Large empties

[jdaw1]

What should be done with large empties? In particular, double magnums formerly holding Sandeman Vau (1997, or 1999, or 2000)?

[uncle tom]

Bedside lampstands dear boy, lampstands...

..if you want to drill a hole in the glass for a cable hole BTW, they say it is better to do so when the glass is underwater, but I would suggest you wear rubber gloves, lest the electrics in the drill take offence....

[djewesbury]

If you use a bit for ceramic tiles and just go slowly this should be fine. The underwater drill is not recommended.

[DRT]

The underwater drill is not recommended.

Seconded.

[djewesbury]

Cover the spot where you will drill (if indeed you will be drilling) with a strip of masking tape. This will prevent the tip of the bit from slipping.

3L bottles could be very good table lamps elsewhere in the house. Perhaps a little large for the bedside table.

[jdaw1]

Within a few months the number of empties might exceed the need for small lamps. What’s the backup plan?

[djewesbury]

Ornamental gate posts?
Signposts pointing the way to the JDAW household?
Chimney-pots?

[Andy Velebil]

The children will need something to put their change in, right? Then when it gets full, they can cash it in at the bank and get a nice reward.

Though, you may need a forklift in order to lift it once it's full.

[benread]

Within a few months the number of empties might exceed the need for small lamps. What’s the backup plan?

Sell them, hopefully for more than the bottle (with contents) originally cost!

[Glenn E.]

No one gas suggested the most obvious answer.

Carefully cut off the top just below the shoulder. Smooth both edges of the cut so as to prevent injury. Now reverse the tip and bottom, gluing the former bottle opening to the former punt. Voila! A Port glass.

[jdaw1]

Carefully cut off the top just below the shoulder. Smooth both edges of the cut so as to prevent injury. Now reverse the tip and bottom, gluing the former bottle opening to the former punt. Voila! A Port glass.

Doesn’t work. Because of the loss of the volume that was in the shoulders, it would be too small.

[Glenn E.]

Hmm. Yes, I suppose that would be true. How sad. A potted plant, then, I suppose.

[DRT]

You have both missed an obvious solution.

Cut out the punt, smooth the edges of the punt and the bottle, invert the bottle and weld the opening of the neck of the bottle to the highest point of the punt. Voila, a glass that takes a double mag portion of Port with a little room to spare.

[djewesbury]

Can you tell me a bit more about how glass welding works?

[Glenn E.]

You have both missed an obvious solution.

Cut out the punt, smooth the edges of the punt and the bottle, invert the bottle and weld the opening of the neck of the bottle to the highest point of the punt. Voila, a glass that takes a double mag portion of Port with a little room to spare.

Ah yes, now there's a proper Port glass. I knew there had to be a solution. Well solved, Derek.

Though as long as we're doing cutting and welding, I'd make both cuts so as to invert the barrel and keep the label right side up.

[Glenn E.]

Can you tell me a bit more about how glass welding works?

More? Yes.

Enough to enable you to do it safely on your own? No.

When I have seen it done it involves threads of glass used as the glue, and lots of extremely high temperatures. Something for professionals to do in my book.

[RAYC]

Refill with water and use to help keep temperature of your cellar stable?

Careful with coins - those bottles can fit so many that the weight causes them to shatter very easily (personal experience using a 3l vodka bottle for 5ps!)

[DRT]

Can you tell me a bit more about how glass welding works?

Glass welding

Glass welding is a common practice during glassblowing. It is used very often in the construction of lighting, neon signs, flashtubes, scientific equipment, and the manufacture of dishes and other glassware. It is also used during glass casting for joining the halves of glass molds, making items such as bottles and jars. Welding glass is accomplished by heating the glass through the glass transition, turning it into a thick, formable, liquid mass. Heating is usually done with a gas or oxy-gas torch, or a furnace, because the temperatures for melting glass are often quite high. This temperature may vary, depending on the type of glass. For example, lead glass becomes a weldable liquid at around 1,600 °F (870 °C), whereas quartz glass (fused silica) must be heated to over 3,000 °F (1,650 °C). Sometimes a tube may be attached to the glass, allowing it to be blown into various shapes, such as bulbs, bottles, or tubes. When two pieces of liquid glass are pressed together, they will usually weld very readily. Welding a handle onto a pitcher can usually be done with relative ease. However, when welding a tube to another tube, a combination of blowing and suction, and pressing and pulling is used to ensure a good seal, and to shape the glass. Sometimes a filler rod may be used, but usually not.

Because glass is very brittle in its solid state, it is often prone to cracking upon heating and cooling, especially if the heating and cooling are uneven. This is because the brittleness of the glass does not allow for uneven thermal expansion. Glass that has been welded will usually need to be cooled very slowly and evenly through the glass transition, in a process called annealing, to relieve any internal stresses created by a temperature gradient.

