Latest project for my wife (Wine Bottle Wall w/Picture)

[John T Smith]

4 foot by 8 foot frame made out of 2x4
5 holes drilled part way in top and bottom 2x4
Put 3/8" vertical rebar in the 5 holes
1/2" diamond hole saw used in wine bottle bottoms
My wife now has what she calls a Wine Wall

http://www.pacifier.com/~jtsmith/WineWall.jpg

[Chuck Uebele]

That's really great.

[KShinabery212]

That is quite interesting.  I love the idea.  Did you drill the bottle underwater so they do not break?

[John T Smith]

>drill the bottle underwater so they do not break?

No, I used a diamond encrusted hole saw and put a small amount of water into the 'cup' in the bottle bottom

I also used a piece of 1/4" thick wood with a 1/2" hole in the wood and ran the drill through the hole in the wood so when the drill "broke through" the bottom of the bottle and the drill dropped it did not hit the bottle with the drill chuck (cracked a couple bottles before I figured out the hole in the wood trick)

I was also careful to moderate how much pressure I put on the drill, to not crack the bottom of the bottle

[John T Smith]

Picture of the drill stop I made (described above) so when the drill breaks through the bottom of the bottle the drill (not shown) hits the wood that I put across the bottom of the bottle, not the glass

http://www.pacifier.com/~jtsmith/Drill.jpg

[Trevor.Dennis]

A nice job John. You have done some decent looking projects over the years.  There's a lot of enjoyment to be had out of making stuff IMO.

I was going to ask about the holes as well.  I don't drill a lot of glass, but my wife is forever asking me to put drain holes in ceramic planters, and they can be challenging.  I usually build a wee dam out of blutac to hold the water, and use one of those carbide tipped pointy glass drills.   In that couple of years I have become obsessed with sharpening stuff and I have four of those 8" DMT diamond sharpeners (220 to 8000 grit).  I discovered that the 400 grit diamond stone (I know they are not stones but it is convenient to refer to them as such) does an amazing job of sharpening the glass drill.  You need control, so I put the drill in the vice, and use the stone like a file — it's easier to get the rake and clearence angles accurate doing it that way.   Oh, and by heck do they cut better after a wee sharpen.

[Chuck Uebele]

Trevor, my wife has me drill holes in pots also. I use the diamond hole drill in a drill press. Normally, I can just pour a bit of water on the pot, without having to make a dam. The back side does chip the glaze a bit.