Diy: Easy Ways To Cut Glass Bottles

I love colored glass bottles and have recycled them for years. Last day, I was looking for an easy way to cut glass bottles, a way that I could do without fancy tools in order to reuse them into other projects.

Of course, I never imagined that the solution was simply acetone and it is so simple!

IMPORTANT: PLEASE be very careful if you try this technique, AND take all necessary safety precautions! Any type of glass cutting has risks – always follow the manufacturer’s guidelines, as well as the suggestions in the video tutorials.

Diy: Easy Ways To Cut Glass Bottles 1 • Do-It-Yourself Ideas

Table of Contents

Materials needed to cut glass bottles:

  • Some cotton twine/string
  • 1 Glass bottle (the thinner the walls of the glass bottle, the better)
  • Acetone (Most commonly found in nail polish remover, but also in the paint section at your local home centers or here on Amazon)
  • Scissors
  • Some form of abrasive paper (I used an emery board)
  • The sink filled with cold water (The colder, the better. I used ice, which helped to have cold water)
  • Igniting source, such as a long BBQ lighter

Step-by-step instructions to cut glass bottles:

  1. Wrap 5 or 6 times the cotton string around the bottle
  2. Tie and cut loose ends of the cotton string
  3. Remove the cotton string and soak it in acetone
  4. Slide back the cotton string onto the bottle where you want it to break
  5. Light cotton string on fire
  6. Turn the bottle continuously to burn the cotton string evenly
  7. Keep the glass bottle bottom tilted up to trap hot air inside the bottle
  8. IMPORTANT: don’t breathe the gases and don’t catch anything else on fire. Do it above a sink like in the video.
  9. When the flame starts to go out, plunge the glass bottle into cold water
  10. Optional: It’s a good idea to sand the broken edge of the bottle in order to avoid any injuries.
  11. Voila

Watch the videos below to see how to easily cut glass bottles:

As you’ve seen in this tutorial, cutting a glass bottle is a rather simple process, we highly recommend to sand the edge of the bottle with an emery board or sandpaper to prevent any injuries.

What you can create with cut glass bottles:

Here are some ideas about what you can create with them:

But don’t stop there! Do the same with antique glass decanters that you can find at used stores and even yard sales. Create this budget-friendly, romantic, and stunning chandelier for less than $40.  You can also construct an old fan following the instructions found in the suspension or found here: chains like.

Diy: Easy Ways To Cut Glass Bottles 9 • Do-It-Yourself Ideas
Diy: Easy Ways To Cut Glass Bottles 11 • Do-It-Yourself Ideas
Diy: Easy Ways To Cut Glass Bottles 13 • Do-It-Yourself Ideas

Want other ways to cut glass bottles? There are several other techniques to cut glass bottles (with a flame, with boiling water, etc…), but the one presented here with the cotton twine and acetone has been the safest and fastest for us!

Other useful resources:

Download your FREE PDF Tutorial!

Source:

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Pam
Pam

Fantastic…how easy was that. Thanks for sharing.

Lori Corby-Brown via Facebook
Lori Corby-Brown via Facebook

i find it funny in the video it states cotton string and yet the person is using acrylic yarn

Katie
Katie

There is such a thing as cotton yarn, and I think cotton yarn comes in multicolor

Chelle
Chelle
Reply to  Katie

yeah, but Lori is right; that’s an acrylic yarn she’s using, by Red Heart.

Guia Fulfaro via Facebook

Uaaaaaauuuu!

Cheryl Myers via Facebook

thank YOU!

Tim Ekdef via Facebook
Tim Ekdef via Facebook

can’t see it!

Brooke Barber Collins via Facebook
Brooke Barber Collins via Facebook

UNBELIEVABLE! I needed this!

Ruth
Ruth

Thanks for sharing that. I have been looking for a way to do just that!

Steven Potter via Facebook
Steven Potter via Facebook

thats ace,i think im gona get carried away abit now………:)

Claudia Dinepi via Facebook

really cool….do you know how to cut a small orifice in the base of the bottle, to insert a wire (as in making a lamp)? thanks

denny
denny

Dremel sander bit and patience.