There are many types of glass, and it is most common to weld using the same types. Different glasses often have different rates of thermal expansion, which can cause them to crack upon cooling when they contract differently. For instance, quartz has very low thermal expansion, while soda-lime glass has very high thermal expansion. When welding different glasses to each other, it is usually important to closely match their coefficients of thermal expansion, to ensure that cracking does not occur. Also, some glasses will simply not mix with others, so welding between certain types may not be possible.

Glass can also be welded to metals and ceramics, although with metals the process is usually more adhesion to the surface of the metal rather than a commingling of the two materials. However, certain glasses will typically bond only to certain metals. For example, lead glass bonds readily to copper or molybdenum, but not to aluminum. Tungsten electrodes are often used in lighting but will not bond to quartz glass, so the tungsten is often wetted with molten borosilicate glass, which bonds to both tungsten and quartz. However, care must be taken to ensure that all materials have similar coefficients of thermal expansion to prevent cracking both when the object cools and when it is heated again. Special alloys are often used for this purpose, ensuring that the coefficients of expansion match, and sometimes thin, metallic coatings may be applied to a metal to create a good bond with the glass.

[jdaw1]

Careful with coins - those bottles can fit so many that the weight causes them to shatter very easily (personal experience using a 3l vodka bottle for 5ps!)

Good warning.

[djewesbury]

Can you tell me a bit more about how glass welding works?

Glass welding

Glass welding is a common practice during glassblowing. It is used very often in the construction of lighting, neon signs, flashtubes, scientific equipment, and the manufacture of dishes and other glassware. It is also used during glass casting for joining the halves of glass molds, making items such as bottles and jars. Welding glass is accomplished by heating the glass through the glass transition, turning it into a thick, formable, liquid mass. Heating is usually done with a gas or oxy-gas torch, or a furnace, because the temperatures for melting glass are often quite high. This temperature may vary, depending on the type of glass. For example, lead glass becomes a weldable liquid at around 1,600 °F (870 °C), whereas quartz glass (fused silica) must be heated to over 3,000 °F (1,650 °C). Sometimes a tube may be attached to the glass, allowing it to be blown into various shapes, such as bulbs, bottles, or tubes. When two pieces of liquid glass are pressed together, they will usually weld very readily. Welding a handle onto a pitcher can usually be done with relative ease. However, when welding a tube to another tube, a combination of blowing and suction, and pressing and pulling is used to ensure a good seal, and to shape the glass. Sometimes a filler rod may be used, but usually not.

Because glass is very brittle in its solid state, it is often prone to cracking upon heating and cooling, especially if the heating and cooling are uneven. This is because the brittleness of the glass does not allow for uneven thermal expansion. Glass that has been welded will usually need to be cooled very slowly and evenly through the glass transition, in a process called annealing, to relieve any internal stresses created by a temperature gradient.

There are many types of glass, and it is most common to weld using the same types. Different glasses often have different rates of thermal expansion, which can cause them to crack upon cooling when they contract differently. For instance, quartz has very low thermal expansion, while soda-lime glass has very high thermal expansion. When welding different glasses to each other, it is usually important to closely match their coefficients of thermal expansion, to ensure that cracking does not occur. Also, some glasses will simply not mix with others, so welding between certain types may not be possible.

Glass can also be welded to metals and ceramics, although with metals the process is usually more adhesion to the surface of the metal rather than a commingling of the two materials. However, certain glasses will typically bond only to certain metals. For example, lead glass bonds readily to copper or molybdenum, but not to aluminum. Tungsten electrodes are often used in lighting but will not bond to quartz glass, so the tungsten is often wetted with molten borosilicate glass, which bonds to both tungsten and quartz. However, care must be taken to ensure that all materials have similar coefficients of thermal expansion to prevent cracking both when the object cools and when it is heated again. Special alloys are often used for this purpose, ensuring that the coefficients of expansion match, and sometimes thin, metallic coatings may be applied to a metal to create a good bond with the glass.

I knew that (obviously). I had friends in the Glass department at college; none of what they did fitted into the 'try this at home' category.

[djewesbury]

In fact I would go so far as to file home glass welding in the same category as underwater drilling.

[jdaw1]

Today I’ve opened my household’s third double magnum of the season. So the problem is real and growing.

[mosesbotbol]

Fill the large format with current LBV and see how it is in 10-20 years...

[Alex Bridgeman]

Fill the large format with current LBV and see how it is in 10-20 years...

That has my vote.

There must be an opportunity to request these be refilled and reused.

[JB vintage]

If you decide to buy your own quinta you might fill them with port! I have heard that they are very good for storing port.

[SushiNorth]

Today I’ve opened my household’s third double magnum of the season. So the problem is real and growing.

Sounds like you have the makings of a stool -- keep at it, though, a chair is within reach!

[jdaw1]

Four have been drunk.