Our Best Glass Cutting Techniques

Craft & Design
Our Best Glass Cutting Techniques

glassRoundup_5

Anyone who’s tried to cut or etch glass knows that it’s not always as easy as it looks. Getting a clean, straight cut on a bottle, regardless of what method you use, can be a real challenge. Over the years, we’ve posted a number of articles on glass cutting and etching techniques. Below you will find some of the best of that content, including what is likely the best method, the 30-second cutting technique. If you have experience in glass cutting or etching, we’d love to hear your stories. Please share in the comments below.

30-Second Bottle Cutting Technique

YouTube player
This video post is one of the most popular items we’ve ever published on Make:. It continues to get significant traffic, year after year. We can only hope that people are actually trying the technique out and are turning a lot of beer or soda bottles into usable glassware and other upcycled glass objects. The video contains a lengthy intro looking at other methods and why they aren’t so great. The method presented in the video actually starts at 3:39. Link: How-To: Learn 30 Second Wine Bottle Cutting

Build an Adjustable Bottle Cutter

glassRoundup_5As a follow-up to the above video, I posted this piece about building a simple jig to use with the technique. All you need is a few pieces of wood, some hardware, and a cheap bottle-cutting blade that you can buy online for only a few bucks. Link: Build an Adjustable Bottle Cutter for 30-Second Clean Cuts

Label Etching a Glass Bottle

glassRoundup_2Sean Ragan shows you how to use the label on a beer or wine bottle as a built-in resist for etching on the glass. Link: Make: Projects – Label-etching a Glass Bottle

Glass Etching Using the Toner Transfer Method

glassRoundup_1This etching method is the same one that Sean Ragan uses in the above Make: Projects post, but instead of using the bottle label, you use a toner transfer for producing the image on the glass. Link: May the Frost Be with You: Etch Your Own Star Wars Drinking Glasses

Bottle Cutting Using the Score and Heat Method

glassRoundup_4This is one of the most widely known methods of bottle cutting. It works, although you rarely get the kind of smooth edge that the 30-second method consistently produces. Link: Make: Projects – Bottle Cutting

Knapping Glass into Arrow Heads

glassRoundup_3“Knapping” is the art of chipping away material to produce a knife or arrow head. Turning a glass bottle into an arrow head is apparently the “Hello, World” project of the the knapping world. Find out how to do it via this venerable tutorial. Link: How-To: Knap an Arrowhead from a Beer Bottle

7 thoughts on “Our Best Glass Cutting Techniques

  1. fstedie says:

    None of these “methods” spend any significant time on the preparation of the glass AFTER you cut it. You’ll need to spend quite a bit of time carefully sanding the lip to make into a smooth, drinkable edge. If you want to “flame roll” the edge, which is the professional way to finish, you’ll have to have a hot enough flame AND a kiln to properly anneal the glass. Otherwise you’ll end up with a fragile, dangerous piece of glass.

    1. Mark Finewood says:

      I thought the https://makezine.com/projects/bottle-cutting/ tutorial was quite comprehensive, devoting two sections to edge techniques.

  2. longtheway says:

    why not trust on mmakezine If you wana get a reasonable income through laptop and if you have a reliable internet connection then you should be able to know how you make your income by laptop.this is very simple to know just vist my website
    and sign up there for more details
    http://TipsForBestIncomingWayOfHappy………….

  3. loho says:

    Trust own makezinnneee If you wana get a reasonable income through laptop and if you have a reliable internet connection then you should be able to know how you make your income by laptop.this is very simple to know just vist my website

    and sign up there for more details http:// TipsForYou

  4. Judy White says:

    Where are the instructions on making the bottler cutter holder out of wood?

  5. Paul Searle says:

    if you watch the first video, at 7mins 16 seconds you will see that it wasnt a perfect cut, the guy then goes on to hide the mistake with his finger on top of the edge, why not just do it again and publish a perfect result! anyway this way is the easiest way to cut a bottle, i made a sanding disc to smooth the edges.

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK