension line for the bottle to crack along, and you do this by scoring a clean line at the desired breaking point. Use a glass cutter or a glass drill bit to create a single, even line wrapping around the glass. Don't overlap score lines, as this will make your cut more jagged than a single line.^[5]
2

Get the water ready. You will need to be working at a sink with cold water running, and also boil a teakettle of hot water. The process works by pouring boiling and cold water back and forth over the bottle until it snaps at the score line.^[6]
3

Pour the hot water. Hold the bottle over the sink, and slowly pour the hot water over the score line. Avoid pouring it in a wide area, as you want only the score line to be placed under tension from the heat.
4

Move the bottle into the cold water. As you finish pouring hot water over the entire line around the bottle, put it under the cold water running in the sink. The first time you do this, the bottle likely will not break.
5

Continue adding hot and cold water. Take the bottle from the cold water and add another pour of the boiling water over the stress line. Pour the water around the entire bottle, and then dip it in the cold water again. After the second or third time of doing this, the bottle should snap cleanly off along the score line.
6

Sand the edges. Use a rough grit of sandpaper to sand the edges of the glass down. When they are no longer jagged at all, you can use a fine grit sandpaper to smooth the edges to a soft finish.^[7]

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1

Wrap your yarn. If you don't have yarn available, you can use any thick cotton string. At the location of where you would like the bottle to break, wrap a piece of yarn around the bottle 3-5 times. Tie the ends together and cut off any excess string.^[8]
2

Soak the yarn in acetone. Slide the yarn off the end of the bottle, and place it in a small dish or lid. Pour a bit of nail polish remover or straight-up acetone over the yarn until it is completely soaked.^[9] You can pour the excess acetone back into the bottle afterwards.
3

Wrap the bottle again. Take the yarn and replace it back on the bottle in the exact location you want it to break. Try to make sure that the loops of yarn are placed close together and are tight so that you get a level, clean break.
4

Light the yarn on fire. Use a match or a lighter to catch the yarn (on the bottle) on fire. Rotate the bottle slowly so that the yarn burns at a consistent speed around the entire bottle.
5

Dunk the bottle in cold water. Have your sink or a pot filled with cold water - you can add ice as well if you would like. Wait until the fire on the yarn has burnt out, and then stick the end of the bottle with the yarn directly into the water. The bottle should break cleanly off where the yarn was wrapped around it.
6

Sand the edges. Use a rough sandpaper to smooth down the jagged edges on the broken section of the bottle. When you have removed any sharp corners, switch to a fine grit sandpaper to give the bottle a smooth, soft finish. You're done!^[10]

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1

Mask off the bottle. The dremel will be doing all the cutting in this method, but you need to know where to cut. Use two strips of masking tape placed very close together (but not touching!) to form a thin line around the bottle where you want to cut.
2

Cut the bottle. Attach a glass-cutting bit to the end of the dremel. Work your way around, slowly cutting the glass along the taped line. You may have to go over the same section multiple times in order to get a clean cut. There should be a cautionary note here on using a Dremel wheel on glass because glass dust is very dangerous to our respiratory system. Use proper protective wear over nose and mouth, and eyes. Safer to use a glass cutting machine where water is running to prevent dust from blowing into the air; even so the residual glass-dust-infused-water in the tray must be discarded carefully, NOT down any household drain.
3

Sand the edges. When the bottle snaps along the line, you will probably have some jagged edges that need smoothing. Use a rough grit of sandpaper to smooth down the sharp pieces, and then transition into using a fine grit to make a soft surface. You're finished!^[11]

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Add New Question

Question

How did you make that torch that you are using to heat the scored glass bottle?

It appears to be a candle flame placed under the neck/mouth-piece of a glass bottle to direct the heat into a more focused area.
Question

How can I cut a glass bottle down the sides to make a front and back piece?

That is much more difficult, and the dremel method is really the only one you can use.
Question

How do I make a hole in the bottom of a wine bottle?

If you just want a circular hole in the bottom of the bottle, like to turn it into a lamp, you need a diamond tip drill bit in the size that you want the hole to be. Each drill bit can be costly, so be sure of the size you want, and they're usually cheaper online than at a local hardware store. Follow the directions and practice on other bottles before you use it on your wine bottle, as drilling glass can be tricky.
Question

I spun the bottle slowly and let the string burn until the flame went out (I soaked it in rubbing alcohol), but the bottle didn't break when submerged in the cold water. Did I miss something?

Rubbing alcohol and acetone are wildly different chemicals. I'd recommend either getting 100% acetone from the nail polish aisle or going to the hardware store and asking for acetone. It's cheap and not particularly difficult to find.
Question

Can I use gasoline instead of acetone?

I hope this is a joke question. Gasoline explodes when lit on fire. Please do not use gasoline.
Question

What am I doing wrong if the method of tying string around a bottle and lighting it on fire, then dipping it in cold water is not working for me?

1. The flame isn't hot enough. This is why it should be acetone specifically, or, 2. The water is not cold enough. This is why it should be ice water specifically. Maybe even salt it and stick it in the freezer so it will be below freezing. It could also be both of these things.
Question

Where would I find the dremel bit that was used?

A 22 millimeter diamond cutting wheel for glass should be available inexpensively online.
Question

Are the methods in the article safe for cut crystal?

Absolutely not! I would take crystal to a jeweler. Let an expert handle that. It's much too fine and valuable for you to cut yourself. Even if you do find instructions online on how to cut crystal, I still would advise that you don't take your chances. Just take it to a local jeweler. Most of them sell crystal figurines and either know how to cut/size crystal, or can refer you to an expert in your area
Question

What can I use if I don't have acetone?

Many nail polish removers contain acetone, or you can get some, it is available in most hardware stores.
Question

How do I cut a glass jar?

You do this in exactly the same way as a bottle. Acetone and a string or any of the other methods described in this article are also appropriate for use with a glass jar. Just be sure to position the glass with care, since it will usually be shorter than a bottle.

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If using a tile saw, you must use a glass diamond tip blade. Keep plenty of water in the saw for cooling the blade. Slowly push the bottle through the saw, leaving a perfect cut when done.
You can order a wine-bottle cutter online if you don't feel comfortable trying any of these methods for cutting your bottle.
All the temperature changes should be gradual except for the moment you place the bottle in the cold water. Otherwise, you'll ruin the bottle.
If you are a child, make sure you are under adult supervision.

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Article SummaryX

If you want to cut a glass bottle with a flame, use a glass cutter or a glass drill bit to score a line around the bottle. Hold the bottle over a small candle or butane torch so the line you made is directly over the flame. Constantly rotate the bottle so you get even coverage. After about 5 minutes, dip the bottle in cold water. If it doesn't break, repeat the process until it does. Sand the edges of the bottle with a rough square of sandpaper, then polish them with a finer-grit sandpaper. If you want to learn more, like how to cut the bottle with boiling water or yarn, keep reading the article!

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