How to make a Bottle Bell Wind Chime

You can cut the bottom off wine bottles and recycle them into attractive wind chime bells. This video will show you how using basic household tools. You CAN do this! I cut the star out of copper flashing. You can buy sheet copper but it's very expensive. Try to find a copper shop that makes copper gutters or installs copper roofs. Upper end houses often have copper roof over a porch or bay window. IF you can find the guy who does that he will probably sell you a scrap for not too much. You could also use aluminum flashing from any large home store such as Home Depot or Lowes or a well stocked hardware store. Finally you can use corks and hot glue to make a "flag" out of corks. Make it triangle or any shape that suits you. You could even cut a star out of a flattened tin can and just paint it a pretty color. Guess I need to make a little video of how to make the star one day.....

[@stretch4960]

You seem like a really nice guy and I appreciate you sharing your information so if you don't mind, I will give you some information. When sanding your bottles you should be using wet sand paper and keep your bottle wet. When you sand with dry paper the glass goes air born. That is so dangerous. it can cause your lungs to bleed and actually kill you not to mention eye damage. I have been working with glass for 30 years and that was the first rule I was taught. It would be great if you updated your video and included this information as not all people read the comments. I am a freak on safety and when I teach I drive safety home with my students. I want them to be able to enjoy what they make.

[@ellappon]

Really a missed important safety hint..thank you..

[@chickie5249]

Enjoyed your video....Can't wait to cut a bottle my dearly departed friend gave me that is blue with a cat head at the top! I'm a beader so I have lots of homemade beads to embellish with and I also macramé so I'm going to do a spiral thin knot...I also wire work so I use a lot of galvanized wire from Home Depot....my fingers are itching!

[@pankajchandra3897]

Thanks Don, for sharing this wonderful idea of making wind chimes of old bottles !

[@Mzzipperme]

Oh my goodness. I watched this video just in time. I have a blind that I just took down and missed the trash collection on yesterday. Look at God. I am always needing markers for my flower beds. Viola! God bless you. On a side note, yesterday I just re-strung one of my favorite wind chimes.

[@dragonflyer59]

I love the hack on setting up the cutter...

[@zyzyking]

Thank you Dan - really great bottle bells

[@chloewebb94]

I watched a guy use a soldering iron and that seemed super efficient!

[@ruthleahd11]

This was just what I was looking for! Well organized, easy to understand, nice to have things to look out for while doing the glass cutting and the tips for using doll heads was so much fun! Thanks for putting this together!

[@alysteorts3504]

I just wanted to say THANK YOU for your video! I spent the last 2 days failing at cutting bottles, wasted many bottles attempting to burn the string around them & then attempted the scoring with dunking in ice water / boiling water. I watched your video & learned to score only ONCE, and to POUR the water ON THE SCORE, and that made the difference! I was successful on the 1st attempt after seeing your video. I can't wait to do another....but I've broken all my bottles!!! Thanks.

[@kerirash5420]

I just cut 3 bottles using this exact method and it worked perfectly, the bottom came right off in the sink! Thank you for making and sharing your knowledge!!!

[@nanceenana3010]

I am retiring to a life on the road in a year or so, and trying to think of simple, non stress ways to make money as I snowbird between the Florida Keys (nice & touristy), and Massachusetts, with road trips, and camping & RV group ventures peppered in here & there. Lately, I started saving bottles to make these bottle chimes. I have so many creative ideas for them! I ESPECIALLY want to do something with Crown Royal bottles, maybe one big one, and a few small ones. I’ve been researching if they can even be cut, and most say no. But keeping in mind that what is really key, is not going over the cut twice, and still making sure you cut a straight line. I wonder about if the line is wavy, but not jagged, if it might work. Anyway, I see you made this video many years ago. I hope you are still working your hobbies in 2020. I subbed and I’m going to look at your other videos. Thank you SO MICH for sharing this video, it is THE one that I’m going to use to try my hand at glass cutting. Your enthusiasm sold me! 💕 🙏🏻God Bless you, Mr Dan🙏🏻

[@niciathome]

Hi Dan, Thanks for your video. I just tried your method and it worked great. Merry Christmas from Germany

[@katieravenwood9276]

What a GREAT tutorial!! Thank you so much for sharing this! I especially love that you took the time to show the mistake cut and what happened to the bottle when you cut it-- that was so, so helpful to see!! Great job!

[@kingsolomon8406]

i wanted to make these for years never knew how,thank you !your instructions were very good.

