How to Cut a Glass Bottle

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.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

With a Flame

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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]XResearch source} 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.
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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^{[2]XResearch source} 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.
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.
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Douglass Brown
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Douglass Brown is a Glassblowing Expert based in Half Moon Bay, California. He has over 25 years of experience as a glass artist, and is the owner and operator of 2 glass blowing studios in the San Francisco Bay Area, Half Moon Bay Art Glass and Mare Island Art Glass. Douglass believes in sharing hot glass experiences with anyone who wants to learn about the processes of blowing and sculpting glass. When not teaching, Douglass creates glass art that is a mix of his takes on nature and functional glassware. He has also created the Glass Troubadours, which is a mobile glass blowing studio that hosts parties, events, and visits craft shows.
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Spin the bottle on a record player or Lazy Susan to simplify the process. This method reduces the need for running the bottle under hot and cold water multiple times.
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]XResearch source}
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]XResearch source}
- Glass bottles are great for organization. You can use them in the bathroom to store lipsticks, hair ties, and more. At work, you can use them to sort and store all of your office supplies.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

With Boiling Water

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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]XResearch source}
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]XResearch source}
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.
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.
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.
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]XResearch source}

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

With Yarn

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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]XResearch source}
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]XResearch source} You can pour the excess acetone back into the bottle afterwards.
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Bicycle Glass
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Bicycle Glass Co. was founded in 2016 by David Royce and Michael Boyd, two professional glass experts. Bicycle Glass is primarily a lighting company, committed to quality, sustainability, and affordability. All Bicycle Glass products are made of high-quality, recycled glass and are hand-blown by a dedicated team of artisans. The studio is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by conserving energy in all of its production. Using renewable wind energy to offset all electricity usage, the studio is actively working toward the goal of carbon neutrality. Bicycle Glass believes that high-quality, handmade glass products should be within reach for everyone.
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You can cut glass bottles using a lit string soaked in acetone. It's a popular DIY craft you might have seen in videos online. However, remember that the success of this approach depends on several factors, such as the glass quality and the stress required for it to break. You don't make a scoreline when using this method, so the glass doesn't have a point to start to crack from. It might seem like a fun project to try, but keep in mind that there's no guarantee that this method will always work.
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.
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.
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.
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]XResearch source}

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

With a Dremel

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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.
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.
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]XResearch source}

Community Q&A

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Question
How did you make that torch that you are using to heat the scored glass bottle?
Community Answer
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.
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Question
How can I cut a glass bottle down the sides to make a front and back piece?
Community Answer
That is much more difficult, and the dremel method is really the only one you can use.
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Question
How do I make a hole in the bottom of a wine bottle?
Community Answer
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.
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You can order a wine-bottle cutter online if you don't feel comfortable trying any of these methods for cutting your 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.
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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.
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