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| Cut bottle terrarium by Justin Newcombe |
We discussed how to cut the neck off a bottle for use as a terrarium vessel before on the blog. Readers commented that using a manual glass cutting tool might be feasible but sanding down the cut edge left us scratching our collective heads. Lucky for us, Justin Newcombe of the New Zealand Herald Weekend Project column has weighed in with his DIY directions for this impressive up-cycle:
- Newcombe used a tile cutting attachment on a dremmel handheld saw.
- He then suggests using #000 grade steel wool to polish the bottle and the cut glass edge.
UPDATE: Thanks to a tip from reader Caff, regarding another method of cutting a bottle. Kane Daniels demonstrates how to cut the top off of a bottle by wrapping cotton thread around the bottle, lighting it on fire, and plunging the bottle into a bucket of ice water to shock the bottle into two pieces. Full instructions can be found here and please let me know if you've tried this before! I'd love to hear more details.
Safety reminder: Please careful to do this craft outside and away from anything that might be flammable, and to wear appropriate clothing that won't get in the way. Keep children and pets secured so they do not approach the flame. It wouldn't hurt to have a fire extinguisher handy in addition to the large bucket of water.
Safety reminder: Please careful to do this craft outside and away from anything that might be flammable, and to wear appropriate clothing that won't get in the way. Keep children and pets secured so they do not approach the flame. It wouldn't hurt to have a fire extinguisher handy in addition to the large bucket of water.
I recently read about a method of 'cutting' bottles to use as drinking glasses. It may be adaptable for terrarium purposes.
ReplyDeleteThe instructions can be found here:
http://thethousands.com.au/melbourne/make/glasses-from-bottles-2/
I like the idea as I am not about to go and buy a dremel for myself, but I usually keep the materials needed handy anyway!
Thanks for this link, Caff! It certainly looks like a less tool-intensive method. I'm going to add it to the post!
DeleteI've done the string around the bottle method numerous times. It leaves sharp edges. Using twine and soaking it in butane beforehand then tying around the bottle increases success. The string has to come in complete contact with the glass so tie it tight. This also precludes anything other than round bottles. Practice on beer bottles before graduating to larger, thicker or more oddly shaped glass.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that butane tip, gillt. And also the suggesting about practicing on beer bottles. I am really itching to try this now!
DeleteAnother alternative to the butane, if you don't have any lying around, is a mixture of gasoline and motor oil. It's a method that has been in military field manuals for a few decades now. The mixture gives it the heat required, but will also increase burn time for thicker glass. Just make sure your doing all this outside, and away from your plants.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that suggestion as well! And the safety tip. I'm going to amend the blog post to include that warning.
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