DIY Tumbler from Beer Bottles

[Centexbear]

Yeah, we did that too, but melting thin glass tubing is altogether different than trying to melt just the rim of of bottle. I think the glass is different for one thing and you would need to heat the entire tumbler evenly in order to avoid heat stress cracks.

and it would be hard to get an even melt around the rim.

 

[passedpawn]

You could make the base of the tumbler out of the base of the bottle that you just cut off.

You're right! Like this. At the guys site (from the video) he mentions using UV glue to join glass. Might not be strong enough, but heck I'd give it a try.

 

[Zamial]

Ok I have been trying to do this and I can say it is ALOT of work. I use a drawer and the hand held glass cutter. Not every bottle will break on the score, or there will be a dip/peak in the rim of the glass. I have discovered that if the dip happens to re-score it and use the tool to break the glass to the inside of the bottle, this seems to get a decent edge. I average about 50% "usable" breaks...

Next the sanding. I start with 100, the sand paper dulls FAST but it does work. I bought a cheapo orbital sander and it did speed up the process but it still takes a LONG time to get a smooth edge. (Years of being a machinist has made me paranoid of sharp edges so I probably take mine to the extreme.)

At the end of the day it takes about 2 hours to sand 1 glass smooth and about $5.00 worth of sand paper. The end result is an awesome conversation piece. If SWMBO feels better I may snap a pick of some of my finished glasses tonight.

I love the glasses but hate all the work, especially when I do not have hours to spend on 1 glass...I am stockpiling the cut glasses so that I can revisit this project in the winter when life will be a bit less hectic...

 

[Brew-boy]

Back in the 70's there was a norleco or some such kit that you could easily do it, it was a glass cutter on an arm that you set and the right hieght, you put the bottle on a little turner and scribed/cut it, then you sanded or filed the lip down. But it is still pretty easy to do, there;s a few instructables online here.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Drinking-Glasses-from-Wine-Bottles/

Pretty easy

LOL I had one of these kits.

 

[Austin_]

You're right! Like this. At the guys site (from the video) he mentions using UV glue to join glass. Might not be strong enough, but heck I'd give it a try.

UV Glue would definitely work. I worked in a glass shop for 14 years. That UV glue is no joke. As far as sanding them, when we sanded glass in the shop we used a hand-held belt sander. They make some pretty small belt sanders. Something like this would probably work pretty well for this application. It would turn two hours of sanding in to 30 seconds. http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-bandfile-belt-sander-92158.html

 

[Cheaton]

I'm probably the only person on HBT who cares about such things, but if you glue the bottle I would attempt to glue iti n such a way that the liquid inside would not contact the glue. For reasons of chemical leeching and reactions morethan anything else.

 

[passedpawn]

I try to eat healthfully, but really I don't worry a lot about things. I went to the doctor recently and he said I'm terminal -- 30-40 yrs max -- so I'm at the "who cares" stage of life. Live it to the fullest, without much fear.