(http://static.flickr.com/25/51160565_9bf4b802cd.jpg)
Just trying to work out how to post pictures - these are bottle cloches I made by cutting the bottom off some demijons
http://static.flickr.com/25/51160565_9bf4b802cd.jpg?v=0
But HOW did you cut the bottoms off? They look fantastic btw!
I just followed the instructions from an article in Kitchen Garden Magazine a couple of years ago. If no body else has posted the instructions I will write them down and post them in the next few days if you like.
That would be great John, thank you. When you get a chance though - no pressure!!!
I too am fascinated, although I would prefer to keep the demijohns intact. However, I now have 11, which is plenty by anyone's point of view ... But this is worth knowing, as generally they can be picked up for a few pence in a charity shop ...
The hot oil trick?
You'd pay £30 each for those in a catalogue.
First of all you need to get yourself one of those hand held glass cutters with the little wheel on it and a work bench or a table top vice so you can clamp the glass cutter with the wheel rotating horizontally about an inch off the work surface.
With the glass cutter firmly clamped in place you score the groove around the bottle by resting it on the work surface and then rotating it while pressing it against the cutter wheel. Try and get a single score mark which is joined up all the way around
Then you need to fashion youself something like a quarter of an inch thick metal rod with a slight bend about a couple of centimetres from one end. The shape and length of this is quite important since you are going to use to stick down the inside of the demijohn.
You use this to tap lightly at the score line from the inside of the bottle. If you tap fairly lightly you will get a slight crack forming at that point. Then you move another half a centimetre along the score line and tap again and the crack will follow the line you have scored on the outside of the bottle ( I know, I didn't believe it either but if you are gentle with the tapping the crack will run true and follow the score line).
As you work you way round the sound made by the tapping starts to get quite dull, which is a warning that both parts will soon part company. When the crack is completely joined up, your new bell jar will part company with your new flowerpot tray!
Tip: It may just be my imagination but for some reason I find that giving the demijohn bit of a wash in warm water helps and working in the warm also makes the glass a bit easier to work with too.
For safety sake you may want to think about using rubber gloves and wearing goggles or glasses when you are cutting the glass. Also you can give the bottom edges of the demijon a good twist on sandy soil to make them less sharp.
If you don't have any demijons its worth keeping your eyes open at the local glass recycling point, I was lucky enough to find a load there, and was able to 'liberate' them before they went in the hopper.
A bit messy - & demi-johns might well be beyond its limit? http://www.motherearthnews.com/DIY/1973_September_October/Cutting_Bottles_The_Easy_Way John's method sounds neater. Sand is a great 'duller' but a diamond file works wonders.
Do agree about cold glass - it can split eratically.
If anyone has to buy a cutter, DO get a Toyo. That's said with 30 years of glass cutting!
Fantastic John - printed and saved on my computer. I think it might be a job I get my OH involved in though! Thank you very much for taking the time to type it up.
Thanks for the link Tim - looks a bit scary but might give it ago - have a few demijohns I would like to convert.
I hadn't done any class cutting before and it is actually pritty easy, I've done about a dozen and the crack runs very straight so long as you don't tap to far beyond the point its actually reached.