Making a pen from a wine bottle?

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Rodzilla67

Rodzilla67

Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
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28
Location
Calais, maine, USA.
I have recently had someone ask me to make them a Rollerball Style pen, using a wine bottle that has emotional meaning to it.

All I can think of is to smash glass into very small peices, and cast in acrylic.

Any other ideas, and or suggestions?
 
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DAMHIKT BUT,
Glass is very hard on tools, and prone to chip-out. Depending on how much glass is in the blank drilling the blank WILL BE AN ADVENTURE, make several blanks bec some may not survive the drilling even if you use a tile drilling bit and constantly clear the chips. It helps if you wrap the blank in masking tape and use a drill press and pen vise. If you make it past the drilling it is easier to shape the blank with coarse sandpaper than to try to turn it. USE A RESPIRATOR (not just a dust mask), goggles that seal around your eyes (not just eye protection) and have a fan behind you blowing the glass dust away from you and your shop. Finish is another job all together, up to 12000mm then scratch remover then polish, then enjoy! Good luck.
Eugene
 
ElMostro said:
DAMHIKT BUT,
Glass is very hard on tools, and prone to chip-out. Depending on how much glass is in the blank drilling the blank WILL BE AN ADVENTURE, make several blanks bec some may not survive the drilling even if you use a tile drilling bit and constantly clear the chips. It helps if you wrap the blank in masking tape and use a drill press and pen vise. If you make it past the drilling it is easier to shape the blank with coarse sandpaper than to try to turn it. USE A RESPIRATOR (not just a dust mask), goggles that seal around your eyes (not just eye protection) and have a fan behind you blowing the glass dust away from you and your shop. Finish is another job all together, up to 12000mm then scratch remover then polish, then enjoy! Good luck.
Eugene
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I also thought it may be smart to take crushed up glass and glue directly to tube, then acst in clear resin. This wold eliminate the need for drilling, and should make it turn much easier. Not sure how "sharp" that would look however.
 
Maybe you could glue the label to the tube, then use only a few pieces of glass in clear PR. You would see the label through the clear, and the glass chips would be "floating around" above the label.

OR you could make it with crushed glass on one side and the label on the other, sorta split lengthwise.
 
Since the bottle has emotional strings attached, I'd think very carefully and ask for permission before I smashed it. I think casting the label would be a better idea, especially if you can get a duplicate from the vintner. That would let the customer keep the bottle intact.
 
I think Rodzilla has the right idea if you must use the glass. Try crushing it very fine with hammer (WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES THAT FORM A SEAL AND USE A FINE RESPIRATOR/DUST MASK!!!!!).

Crush it up, and glue it to the tube. Then cast the tube in clear PR.

You'll want to use a kit that is designed with larger, more meaty finished blank thickness like the Sierra Vista.
 
Hmmmm a pen that represents the smashed remains of an emotionally attached "artifact". I'm not sure that would give them the attachment to the pen they are looking for.

Could you contract a glass blower to melt it and make a cylinder out of it?

GK
 
I'm with Greg on that one, Do they care how big the pen is? Turn a wood "cork" then drill it out to fit your favorite rollerball kit and use the cut-off neck (maybe with a tile saw) as the top of the pen maybe. then they could have the big end of the bottle back for a pen holder or something. Just trying not to "shatter" their favorite dreams. You may want to experiment with another bottle first and be very very careful. The whole idea sounds pretty fragile now that i've typed it out & looked at it. oh well,I'm leaving it as a brainstorming idea. Good luck.
 
Thinking along a little different track here. What about making long thin slices with a wet saw and glueing them to the tube. The PR Princess does something along that line with her dichrotic glass. The slices could be ground or wet sanded to what ever shape you want to make them match the tube. I'm sure it would be a tedious process but definitely more attractive than broken pieces or drilling and machineing glass chips.
 
I would melt down the glass bottle and ask a cristal maker ( the one does those little animals ) to do the pen, if you want to work glass get some diamon tools
 
Wow, bunch of great ideas!I knew posting my question here would get me great suggestions. I will ask this person about using the label, but she clearly specified "Wine Bottle Glass" and she is ok with me smashing it to pieces (suprisingly). I will keep you all posted, and get a picture up as well.

Thanks!
 
Rodzilla67 said:
I also thought it may be smart to take crushed up glass and glue directly to tube, then acst in clear resin. This wold eliminate the need for drilling, and should make it turn much easier. Not sure how "sharp" that would look however.
Click to expand...

That's the way I'd go as well. It's possible you can try to use some of the larger pieces, similar to a Mother of Pearl kit, just a little more busted looking.

Do the gluing and casting right and it may look pretty darn cool.

I'd defiantly keep all the left overs and put them away. Also, use a high quality kit.

The wet saw idea would probably be cool too. I'd paint the tube white or metalic no matter what, I think keeping the bottle's original color will be important, so don't let the brass tube screw that up.

Oh, and this may be prime time for a bottle stopper. Suggest some crushed glass centered in an acrylic bottle stopper blank.
 
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Rod,

I think that there are just too many issues with trying to take bottle glass and make it into a pen. I have tried may forms of glass, with limited success.

Incorporating the cork and or label into a pen are both good ideas. As is doing a bottle stopper.:smile:

Another thought might be to take the bottle to someone that has a kiln and have them flatten it into a cheese tray. Using the other parts (label/cork etc) - turn a handle for a cheese knife and a bottle stopper to go with. Then you have a nice little set (with a story) that they can use when they entertain. Should you choose this route, make sure you include a few extra business cards. :biggrin:
 
I like the thought of making a pen out of the label. Then take the cork and drill a hole in it and make it a holder for the pen. Thus saving the bottle. Or photo copy the label and make a pen out of it to avoid destroying the bottle.
 
