1. Bottle Cutting Basics

   The steps from bottle to completed project are simple:
   1. Score
   2. Tap
   3. Separate
   4. Finish Edges
   5. Decorate

2. Finding Bottles

   Start your fun with bottle hunting. Begin with your own recycling bin. No fair emptying bottles just to cut them! Widen your search. Appoint family and friends as official bottle hunters. Plain bottles are great for practice, but soon you?ll thirst for the more elusive quarry--blue bottles, matching bottles, tall bottles, funny bottles, and fancy bottles..... Check for bottles at work, on vacation, wherever you go. Restaurants and bars are great sources. Friendly bar-keeps will often set aside special bottles for you. Visit your local recycling center. Make friends with the guys on the recycling truck in your neighborhood. For a tip, they will probable deliver bottles to your door instead of picking them up. Check out discount stores: they often sell inexpensive but terrific bottles, complete with corks. Travel fun places looking for bottles. Be creative in your quest for the ultimate bottle. Remember, your next great bottle adventure is always just around the next corner. Not only will family and friends admire your bottle-cutting skills and ingenuity, you can regale them with tales of how you bagged the perfect bottle.

3. Cutting Your First Bottle

   Despite the thrill of chasing down exotic bottles, you might want to begin your bottle cutting career with plain beer bottles. The reasons are simple: (1) beer bottles are easily obtained: (2) beer bottles are thin, therefor easier to cut: (3) you will break a lot of bottles before you perfect your bottle-cutting skills, so you want to save your best bottles until you perfect your techniques. Because they are so thin, beer bottles are best just for practice, not for projects. Always clean bottles prior to cutting because: (1) labels, glue, or dirt can prevent you from making good cuts, and (2) the sharp edges of cut bottles can make cleaning dangerous.

4. Bottle cleaning tips:

   Partially fill bottle with water to keep from floating, then soak until label loosens. A large soup pot works well and leaves your sink free for normal use. A long handled dishwashing brush will remove any residue. Turn the brush over and you?ll probably discover a sharp edge that works well to scrape off stubborn label remains. Any glue remnants also should be removed so they don?t cause your cutter to skip. Acetone, fingernail polish remover (contains acetone, elbow grease and ?Oops? all work well on label glue. Caution: At all times handle bottles, both cut and uncut with care. Use protective eyewear. Always use chemicals outside or in well-ventilated areas. Most of all, use common sense at all times?that?s always your best protection in life as well as bottle-cutting.

5. Before you cut:

   Referring to the diagrams, take a couple of minutes to examine your cutter and learn the parts. It really will make understand and following instructions easier, and you?ll be creating wonderful bottle crafts all that much faster.
1. Oil the cutting wheel using household oil only. Yes, you applied oil during assembly, but not on the cutting wheel itself. Do it now, and each and every time you make a cut. If you fail to oil the cutter, you may ruin not only your bottle, but you can destroy the cutting wheel. Get in the habit of oiling the cutter now, while your are practicing, so you will not ruin a terrific bottle later on.
2. Adjust the cutting head to the desired height of your cut and adjust the bottom bottle guide so that your bottle is positioned and centered against the cutting wheel.
3. The cutting wheel must always be straight against the glass at a 90 degree angle . Any side motion or movement will cause an irregular cut. If your bottle is curved and you wish to score it at a different angle, loosen the cutting head and slide the enclosed wedge behind the cutting head from the top of the cutter and re-tighten the cutting head. Do not over tighten. This will give you the proper cutting angle.
4. Hold the bottle with your hands positioned above & below the score line . Bend your arm at a 90 degree angle from the elbow and push forward and slightly down on the bottle with even pressure against the cutting wheel. Slowly turn the bottle counterclockwise to the left, using only enough pressure to product a continuous tiny ripping sound. It is tempting to exert excessive pressure to make certain the bottle will separate, but deep scoring can destroy both cutting wheel and bottle. Resist this temptation. When your scoring line is complete around the bottle, inspect it to ensure you have not missed any spots. Complete and even separation depends on a continuous scoring line. If there are any missed areas, re-score only those blank spots, making sure to connect all the score lines. Do not score over your original scoring line. Double cutting will damage the cutting wheel and probably ruin your bottle.

Article Posted: 01/04/2020 10:55:18 AM