Cutting Glass Bottles

by cindy gonzales
(calif.)

Is it possible to cut a glass bottle with out breaking it? I'd like to put something inside then put it back together again using glue then tape and solder?

Answer
You can buy a specific tool for cutting bottles at most hobby and some stained glass stores.

However, here's a method I found on the internet. You'll need a glass cutter, a rubber band, a marking pen, and of course, a bottle. Place the rubber band around the bottle where you want to cut it, then make a mark with the marking pen at some point along the rubber band. The mark is to give you a start and stop point.

Once you have that done, lay the bottle on it's side.

Starting at the mark, score the glass as you normally would, using the rubber band as a guide. You'll need to roll the bottle as you score. When you get to the mark again, quit scoring.

Once scored, fill the bottle with the hottest tap water possible. Let it to sit for a couple of minutes then run very cold tap water over the score line. Thermal shock from the cold water will help run the score line. Using the hot and cold water might have to be done several times to get the score to break. Do be careful because the bottle might break from just picking it up.

This is not something I have done so I can't predict the results, but it's worth a try if you have only one bottle you want to cut. Just remember to be careful, especially with the hot and cold water part.

Obviously, you would practice on other bottles before you cut the bottle you mentioned in your question.

Let us know if you try it. I'm sure other people reading this would like to know how it works. You can use the comments section below to tell us about your experience with this technique.