[@teresamullan6210]

Lovely idea. Thank you for taking the time to show us. Plain and simple instructions. Cheers from Ireland

[@catherinekotrlik6551]

Wow! I just tried this technique to cut the bottom off a Brer Rabbit molasses bottle since that was all I had available and I got a perfect clean cut the first try! This really does work. off to find some parts for my bell! Thanks, :)

[@Kenue76]

10 years experience in glass and mirror work. Using a HOT cut is generally okay for thin glass (1\8"). Those cutters are usually dipped in light weight oil ( transmission fluid) works great! Also it will help to cool the cut by passing a thin layer of oil on the glass, along the area to be cut. Use the tip of your finger or Q-Tip. Then proceed with your cut. You should see a great difference. Also, I would apply heat from behind the cut rather than over the cut. Example: chill the outside as in the video, remove it, then pour the water Inside the bottle by using a funnel. That way the heat is applied behind the cut. The heat will force the cut to open, which will remove the bottom. Great video!!!

[@vherm7292]

OMG I've tried every way to cut wine bottles and none worked until this! Thanks so much!!!

[@Wallisersonne]

Nice idea. Thanks for posting

[@teresamullan6210]

I agree with Katie. It was nice you showed it can go wrong, a bit of encouragement, nice

[@gracesilvers1502]

Awesome.. !! Beautiful!

[@rockyjjones8989]

That is a great idea. Very simple and easy to do. Outstanding work and a great video.

[@lingcod91]

Make sure your glass cutter is oiled before each "score", and the glass is as clean as possible. Going over the same score line twice ruins a cutter, and causes multiple fracture lines. Warm glass scores cleaner than cold glass. [ Tips from a Stained Glass owner=7 years]

[@tshoelace]

What kind of oil do you use?

[@lingcod91]

@@tshoelace At first I used Baby Oil, but later found Johnson's Petroleum Jelly worked the best. NO JUST KIDDING . . . WD-40 or any light oil. Something not so thick and sticky that glass flakes adhere to the cutter as it's being used. That would probably be worse than no lub at all. We kept our cutters in a jar with a paper towel in the bottom which was soaked with motor oil and mixed it equal parts with paint thinner, mineral spirits or anything to dilute the oil.

[@stevestumbaugh8982]

I like your cheap way the best. THANKS👏👏👏👏👏

[@anaabruna4954]

Thank you so MUCH! Saw this today and already I was able to make one! Just in time for father's day!

[@jimmygboyd]

this was a great video, I aced the first one. can't wait for the next trip to the city to get the wares for the chime parts. way better than fire. good advice to go slow

[@peacockblue8407]

dan the man! i cannot wait to get started {as soon as i go buy a glass cutter} .... you are a FANTASTIC instructor, & a very nice person, as well! :D

[@recondowarhawk2938]

Excellent job, I will start my project today and let you know. Best video on KZbin that I have seen!

[@hdbagger4266]

Hey Dan really good instructional video I set my workbench up the exact way you did and scored 3 bottles and did the hot water and cold water method and it all worked very good.Only thing different I did was use my holesaw to cut out a couple of 2 inch plugs out of pine for the ringer and a piece of copper I shaped for the wind catcher ,and it works really well ,hanging outside on a tree already lol,Thanks for the video...Joe

[@KyDanD]

Great! Eventually I hope to make a shorter video showing how I make my bottle chime wind catcher flags. (The part that hangs beneath and catches the wind.) I have stars and moons and a few other shapes now.... I wish KZbin would let me attach photos!

[@mlberge100]

Great video, well explained procedure, minimal expense. Thanks for sharing.

[@hynoticlistener7047]

Great video and good tips. I like the tip for the doll's heads - those round wooden balls can be expensive. Can't wait to make one!

[@bettyjones1974]

Tyfs I learned so much from you So excited to try this with my bottles ❤

[@KyDanD]

I've made nearly 30 of these bottle bell wind chimes since I made this video. Most of the time I'm able to get a clean break and the bottom falls off. It usually takes 2 times in the ice and hot water to get it done. Some wine and liquor bottles are MUCH thicker than others. Thin bottles are the easiest to cut. I tried my method on 2 very large square "jugs" and both failed. They were square but they were also very thick glass. The rocks inside might work. Of course you still need to run a line around the bottle with a glass cutter. Then I might try the hot/ice baths and failing that I'll try round pebbles and give it a good shake. The trick will be to get the pebbles to hit the inside of the bottle in the area of the glass cut line. Maybe even shake the pebbles and then go back to the hot/ice water for a final try.

