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Drilling into a glass bourbon bottle?

Posted by Tom Manno on November 11, 2009 at 5:23pm
For the bourbon drinkers out there, I have an empty bottle of Woodford Reserve (mmmm, the best part was making it empty!). It's a square shaped bottle, and a little more than an inch deep. I think it would be cool to build a guitar out of. I thought about somehow making a soundhole in the middle, is this possible without cracking the glass? I was going to somehow attach the neck through the neck of the bottle. Another idea without drilling, would be to flip the bottle around, putting the neck of the bottle in the back as a soundhole, and somehow glue the neck to the other side. Thoughts??

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Replies

  • Matthew Trello November 13, 2009 at 11:20am
    Harbor Freight has a set of diamond tipped bits for a good price, they'll do the job, just have to keep it cool with water..
  • Tom Manno November 13, 2009 at 10:56am
    I should have said that I'm not incredibly concerned about the sound of the guitar, I just thought the bottle would make a cool guitar. Another idea is to find a cigar box that the bottle can fit perfectly into, and do something that way. Again, it would look slick just hanging on the wall :)

    Thanks for everyone's input! I might take it to a glass shop and see what they say. I don't have a drill press or anything too high-tech.
  • Lou November 12, 2009 at 9:18pm
    Bosch Glass & Tile bits work great, will cost you $15 - 16 bucks for a set four through Amazon, maybe less at your local hardware store or Lows.

    Vermont American glass bits work ok to but can chip the glass, Bosch would be the better choice IMO.
  • philip November 12, 2009 at 6:17pm
    You can get the diamond hole saws at harbor freight or E bay. Drill press at slow speed works best. I also make a dam from plumbers putty and fill it with water for lubrication.
  • Roosterman November 12, 2009 at 5:46am
    Whatever route you take, do it CAREFULLY! :o)

    Goggles, mask, distance!!
  • Lou November 12, 2009 at 12:22am
    Always ware safety glasses or a full face shield.

    Use a diamond bit.

    Put your work in a jig.

    Line up and clamp the jig / work to your drill press table.

    Using a low revolution speed setting on your drill press, feed the bit to the work and hang a crescent wrench on the down stroke side of the drill press lever.

    Stand back and watch the bit eat through the glass slowly, when it's almost through remove the crescent wrench and finish the drilling by hand.

    I've used this method in the past and it works very well, "SLOWLY", is the key word when drilling glass.
  • Tim November 11, 2009 at 11:44pm
    if he puts a magnetic pickup it should be nice and bright but yeah acousticly its gonna be pretty dead.

    Diydc said:
    I think the weight of the bottle and the density may cause the instrument to be pretty quiet when playing. Try a cheap tin or wooden box as a prototype before spending a lot of time and energy into something which doesn`t quite work out.
  • Diydc November 11, 2009 at 9:30pm
    I think the weight of the bottle and the density may cause the instrument to be pretty quiet when playing. Try a cheap tin or wooden box as a prototype before spending a lot of time and energy into something which doesn`t quite work out.
  • Paul Doug November 11, 2009 at 9:10pm
    I'd take it to a glass shop. They should be able to do it and it probably won't be as expensive as the proper tool to do it with.
  • Beer November 11, 2009 at 8:56pm
    A glass shop (windows, mirrors, etc) might be able to help you out.
    I used to have a link to a web page for a guy that made a computer out of a Bourbon bottle. He had them cut the bottle for him fairly cheap.
    They might have ideas on how to cut holes for mounting the neck too.
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