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Caption: ------- D I Y ------- DESKTOP PLANTERS
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Caption: A bottle cut in half at the right point
can be used to create a 2-piece planter that drains into itself. These planters are perfect for herbs and would look great on a kitchen windowsill. If you want to green your office space try some simple succulents. We have a few aloe plants around the office,
which are also a handy remedy for cuts
and scrapes.
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Caption: Supplies • Glass Cutter (Available at Home Depot)
A simple $4 glass cutter from Home Depot
will do the trick.
• Glass Bottle (Recycle)
Not all glass bottles are created equally.
Different shapes and types of glass all behave
differently. In general I had the best success
with wine and liquor bottles.
• Goo Gone (Available at Home Depot or
Amazon.com)
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Caption: Clean the bottles You will need extra bottles since many will break along the way. Just scrape off the majority of the labels with a knife and then generously apply Goo Gone to the fragments of glue and paper that are left. Let it soak for about 5 minutes and then scrub off the rest of the label with a rag.
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Caption: Score the glass A glass cutter is designed to make a score (scratch) mark on glass. We want to make a nice even score line all the way around the bottle. Don’t push too hard and try not to cut the bottle; we just need a consistent scratch.
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Caption: The Cheap Way: A $4 glass cutter will work fine if you construct a jig to hold the cutter still with 1 hand while you use the other hand to rotate the bottle. I made a jig by screwing a few pieces of pine to a scrap piece of plywood.
The Easy Way: For about $20 you can buy a bottle cutter online. This tool serves as a guide that makes it easy to create an even line all the way around the bottle.
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Caption: Separate the bottle All you are trying to do with this step is heat and cool the bottle rapidly to cause the glass to expand and contract thus fracturing neatly and cleanly along the scratch mark.
Tea kettle and cold tap water.
Pour hot water along the score line
to heat the bottle. This method
works quite well especially if you
let the bottles rest on the bottom
of the sink. Make sure to rotate
the bottles to evenly heat all
the way around the bottle.
Pro Tip: Let the bottle rest
flat on its side when heating
and cooling it in the sink.
Holding it by the neck puts
stress in the bottle which
can cause un even splitting.
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Caption: Sand the edges The freshly cut edges can be a bit sharp. Use 80, 100, or 120 grit sandpaper to sand down the edges.
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Caption: Drill holes in the corks Use vice lock pliers or a clamp to hold the corks while drilling the drainage holes. You may need to whittle down the corks a bit to make them fit back into the bottles. A pocket knife or box cutter will work just fine.
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Caption: Good luck and please email or tweet photos to @benuyeda or about@homemade-modern.com
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