I practiced cutting a few more bottles yesterday.  Trying to refine my technique.

Prepared for cutting

Prepared for cutting

I decided that rather than risk thermal shock to the entire bottle I would pre-warm the bottle by filling it with hot water.  I filled it up and let it sit for a few minutes to come to temperature.

Heating bottle

Heating bottle

I then scored it and ran the score line under the cool water from the faucet.  I then watched as the score line became thicker as it fractured through the bottle.  I did need to reheat the score line with more hot water, and repeat by running under the cool water.

Success

Success

I was able to get a fairly clean cut of the bottle.  I ended up with only one irregularity in the cut.

One jag in the cut

One jag in the cut

To smooth this out I used emery cloth to reduce the size of the jag, and to dull the edge of the bottle.

Removing the jag

Removing the jag

Once the rim of the bottle was relatively flat, I moved on to the grinding phase.  I used silicon carbide powder on a piece of glass.  I dropped some on the glass and used a water bottle to wet it.

Wetting the glass for grinding

Wetting the glass for grinding

Then I ground the glass for about 15 minutes, re-wetting and adding additional silicon carbide as necessary.

Grinding the Bottle

Grinding the Bottle

I verified lightly with the emery cloth that the edges were not sharp, and then carefully checked on bare skin.

Finished

Finished

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