In Part 1 of my series on how I make Recycled Glass Wine Bottle Cheese Boards, we had just finished cleaning our wine bottles really, really, really well. What’s next? Well, first, as in any glass fusing project, you have to make sure your kiln shelf is primed. I use Hotline primer. I’ve tried both the Hot Fire and Primo variety. I haven’t made up my mind on which I like better. But I will say that the Primo primer is a lot easier to clean off the shelf. I usually get two bottle firings out of a primed shelf.
Before I put the bottles in the kiln, I put them on my work table and see if they want to roll. Unfortunately, glass wine bottles aren’t uniformly thick. I roll them to see where they stop rolling. Sometimes there are markings on the bottom of the bottle that helps me visually remember which side goes up. These can be a series of dots, or a quantity stamped into the glass. One more thing before I lay the bottle on the kiln shelf… You guessed it! I clean the bottle again. If the bottles have been sitting around, they collect dust. And having just rolled the bottle on my work table, I have to give it another quick clean. I use vinegar in a spray bottle with a lint-free dish towel. Then without getting any finger prints on the bottle I place it on my shelf. I also place a kiln post on the edge of the shelf as a precaution, just in case a bottle decides to roll.
And now for the firing schedule! You probably don’t want to hear this. I know I didn’t when I first started, but it is true. No one schedule works for every kiln, or even every bottle type. I read through all that I could find in books and on the internet about melting wine bottles. I tried all of the firing schedules I found. None of them worked well for me just as they were. I tweaked soak times, ramp rates, temperatures, and finally came up with my own schedule. Since it is nice to have a jumping off point though, here is the schedule I am currently using in my Paragon Pearl kiln.
| Segment | Ramp | Target | Hold |
| dph | Temp | Time | |
| 1 | 300 | 750 | 20 mins |
| 2 | 300 | 1050 | 30 mins |
| 3 | afap | 1465 | 18 mins |
| 4 | afap | 1030 | 2 hrs |
| 5 | 100 | 700 | 1 hr |
The slow ramp up in segment 1 and 2 and the hold times are there to help minimize bubbles. Segments 4 and 5 assure me that the bottles are properly annealed.
In Part 3, I will summarize some of my other findings and lessons learned in making wine bottle cheese boards.
Recycled Glass Cheese Boards – Part 1
Recycled Glass Cheese Boards – Part 3
Your info has been very helpful –I had lady come into my ceramic shop and ask–Do you melt wine bottles-Not having ever done this before I tried it. Well first I put to many bottles on the shelf -they rolled together and then off the shelf at the bottom /then they cracked / then I got some info from my ceramic supplier /then bought molds for slumping–bottles melted to molds //then later I found out they also needed kiln wash /also have the problem of kiln wash sticking to the bottles -but now I think I have it and your info has been very helpful —I do have a question –when do you put the hole in the bottle if you want to hang it ?-I’ll try anything once -lol–thanks
Wow! Sounds like quite an adventure. I hope you didn’t ruin your kiln floor! Make sure your kiln shelf is level. I also roll the bottles on a table to see where they naturally stop rolling than place them in the kiln that way and I always put a kiln post at the end of the shelf just in case they roll. If the bottles cracked, most likely they were heated or cooled too quickly. And yes, all molds need to be kiln washed. I also heat up new molds once before I use them.
If you want to hang your bottles, I would suggest including a piece of wire in the bottle neck before you fire them. Either a high temp wire or copper. I have seen them done with a U shape wire inserted into the neck. Personally, I’ve never done the wire, but if I did I would use a bit of glue to secure the wire – make sure the glue dries before firing. You’ll need to brush the wire when it comes out of the kiln to clean it up. I wouldn’t drill it. The bottles are pretty thick when they are done, and it would take some time and patience to drill through it successfully. Also, whenever I drill a hole into glass, I usually fire it again to smooth the edges of the hole and give it a more finished look.
Hello Margot,
Let me say, your work is nice. I was looking for some fused glass Ideas in the internet and I found your site then I found your Facebook page. your ideas are so creative and they show a great talent
.
Nice work
Regards from a Kuwait Glass artist
Hassan
Thank you for your kind words. The internet is so amazing. Connecting artists from all over the world.
I have a large whiskey bottle that although unmelted has depressed finger prints that would appear as though someone had grasped the bottle so hard the fingerprints were embossed into the bottle. Have you ever seen or heard of a method for doing this?
Interesting. I’ve not seen this. Unless this is a molded bottle that started out that way, I don’t know how you could apply just the right amount of heat to an empty bottle to form just finger prints on it and leave the rest of the bottle intact.
Thanks fur the swift reply Margot. No one else seems to know either, I will continue the quest, thank you.
A local nonprofit is looking at making these cheese boards as a fundraiser. Your site has been very helpful. They’d like to put a decorative label (with the nonprofit’s logo, etc) on the cheese tray. Have you done these? I’ve seen a few that look like the label is melted INSIDE the bottle – do you know how this is done? Have any hints/tips/tricks?
Thanks so much!
I have not done the ones with the label. From what I can tell, it looks like the labels are glued on to the bottom of the cheese board after they are flattened. Probably use something like modge podge to affix the label and then seal it. Not sure how that would hold up to washing though. Somedsy I will have to try it. But if I can’t put my cheese board in the dishwasher it is not happening! Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful. Let me know how it goes if you try it!