Jodi McRaney RushoDid you know that there is a Glass With a Past Youtube channel?  Turns out there is.  And, if you have a question about a video, you can send it to me through Youtube.  Today’s Q & A is an entire e-mail string from a great guy (Hi Fish!) with questions about cutting bottles and making glasses.  Now, I have a question for you:

How important are videos to you when you are trying to learn new things?

I personally prefer text and photos, so I’m very interested to see what you all think.  You can leave a comment on this page, or tell me privately with this form:
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Now, on to the questions and answers:

Q: Beveled edge on wine bottle
Jodi,

Thanks for your video! I recently bought a Gryphon grinder for wine bottles and knew immediately that the bit was wrong for what I’m looking for. After several emails, I finally ordered a lamp bit and then saw your video. Is this the type of bit you are using? I’m excited to start this as a hobby/business as I have access to quite a few wine/liquor bottles (thanks to my girlfriend’s job) but would like to have the right tools to do the job professionally.

Thanks again!

A: the bit I ordered was called a mirror bit, it’s a fine grit bit that is used to bevel the edges of mirrors:

Since then though, I’ve figured out a slightly different way of doing the inside of the bottle rims using a grinder I built out of an old tile saw and using cone shaped diamond pads:

Here’s the polisher I made: Skippy the Polisher

and the Convex Diamond Pads

Don’t worry if you don’t want to jump into a new tool situation, the mirror bit will work fine. I think the lamp bit will work well too, it looks like it might be easier to get a smooth edge, the mirror bit does leave a bevel. Did you see the firing schedule for fire polishing the rims?

Wine Bottle Drinking Glasses Tutorial

Let me know if I can help with anything else.

Jodi

Q: Re:Beveled edge on wine bottle
I just bought a wet tile saw the other day and was just wondering how I’m going to build a polishing wheel. Then I saw yours. Holy ghetto-fabulous! haha! There has to be some kind of way to make a quick disconnect from cutting wheel to polishing and then beveling. While I’m at it, I’d like a pony as well. sheesh

I’ll look at your fire edge as well. I’m looking to do a bunch of candles and flower holders or xmas (and pretty much any other special day I don’t want to buy present for). The proceeds are going to help with our english bulldog rescue www.thebulldogfarm.com

OF COURSE! The tile saw I just bought is the one you say is terrible. GRRR. You do have another video using a tile saw cutting a square bottle. is it possible to use this thing or should I just resell it and buy the other one. I’m on a fixed budget but can save for a while if I need to.  Thanks for your help!

A: Well, here’s the thing. You could probably use it, but if you’re using the blade from home depot, it will cause mega chips on the edge, so you’ll end up polishing off around 3/16″ from the edge of the glass before you can bevel it. If you buy a nice MK diamond blade, even with the crappy saw, it will reduce the chipping dramatically.

My issues with that particular saw were mainly design related, the channel around the table collects glass bits like no one’s business and is hard to clean out. The integrated water ‘tank’ that holds about a 2 cups of water is a pain, you can’t add more water without stopping the saw and opening up the table, which will now have glass chips and have to be completely cleaned before you can put it back on….and then, think about cleaning out that reservoir. You have to turn the saw completely upside down over the trash.

So, that’s not really an answer. I guess it comes down to if you want to spend time or money. I do REALLY like the grinder I made with that saw. I’ve logged about 10 hours so far, and will use it for another couple hours straight today. So, a bench saw for under $100 was a pretty sweet deal.

The big saw I bought was $260 and the blade another $100. I’ve cut nearly 300 bottles so far, and thousands of rings, all around 3/8″ thick and super smooth. For my purposes, it was money very well spent.

I did get a note from another reader that bought the 7″ SkilSaw and an MK diamond blade and said she gets very good cuts at a lower overall cost.

Animal rescues are the number one charity that I support, YAY! Love the bulldogs.

Jodi

Q: Ugh, I hate to keep bugging you! What grit are you using with your new polishing setup?

I’m going to take a good look at that saw before I get rid of it. If I can use it for something, I will. 🙂

A: Re:Beveled edge on wine bottle
No worries, I’ll just use all your questions for Q & A Monday. =D

For the slurry polisher, I use a 110/220 mix grit, then polish the rim with a 400 grit diamond cone pad on the bench polisher.

When it’s too cold outside to use the slurry polisher, I use a 50 grit flat diamond pad on the bench polisher, followed by a 400 grit diamond cone pad.

Then fire polish.

I never get rid of anything, I always assume I can scavenge it into something else later. (Much to my husband’s dismay.)

Q: Diamond cone pad? is that the ones that are $9 in your first email? Well, I got around to using that wetsaw I purchased and it worked pretty well! I forgot to mention that I bought this model from a recommendation on instructables.com and while the edges aren’t made for drinking, they’ll be fine for the candles. Also, the blade that you recommended is on Amazon for (I think) $69. I’ll use that bevel grinder wheel I purchased for these edges and I got my girlfriend and I signed up for stained glass classes at the local art center.

Thank you for all of your help and question answering. I look forward to your newsletters!