[@nanceenana3010]

Dan Dobson wouldn’t the pebbles possibly add enough weight to pull it off into the ice without shaking it?

[@TheJacquster]

Yep -- How COOL IS THAT! Wow --- I'm totally doing this!

[@accidentaldisaster]

Thankyou for this! Very informative and presented by a very nice person :)

[@veronicahunt1762]

I did it! Took a few shocks from cold to hot but Wow!

[@saubeep]

Looks easy & look forward to trying it! Thanks!

[@kaitlin5193]

Thank you! I have been looking forever to find a way to do this for months!

[@donnagordon789]

Thank you Dan! I can't wait to try this. Love your shop!

[@valerieperez3817]

Awesome job,great pointers...Thanks.

[@sandramullins9578]

Hey thanks, this looks so cool to make, thank you again for giving up all your tips.

[@vjslaughter2059]

Mr Dan Thank you for a great video! Loved it!

[@redrazor4u2]

Thanks Dan I've watched your video several times now and think it's one of the best I've seen to date. I have collected several cases of wine bottles and purchased several glass cutters and now will try this project. I'll let you know how it goes. Great job again, thanks for taking the time to let us Mere mortals how to do things

[@im_not_mad]

I can tell, your a great American Dan Dobson!

[@Truecrimequeen68]

Great video.

[@saeidmomtahan]

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Saeid

[@kimsmitherman4555]

Thanks so much Dan! What a great tutorial!

[@staceymilochik2494]

I loved this tutorial. Thank you so much for putting it together. You mentioned that you cut out the star yourself. Can you explain how you did it, please? I would love to know. Thank you again!

[@a1930ford]

Instead of considering that one bottle waste because of the crooked fracture line and break, why not go back to the work shop and put your glass cutter onto a 4X4 block of wood and recut the line at a higher level? It would save the bottle, although it may make a higher tone since it would be shorter. Just a thought in trying not to waste so many bottles that may still be salvageable.

[@nataliavelazquez5773]

Gracias Dan!

[@monikapena]

Simple, safe and easy. Thanks for the video :)

[@DivaBClub]

Thanks for a very informative video. I need a few other ideas for the bottom flag though, as I don't have copper on hand. Thanks again.

[@misunflowerstyle906]

Excellent tutorial.

[@leonardrosa2832]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@robertsalmon6893]

Great video, nice result.

[@snoopyforpres7815]

Thanks. I can't wait to try it.

[@sitiradiahbaharuddin448]

thanks for this good and informative videos.

[@jeannelane2436]

I enjoyed your video....it is very informative. I bought a G2 bottle cutter and obviously getting that straight continuous line is all about practice. I've been through about 4 bottles, all of which I've had to throw away. I think I will try your method with the block and C clamp. It looks much more stable than the little contraption I have purchased. Thanks for making your video. One thing though...I could not get the little message block that says "the rest of this video is not shaky" to x out. It was there the entire time. Luckily most of your demonstration was to the right of it.

[@fourbirdsonastring7439]

Thank you for sharing :)

[@pesanders72]

Awesome video. Very well prepared and presented. The only problem I had with the video is that the music in the background was very distracting. Hard to hear you at times I've been looking for a video like this and stumbled up on yours. Been wanting to make the wine bottle chimes, but haven't found a video that seemed like it would work. Keep up the good work. God Bless You

[@KyDanD]

Pamlela- you are right! I didn't realize the music was going to come thru so loud. I won't let that happen again. Good luck making your wind chimes!

[@johnburns172]

Cool! KY dan! Right on brother!

[@navarro31]

Love it..going to try and make one soon

[@rajenojar3206]

real nice a must try. must try your way to cut bottle

[@svijayram]

Very nice video and explanation is very cool and I am trying out this , Thank you :-)

[@redrazor4u2]

Thank you that was a great video. Thanks for sharing you are awsome dude.

[@maribmonzon]

Thank you! Will try to make one!

[@20greeneyes20]

Great ideas, but I would take the label off first being that there would be more support to the glass and more strength removing before cutting the bottle than afterwards.

[@deewilliams3903]

Dan I'm going to try this thank you for sharing with us

[@dragonflyer59]

and I love the iced water and hot water...

[@tammieowens8619]

I love it

[@suzanneroach9371]

thank you very much.

[@ooohlaa13]

First class vid all the way and u r a dream of a guy!

[@deb9249]

Thanks for the info.

[@cindy6195]

great video thanks for sharing, I am going to make some! :)

[@JWW922]

Thank you!

