Every Shot Pouring Bottle Starts With a Hole
Before a bottle becomes a dragon or a marlin that pours, it needs somewhere for the liquid to go. Every shot pouring bottle in the Essenar collection begins with a hole, drilled cleanly through the base of the bottle so the piece can be filled, sealed, and poured from the spout on top. Drilling glass is slow, wet, unforgiving work, and the setup I use has been refined through years of making these pieces in my Florida studio.
The Bits: Diamond Hole Saws on a Drill Press
I drill with two diamond hole saw sizes: 1/2 inch and 5/8 inch. The diamond coating is what actually does the cutting. Diamond grinds through glass where steel would only skid and shatter it, so the bit slowly wears its way through rather than slicing. Both bits mount on a drill press rather than a hand drill, because drilling glass demands steady, vertical pressure with no wobble. A hand drill can walk, and when a bit walks on glass, the piece is usually finished.
Water Cooling: The Tile Saw Pump Trick
Heat is the enemy when you drill glass. A dry diamond bit builds heat fast, and heat cracks glass or burns the diamond coating off the bit. My solution is a pump salvaged from a tile saw, modified to squirt a steady stream of water directly onto the hole saw blade while it cuts. The water keeps the diamond cool, flushes away the ground glass slurry, and lets the bit stay in the cut. Of everything on my bench, that modified tile saw pump is the single most important part of the drilling setup.
Safety First: Water, Eyes, and Lungs
- Keep electricity away from water. The drill press and its wiring stay up and away from the spray zone, and every step of the setup respects the separation between power and water. Water and electricity do not mix, so the station is arranged so nothing energized sits where the spray reaches.
- Eye protection at all times. Drilling throws fine shards and slurry, and safety glasses stay on for the whole operation.
- Respiratory protection. Fine glass dust is not something to breathe, so proper respiratory protection is part of the routine, not an occasional extra.
The Borosilicate Pour Spout
The pouring end is where the sculpture becomes functional. The pour spout itself I make from scratch by hand out of borosilicate glass, the same glass trusted in laboratory and kitchen glassware for its low expansion and resistance to thermal shock. The borosilicate spout is bonded to the bottle with industrial-grade fusion epoxy, cured with 365-nanometer ultraviolet light. The result is a sealed, durable, functional pourer that is built to actually be used, not just admired.
Customizable From Top to Bottom
These pieces are customizable. The stopper where you pour the liquid in can be upgraded from the stock item to a custom one made of borosilicate glass, and funnels can be made from scratch out of borosilicate as well. If you want a pourer with custom glasswork throughout, that is a conversation worth having before the piece is built.
Where It Comes Together
The full process, from the first drill hole to the final borosilicate spout, shows up in the finished work. See the Clear Glass Dragon Shot Pouring Bottle and the Clear Glass Marlin Shot Pouring Bottle for examples of what this setup produces.
This post is the first entry in a weekly series on how Essenar pieces are actually made, from the bench to the shelf.