Pretty Little Windows..... maybe

See the website of artist Daniel Maher for info about his work.

Paul and I have been fascinated for years by cutting up old bottles.  It seems everyone has a method, and those methods work... for those people.  We have never been able to succesfully cut bottles.  Oh, we can cut them up and have lots of jagged edges and cracks, but nothing you would be able to safely use.  Recently, I've seen a few examples of people making stained glass out of recycled wine bottles and glassware and I wanted to give it a try for a small window in the cabin.  I ran across a new method (for me) of cutting bottles and, after watching a few YouTube videos, was determined to give it a try.  Of course, it didn't work (lots of jagged edges!).  But Paul was determined.... and he found a way.

The premise is based on a cutting around the bottle with a glass cutter.  Here, the bottle is rolling on some old wheels we found, bottom against a straight edge, and the cutter is mounted upside down on the piece of wood (attached to the table with a hinge).  Note the mini propane torch and container of icewater.  Don't forget the gloves and safetly glasses!

First, while holding the bottle firmly against the straight edge, turn it while pressing down with the cutter.

Second, quickly turn the bottle while heating with a little propane torch (the kind everyone has for their creme brules).  The key here is turing quickly and having the tip of the flame only on the cut.  You may see videos with candles instead - we never got that to work, never.

Immediately, plunge the bottle into ice water.  You may hear a crack and have the bottom fall off; more likely you will have to remove the bottle and tap gently to separate the two pieces.

And there it is... the bottom of a bottle cut cleanly and evenly.  Very nice!  The next step is making the stained glass window - that's a post for another day.

The first apparatus was cobbled together with items from the shed and after some trial and error with the process, we made a few adjustments.  We replaced old wheels with some casters that didn't wobble- important in keeping the bottle straight.  We also aligned both the bottom of the bottle and cutter to the straight edge. 

If you give this a try yourself, the important thing is to have a single clean cut around the bottle.  If the begining and ending of the cut don't meet perfectly, you will have a jagged edge.  The bottle and cutter must be kept aligned during the cutting. Of course, you can buy a device that does all this for you, but why?  Once you figure out how to do this (and it does take a bit of practice), you will have success 95% of the time.  I'm leery of using this process to make drinking glasses, but for stained glass, I think it works fine.  The edges are quite sharp and still must be filed.  

Stay tuned for future posts on the window making.