LoriP
LoriP

Maybe you could just ball up some of the yarn or some cotton balls, soak in the acetone and lay it in the place you want the hole… we’ll have to try it… good thing it’s cheap to make mistakes ;)

Margal
Margal
Reply to  LoriP

YOu can buy a drill bit for cutting glass. 8.00 at home depot. I used it on a thick bottle and took a minute to get through it. perfect hole

Imelda Caliza Cabrera via Facebook

thanks for the idea….

Michelle Sepiol
Michelle Sepiol

This is sooooo cool! Great video. I can’t wait to try this and make neat decorations! How did you ever come up with this idea?

KaZi Schmidtbauer via Facebook
KaZi Schmidtbauer via Facebook

you fill Nails in a bottle (works also with little stones), shake strongly. Another way to remove the bottom of the bottle. Faster and safer … try it:))
…..
Füll Nägel (oder kleine Kieselsteine) in eine Flasche und schüttel sie kräftig, bis sich der Flaschenboden löst! Geht schnell und sicher … Probiert es aus:))

Ruth Moseley via Facebook
Ruth Moseley via Facebook

Good info!!!

Darlene C. Matthews via Facebook
Darlene C. Matthews via Facebook

Pretty cool and pretty toxic. I will do this outside and wear a mask-

arfan
arfan

snowflake

Rachael Flood
Rachael Flood

Help please I really do want to do the same with antique glass decanters as suggested but can’t find the link to the instructions – could you repost it or the instructions – as i am not exactly sure where i would put the string for a hole in the base? Thank you

carol
carol

Amazing!! Love this! THanks for sharing!!

Habibi
Habibi

I cant seem to get it to work…:( Ive tried three times. is there any other trick

kim
kim
Reply to  Habibi

@ Habibi You have to use cotton string and remember to turn the bottle, make sure your string is soaked.

WarsawNan
WarsawNan

I’ve seen this method on several sites and don’t understand why anyone would do this rather than just use a glass cutter, which is MUCH easier (and safer!) than this. I’ve cut glass hundreds of times (literally)–with a glass cutter–without a single problem, but I’d be terrified to try this method. If anyone DOES try it, PLEASE wear protective goggles!!

jeremiah
jeremiah
Reply to  WarsawNan

WarsarNan I have a question for you. Please inform me on what cutting tool you’ve used to cut the bottles you cut. I bought one after trying the methods above without any luck. The one I bought however doesn’t work like they say it does? I’ve read the instructions and I’ve done everything imaginable to cut the bottles. Still no luck even after paying for this device I have yet to cut a bottle. Please be specific as to where you bought it, how much you paid, and the actual name and possibly even the maker of it invade I… Read more »

joe
joe
Reply to  jeremiah

Hey Jeremiah…

Not sure if you got your response as I’m new to this site… But I just cut three bottles in less than 30 min. I only had hand glass cutter, but I will invest in the actually bottle cutter and It will make lines cleaner and straighter. What issues did you have? what where the steps you took?

GullyFoyle
Reply to  WarsawNan

I’ve tried this a couple of times now with the string method. the first time, I got long fractures down into the body of what’s to be the glass. If I tried to get rid of the fractured parts and smooth out the results, I’m afraid it’d be a lot of work for very little results. The second time, I wrapped some plastic tape in a straight line around the bottle to use as a guide for file which I used to score the bottle all the way around. Idea seemed to make sense. Took off the tape. Did the… Read more »

DeeAnn
DeeAnn

So cool, looks pretty easy.

greg
greg

here are good ideas

bielie
bielie

cool, antique. life is awesome.

Whitney
Whitney

I’ve tried this 5 times with 3 different bottles and it didn’t work. I did it exactly as the video showed. Very disappointing…

PazAmora
PazAmora

Wow that is pretty genius! I must try this…

CJ
CJ

Nice method but for heaven’s sake, put the lid on the acetone before you light the string, there are plenty of cases of serious burns and explosions caused by the ignition of vapour from flammable solvents, it’s quite amazing how little you need to make a powerful explosion capable of blowing out windows and worse.

