Bottle Buddy

What to do with wine and beer bottles? Bottle Buddy can help turn them into collector glassware, suitable at least for the Man cave.

 

 

        

Start with some scrap wood, a length of ~3/4” o.d. pvc, wood screws, glass cutter, clamp, small strip of old inner tube, and some wood glue. A small turnbuckle may be useful, too.

The box measures ~14” long x ~5” wide x ~ 4” high. Blocks were added underneath to permit the clamp to slide beneath.

Center the holes for the pvc at: 1” from inside of back; ~2 ¼” apart; and ~5/8” above inside floor.

Drill holes with ~7/8” bit. This will prevent holes from binding the turning action of the pvc. Cut the pvc so a half inch extends from each end of the box.

Predrill all holes and use a countersink to keep screw heads flush. The left end is cut lower to prevent interference with long-neck bottles.

                                                                                                           

The glass cutter is mounted in a movable piece of wood. Drill a 1/8” hole in the center of the flat of the cutter’s handle. Drill a hole, ~3/8”, at 1” up on block of wood. Then drill a hole from the top center which just intersects the first hole. The second hole can be small enough for the head of a wood screw to slide through. Pre insert a wood screw into the hole of the cutter and remove it; to cut a thread pattern. Assemble the cutter in the hole. Leave a ~1/8” gap beneath the head of the screw and the flat of the cutter’s handle. This gap will permit up & down movement of the cutter head; needed to adapt to differences in bottle diameters.

A third, counter sinking hole is added to the block. This hole is used to insert a wood screw far enough for its end to protrude from the underside of the block. This added “pin” will help position the block before it is later clamped to the box.

On the rear of the cutter block screw, and glue, left and right side pieces of wood tight to the edges of the cutter handle. This is important in minimizing sideways wobbling of the head.

Cut a 1” wide x 6” long strip of stretchable rubber and fold it in half. Punch holes through the ends to allow the ends to be slipped over the rear of the cutter handle.  At the center fold, punch a small hole through which the end loop of a small turnbuckle, of “S” clip can be inserted.

With the rubber attached to the handle, clamp the cutter block to the top of the box. Where the block is clamped depends on how tall a glass is to be made. If a 12oz glass is desired, then use a measuring cup to fill the bottle with 12oz of water. Allow a ½” or more extra height, and mark the bottle.

Now where to clamp the cutter block is made easier.

With cutter block clamped in place, stretch the rubber to attach its turnbuckle, or S-clip to the top of the clamp.

 

The rubber strap is meant to add downward cutting pressure on the head and thus free both hands to carefully turn the bottle. The cutter head is lifted so a bottle can be inserted onto the pvc rails.

 

With the butt of the bottle pressed against the right hand end, gentle spin the bottle on the pvc rails towards the rear wall. As the bottle nears a full turn the etch line will come up from beneath. Continue turning until the etch lines meet, no further. If the cutter head is not easily etching the glass, tighten the lifting pressure with the turnbuckle. If the pvc rails do not spin freely, that is not a worry as the bottle will still rotate easily.

 

 

Etching the bottle is the first step. Next the etch needs to turn into a fracture line. The etched bottle can be immersed into a container of hot water, hold for 15 – 20 seconds, and then hold under cold tap water. A crisp snap may be heard, if not, repeat the hot then cold water. After one or more cycles, the top will part from the bottom without any tugging.

The next step is to make the rim of the new glass safe to drink from. An easy approach is to use a flat table sander fixed with an 80grit, or finer belt. Hold the lip to the moving belt, and with moderate pressure gently spin the glass back and forth. Inspect the lip. Continue sanding until the lip shows no clear glass and is uniformly dull in shade.

Next, use wet & dry sand paper of ~120 grit and work over the outer, inner, and top. This takes the edge from the lip. Continue with finer grip paper, if desired.

When satisfied, and washed, try to slip the new glasses onto the shelf in the kitchen. If you encounter a high degree of spousal rejection, as was said at the beginning, they can always be used in the Man cave.

 

 

This is a set of glasses cut from large ale bottles. The glasses were measured to hold a pint of ale.