Perhaps you've had a bad experience with bottle cutting in the past. Or perhaps you've never tried it because the process seems too daunting.
Fret no more. Dr. Lauren (I’m not really a doctor, I just play one in this blog) is in the house.
Here are my 7 recommendations for relieving bottle cutter seperation anxiety.
1. Practice good bottle hygiene. Make sure that you remove the entire label from the bottle you want to cut. Even the smallest amount of sticky residue will interfere with the scoring process. We recommend using rubbing alcohol to get most labels off, but if you have a really stubborn label try nail polish remover with acetone.
2. Always keep your cutting wheel oiled – this is a big one. The better you oil the wheel, the smoother your cut will be – a lot of the separation issues I hear about are quickly resolved when the wheel is oiled – bonus - the more you oil the wheel the longer the blade will last!
3. Remove stress. Remember a good cut doesn’t require a lot of pressure. Most people think that the bottle will separate much better with a deep cut, but that is the opposite of what will happen. When you score deeply, the glass will splinter and run up and down the line you actually want. A light score is best when trying to separate a bottle – bonus – the less force you exert on the cutter the longer the tool will last – a lot of crafters break their tools because they are simply using too much force.
4. Not all bottles are created equally! Keep this in mind when you are cutting. Some bottles, especially recycled ones, have an uneven wall thickness which can really ruin the separation process.
5. Textured bottles are really cool, but you just have to avoid them. They are really impossible to score and the uneven surface makes for a difficult separation.
6. When you are first starting out, practice on beer bottles. They are easy to cut and easier to come by.
7. I use and recommend the hot and cold water shock method to separate our bottles for a good reason- it’s the safest and most efficient way to separate the bottles. Please use this method before any other to get the best separation.
I prescribe a healthy dose of practice, practice, practice as often as you can. This should alleviate any further “bottle separation anxiety” symptoms!
P.S. I don’t make house calls!
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