GullyFoyle
Reply to  CJ

good point! Acetone is extremely volatile and if it caught a spark there could be a very bad fire and serious injuries within seconds.

Gail Bonilla
Gail Bonilla

~ I will be making lamps from wine bottles & (or) Champagne & other liqour bottles . ~ Thank you for your wonderful tip on how to do ! ~ Gail :D

carolyn
carolyn

didn’t work for me either…

Bill
Bill

the glass cut unevenly, we set a hand on fire, & cut a finger but followed the directions to the tee. would not recommend this to anyone. better directions would be to show how to not shatter the glass up the bottle, to break evenly.

jacques dalziel
jacques dalziel

Awesome Awesome Awesome

Jodi
Jodi

Didn’t work! I tried it 4 times on a wine bottle. What a bust!

elke

Super cool seeing it done- looks easy enough! thank you.

Chelsea
Chelsea

LOVE this idea. I am a bit nervous to try it. but it looks fabulous!

Kelli Haggerty
Kelli Haggerty

I tried 3 different bottles about 3 times each and watched the video serveral times. It didn’t work! What am I doing wrong?

Karen Jones
Karen Jones

Alright…4 tries to get it to work. I tried a variety of “strings” and only got it to finally work with hemp twine (used to tie up plants with…green, so it was a tad bit messy). I have NOT perfected it yet (gotta keep the string relatively straight), but am looking forward to showing this to my Girl Scout troop this week (they’re 17-18 years old). I would NOT do this with younger kids!

barb
barb

I tried this several times – Nothing. Do you use Acetone Polish Remover and Yarn?

susan
susan

I tried several times trying to cut a wine bottle. Nothing complete bust. What is wrong. I used cotton string and acetone nail polish remover.

Marlene
Marlene

OMG I kept scooting back in my chair waiting for the bottle to crack in my face, “Scared” and I wasn’t even there. Man this is so neat to know. Thank You so much for showing me how to cut my own bottles. Now I can save instead of throwing away or filling my empty bottles with rice, quinoa etc. etc. but you can only reuse so many bottles now. This is just great, I am so glad to have knowledge of this easy smeasy concept. Man o man Do I have ideas. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I… Read more »

Marlene
Marlene

Well reading everyone elses posts or comments kind of have me a little bit scared to try this now. I’m definetely wearing protective glasses and clothing and also doing this outside instead of my kitchen sink area. You did make it look easy but wonder why some had trouble doing this. Maybe not letting it burn long enough to get hot enough to crack.

NGK
NGK

it is amazing ….

TaintedFiber
TaintedFiber

Def will try this. I can’t believe how many posters are just plain nasty with their comments. Thanks for posting!

Neokentin

I’ve updated the post with a new video … another method to cut glass bottles…enjoy :)

sammie galowski
sammie galowski

does this method also work with cuting a round hole? i want to make it so i can put lights in a bottle but a hole on the side for the cord to come out.

missy
missy

They have drill bits for drilling glass

Sue
Sue

This is pretty damn cool, I can’t wait to try it!

Beverly Menard via Facebook
Beverly Menard via Facebook

I can not wait to try this!

Heidi Ruth Grenda
Heidi Ruth Grenda

Gracias por compartir lo que hacen

Jennifer Janssen via Facebook
Jennifer Janssen via Facebook

Thank you!

Mark Buettemeier
Mark Buettemeier

Hmmmm, both videos are now that same – and it involves using a cutter. What happened to the “no cutting” version of this?

aldo marcucci
aldo marcucci

ACETONE? hes using a glass cutter and hot and cold water… so whats the easyness of cutting bottle botoms? dont think everyone has a glass cutting device at home…

sandy morrow
sandy morrow

how wood you just cut a hole in the bottom of a vase with this method.

Vicki
Vicki

Make video available on mobile please

dallas_sparkles
dallas_sparkles
Reply to  Vicki

I just watched it on my HTC Sensation.

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