"A wine bottle with emotional meaning to it."

A nut case doesn't need a good pen. Cork the bottle, drill a 1/4" hole on the cork and glue in a BIC. See how emotional he gets with that in his shirt pocket.
 
I have to admit, I was thinking the same thing as the oldwrangler, although not a bic. I would spin a pen out of oak, being that oak is a typical wood used in the making of wine. I would make a closed end rollerball where the closed end of the rollerball was shaped like a cork and stick it in the top of the bottle. Of course, I would use a nice figured red oak. I would also consider spinning two small handles with tiny tennons on the ends and perhaps stick that into each side of the pen just above the cork shape, which would make the pen look like a bottle opener...you could even dissassemble a cork screw and insert that into the closed end..then it would look like a pen in a cork with a cork screw...something like that...I'm just thinking here..a cork screw pen inserted in the bottle..the bottle is the pen holder as suggested before. Heck, you can make a corkscrew pen, keep the original cork and bottle, you can twist the pen into the cork for storage/display. I am liking where I'm going with this, I'd like to see the bottle cut in half to reduce the height as well, mounted to a nice block of wood on the bottom.

You can put a brass plate on the front of the display announcing the importance, like first anniversary or whatever...or perhaps even better ..." I don't have a drinking problem...I drink, I get drunk, I fall down...no problem!"
 
Oh, and if you cast it, you may want to use a pressure pot. Something like that is sure to have bubbles in it.
 
I think you could probably match the color of the glass with a resin blank and then adhere the label to that. They still have their "sentimental" bottle intact and you don't wind up all cut up with broken glass and nothing to show for it except a few shards in your hands.
 
I didn't read all the replies so if this was mentioned already, sorry. Why not see if you can cut off the top, maybe at a slight angle and use this set into some nice wood as a holder for the pen? Desk set type of thing. If there is a shop in your area that works with stained glass, they probably have a ring saw and could probably cut off the top fairly easily.

Best of luck
 
You might grind the glass into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle and use it for inlays much like some to with crushed stone. I'd be very careful about getting any of the powder on my fingers and be sure to wear safety goggles with a good seal around the edges.
 
Workinforwood has a good idea - you could also make the pen from a barrel stave. They're white oak and typically not figured, but they go over well with wine lovers. Let me know if you need a blank - I have a good stash.

Steve

workinforwood said:
I would spin a pen out of oak, being that oak is a typical wood used in the making of wine. I would make a closed end rollerball where the closed end of the rollerball was shaped like a cork and stick it in the top of the bottle. Of course, I would use a nice figured red oak.
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What about cutting out a small piece from the bottom melting it and making a finial, using the rest of the bottle for a desk set.....
 
When I was a kid, we used to cut off bottles to use them for lots of "kid stuff". The way we did it was to mount a glass cutter at the height we wanted to make the cut. Hold the bottle against the glass cutter and rotate it to make a good score around the bottle. Then, we would wrap a thin wire tightly around the bottle at the score mark made by the glass cutter. We then hooked the ends of the wire to the + and - poles of a large 9 volt flashlight battery. The wire heats up in a few seconds and the bottle snaps at the score line. It actually makes a pretty smooth cut that only requires a touchup with sandpaper. I'd practice first on some bottles of similar thickness or you could quickly limit your options to the crushed glass suggestions.

As far as making the pen, I like the idea of using the label in a casting with small glass chips in it and using the neck of the bottle at the pen holder. Just a thought...

Jim Smith
 
Got it Done

What ya think?

Here is what I did.

The Cap:

I took the foil wrapped around top of wine bottle for and glued it along with a couple pieces of label to blank. Then casted it in clear resin.


The Main Body:

I took the center of label ( Customer request ) and glued it to blank, then crushed up some glass and glued pieces to label, around outer edges of picture to allow user to still see the art on the label. Cast it also in clear resin.


Turned them both down very carefully, considering I had one shot at getting this right. I coated both pieces in 6 layers of CA to ensure a long life. Only a couple of very small spots did the glass poke through. The CA coat took care of that. I think you all know the steps from here.

My customer is very pleased, and I am happy about the product. I am not estatic about it. I do not own a pressure pot, but certainly could have used one here. There are some small air bubbles where glass pieces are glued in.

Thank you all for your suggestions, really came up with some good ones.


rollerball-wine-bottle-2-MPR.jpg


rollerball-wine-bottle-1-MPR.jpg
 
Most importantly, the customer likes it and that's really all that matters. I think the body's use of the label is awesome!

Beyond that, the body is too big for the cap. If I were to try to make one that big, I would have made the top the same shape but allowing for the clip to still snug down. I would have gone thinner though. Good thing is, if he ever decides to give it back for a buff, you can disassemble it and turn it down a little more (with his approval).

Regardless, congrats on biting off such a challenging request!
 
Skye said:
Most importantly, the customer likes it and that's really all that matters. I think the body's use of the label is awesome!

Beyond that, the body is too big for the cap. If I were to try to make one that big, I would have made the top the same shape but allowing for the clip to still snug down. I would have gone thinner though. Good thing is, if he ever decides to give it back for a buff, you can disassemble it and turn it down a little more (with his approval).

Regardless, congrats on biting off such a challenging request!
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SKYE, I feel the same way. Due to the glass being glued to label, I had no choice but to stop turning when I started to hit glass fragments. I didnt want the pen to look like a big fatty, so I decided to keep upper barrel slimmer. I sill struggle with that choice. Like you said, what is important is how the customer views it. Thankfully my customers are not picky pen turners like me! lol
 
Good job. Its truly a unique pen. I vote for it to be the featured photo, based on the ingenuity behind it (and the final quality, of coarse). Um, do we get votes?
 
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