Glass blowing is a wonderful hobby that results in some beautiful artwork for your home. My name is Natalie, and I started in glass blowing as a hobbyist, but now I teach classes in this skill. Some people think glass blowing is difficult or dangerous. That's not the case at all. As you build your skill level, you will find that you learn very quickly. In this blog, I will examine the misconceptions about glass blowing and teach you some of the techniques. I will also give you helpful tips about where to find a glass so you can practice this new skill yourself.
Finding creative ways to use empty glass bottles is a simple way to reduce the number of these bottles that find their way into landfills each year. Whether you want to turn your empty bottles into creative candles, cups, or piggy banks, you will likely need to utilize some glass cutting techniques to complete your craft.
Here are three simple ways you can cut glass when trying to reuse your empty bottles in the future.
1. Use some string.
Cutting your glass bottles with some string might sound impossible, but it's actually a very simple process. You will need a length of string long enough to tie around your bottle, some rubbing alcohol, a lighter, and a bucket of water that is deep enough to allow you to dunk your glass bottle up to your elbow.
Soak your string in the rubbing alcohol, then wring out any excess fluid before tying the string around the bottle where you want the cut to occur. Set the string on fire, and wait for the entire length to be consumed by the flame before dunking the entire bottle into the bucket of cold water.
Use your fist to rap against the bottom section of your glass bottle, and the bottle should break in two.
2. Use some wire.
If the idea of working with an open flame doesn't appeal to you, then you can use some wire to help cut your glass bottles. You will need a length of wire, a wooden block, a tray of water deep enough to fully submerge your glass bottle while it is lying on it's side, a sharp box cutter, and a heat gun to heat the wire.
Use the box cutter to score a line in the glass where you want to cut it, then wrap the wire around the scored line and shaping the ends of the wire into loops. Stick the wood block through the loops and twist until the wire is taut.
Use a heat gun to heat the wire until it is red hot, then immediately dunk the bottle into the tray of cold water. The hot wire will quickly cool, causing the glass to break along the scored line.
3. Use a professional glass cutter.
If you don't want to worry about potentially breaking your bottles while cutting them, you can always rely on the help of a professional glass cutter. These tradesman have access to industrial equipment that will make cutting through your glass bottles a breeze.
Cutting glass bottles for crafting purposes doesn't have to be difficult. Try using string, wire, or a professional glass cutter like Glass Service Center Inc to complete your glass projects in the future.
Share3 June 2016
