Bottle Neck Slide Cutter Test

[Nancy Barnes]

In a chat about cutting bottle neck slides, I remembered I had this old gadget, a yard sale find, which may or may not be an antique glass cutter for cutting gauge tubes for steam things. So I had to find it... and then I had to try it out.

I rinsed out a hot sauce bottle for the test. Yes, it will scratch a line on the INSIDE of a bottle neck.

I twirled it around a few times, back and forth and perhaps too much. Time to tap the line.

At first, I tapped with the heavy end thing that squishes against the outside of the bottle neck. That was a bad idea as the glass cracked off on an angle, definately not on the line. So I got out an ordinary glass cutter and tapped the line with the ball end around until it popped off.

Used tile nippers to nip off the jagged edge.

It looks horrid... not worth even trying to pretty up all nice and smooth. But, I do think I shall clean up this tool and put it to use. The break DID follow the line a little bit, and it might have broke off clean if I had only scratched it one good time and only bopped it with the ball end thing, so I consider this test a success.

I will update this blog after LOTS of practice. Does anyone else have one of these gadgets?

[Ted Crocker]

SUCCESS!

Keep at it

[Willie Pelz]

Add a drop of 3n1 oil to the cutting wheel, it help to make a cleaner break.

[Dave K.]

Nancy - you might try scribing the line (ONE PASS ONLY) on a cold bottle, and then hold the bottle neck under a hot water stream from the tap (rotate under the water stream along the scribe line). The thermal shock should be enough to give you a cleaner break.

[Dave K.]

That is a fantastic tool, BTW. I've never seen one of those before - but now I'll be on the lookout!

[Dana Harlan]

That bottle neck cutter is cool, it looks like amputation apparatus from the War Between the States. Once many years back, as back to the land hippies, we bought a bottle and jug cutter from the Whole Earth Catalog . With the device (a cheap aluminum version of yours) an industrious hippy was meant to make glasses and bowls etc. from bottles and jugs. We had limited success. I've had actual success using a hand held glass cutter with 3 in one oil as Willie has said, applied to the cutter and rolling out the bottle with one hand while applying the cutter to the neck. There were a number of failures and one decent slide produced. My grandad routinely produced "cloche" covers for his African violets by tying cotton butcher's string around a gallon glass jug and putting lighter fluid on the string. He lit the string and when it burned out he put the jug under running water. He made some perfect "cuts". I've tried the burning string method and water temps on the glass and made one decent slide that way. Best of luck.

[Ottie(Sky Dog)Noble]

when using a glass cutter you need to tap the glass immediately after cutting or it will break crooked every time. When i say immediately i mean like all in one motion cut tap

[Dana Harlan]

Last week I tried a diamond wet saw to cut a couple. I's the kind of saw you'd use to cut tile.  Worked pretty well with some slight chipping   sometimes.

[Nancy Barnes]

Oh thanks for the great ideas.  I'll have to try some thermal shock methods when I get some bottles to play with.  Imagine a diamond dremel bit could polish up chipped edges from a diamond saw, maybe round off the edges, too.

[Dana Harlan]

I use aluminum oxide 100-120 grit cloth and finish with 220 grit with water to smooth and ease the sharp edges and chipped areas. chipping was minimal on the last ones I did.