Drilling into a glass bourbon bottle?

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Permalink Reply by Tim on November 11, 2009 at 5:39pm

look in to glass etching

you can get some bits for a dremel it takes time but you can work your way through the glass i have seen it done.

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Permalink Reply by Beer on November 11, 2009 at 8:56pm

A glass shop (windows, mirrors, etc) might be able to help you out.
I used to have a link to a web page for a guy that made a computer out of a Bourbon bottle. He had them cut the bottle for him fairly cheap.
They might have ideas on how to cut holes for mounting the neck too.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Doug on November 11, 2009 at 9:10pm

I'd take it to a glass shop. They should be able to do it and it probably won't be as expensive as the proper tool to do it with.

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Permalink Reply by Diydc on November 11, 2009 at 9:30pm

I think the weight of the bottle and the density may cause the instrument to be pretty quiet when playing. Try a cheap tin or wooden box as a prototype before spending a lot of time and energy into something which doesn`t quite work out.

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Permalink Reply by Tim on November 11, 2009 at 11:44pm

if he puts a magnetic pickup it should be nice and bright but yeah acousticly its gonna be pretty dead.

Diydc said:

I think the weight of the bottle and the density may cause the instrument to be pretty quiet when playing. Try a cheap tin or wooden box as a prototype before spending a lot of time and energy into something which doesn`t quite work out.

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Permalink Reply by Lou on November 12, 2009 at 12:22am

Always ware safety glasses or a full face shield.

Use a diamond bit.

Put your work in a jig.

Line up and clamp the jig / work to your drill press table.

Using a low revolution speed setting on your drill press, feed the bit to the work and hang a crescent wrench on the down stroke side of the drill press lever.

Stand back and watch the bit eat through the glass slowly, when it's almost through remove the crescent wrench and finish the drilling by hand.

I've used this method in the past and it works very well, "SLOWLY", is the key word when drilling glass.

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Permalink Reply by Roosterman on November 12, 2009 at 5:46am

Whatever route you take, do it CAREFULLY! :o)

Goggles, mask, distance!!

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Permalink Reply by philip on November 12, 2009 at 6:17pm

You can get the diamond hole saws at harbor freight or E bay. Drill press at slow speed works best. I also make a dam from plumbers putty and fill it with water for lubrication.

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Permalink Reply by Lou on November 12, 2009 at 9:18pm

Bosch Glass & Tile bits work great, will cost you $15 - 16 bucks for a set four through Amazon, maybe less at your local hardware store or Lows.

Vermont American glass bits work ok to but can chip the glass, Bosch would be the better choice IMO.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Manno on November 13, 2009 at 10:56am

I should have said that I'm not incredibly concerned about the sound of the guitar, I just thought the bottle would make a cool guitar. Another idea is to find a cigar box that the bottle can fit perfectly into, and do something that way. Again, it would look slick just hanging on the wall :)

Thanks for everyone's input! I might take it to a glass shop and see what they say. I don't have a drill press or anything too high-tech.

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Trello on November 13, 2009 at 11:20am

Harbor Freight has a set of diamond tipped bits for a good price, they'll do the job, just have to keep it cool with water..

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