[@stephenlleeds]

nice job!

[@DanoRKnuckleHead]

thats always been the way i do it is the hot water first the into the ice water wich pops it right off most times

[@Ridgerunner-qi1xz]

I tried to make a Franzia chime, but it just didn't have much of a ring to it. So I decided I would try the Christmas light idea with it. Still not all that impressive and my wife didn't really like it on her kitchen counter; especially when she figured out there wasn't any wine in it, just a bunch of old Christmas lights. I can never seem to get my projects to come out like the folks on KZbin do.

[@nowirehangers2815]

I bet your chime is lovely

[@MSS726]

Thank you! Great instructions, but tried it several times and cannot get the glass to break. Maybe don't have the cut deep enough?

[@cygal222]

Thanks for the video!!! I'm definitely going to try this method!!! Do you prefer a particular brand of glass cutter? Thanks again!!!

[@KyDanD]

+laurie brown Here is an example. Cheap old fashioned cutter from hardware store is fine-- www.mscdirect.com/product/details/06637383?src=pla&cid=PLA-Google-PLA+-+Test&CS_003=7867724&CS_010=06637383

[@nancyruth2008]

just wondering what grit sandpaper. I apologize if you said it in the video and I just missed it. thank you for a greeat video!

[@chloegrl1366]

Great video can't wait to try this. Do you have a video on how you cut the copper star?

[@luciaesposito8280]

Very nice!! :)

[@donovanstales]

Thanks Dan, great job. I will give it a go:)

[@c21bobby]

Hi Dan, Great clip and very informative. I got all the pieces except the copper star. I looked all over the town and Web for but NO LUCK. Any idea where I can find them. Thanks

[@KyDanD]

I cut the star out of copper flashing. You can buy sheet copper but it's very expensive. Try to find a copper shop that makes copper gutters or installs copper roofs. Upper end houses often have copper roof over a porch or bay window. IF you can find the guy who does that he will probably sell you a piece for not too much. You could also use aluminum flashing from any large home store such as Home Depot or Lowes or a well stocked hardware store. Finally you can use corks and hot glue to glue up a "flag" out of corks. Make it triangle or any shape that suits you. You could even cut a star out of a flattened tin can and just paint it a pretty color. Guess I need to make a little video of how to make the star one day.....

[@dianawoods8779]

Hi glass man so are you saying perhaps that you could put the hot water on it first then put it in that ice would that be an option you think 🤤

[@mimishella4915]

I've heard soak the sandpaper in water first. Also, clean and remove label first.

[@01sarah29]

How would it work if you recut the bottle with the fracture higher up on the bottle and repeated the process? Or is it the idea that once the fracture has weakened the bottle it carries onward up the bottle?

[@sheharyarsiddiqui1186]

nice👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@Dorien-is3fq]

Hi could you tell me the name of the rope and were did you buy it. I can't find it.

[@MrRetired62]

is possible to cut the bottom off a square bottle

[@moybra9001]

with the botton you can make a ashtray

[@lauracastro1487]

moy bra I thought the same thing.

[@gwenhammett9349]

moy bra or trinket dish

[@rolandoperez8054]

How did you thread the ball? And what is going to prevent the ball from sliding down?

[@KyDanD]

I fused the end of the nylon string by heating it with a lighter briefly. Then I just pushed the string thru the hole in the ball. Once it's thru you tie a knot in the string to keep the ball from sliding off.

[@kyliegeorges5474]

Instead of the bin, could you not recut it higher to use it for another project?

[@arangusmail]

Put a drop of oil on that cutter wheel so it rolls smooth.

[@citic101]

dont you breath in glass dust when you sand ?

[@rocketsled74]

+citic101 wet sanding would cure that problem real quick.

[@arssvcs]

well...darn...looks so easy when you do it. Out of 14 bottles..all cracked except 3! And they were just a little crooked! 😞

[@KyDanD]

+Arlene Lang thin lightweight bottles work the best. If you are using heavy glass wine bottles that have the deep indentation on the bottom - those are not so easy to cut and they don't have a good bell sound even if you are successful.

[@arssvcs]

+Dan Dobson... great idea! most of my bottles ARE heavier glass!

[@petro062]

You could hang an airplane in the string.

[@Skullfireranch]

Tile saw diamond blade

[@KyDanD]

Yes BUT it has to be a fine grit blade! A regular tile saw blade cuts the bottles and leaves a jagged/chipped edge. Also I'm just showing the average person how they can cut bottles for cheap.

[@domjanjanos]

:)