Turn/reuse Your Glasses in to Vases

Turn/re-use your glass into a vase

Do you also have that one glass that is left over in your cupboard? No worries re-use it and turn it into a vase (alternatively, you can buy some glasses in the charity shop, which is a win-win as you will get some fine cheap glasses and your money is going to charity, which is my philosophy, do not buy anything in a regular shop if you can buy it in the charity shop but that is another discussion.)

• Birch, Beech or any other kind of wood. I used Birch - Beech (70mm width and for tthe vase shown in this instructables 70 mm in length
• Band saw
• A lathe and turning tools (I used roughing gouge, spindle gouge, parting tool)
• Eye protection, a visor or glasess
• dust extraction system
• Sanding paper, 150, 240, 400, 1200 and 2000 gri
• Calipers
• Dividers
• ruler, pencil, paper
• Optional: Bee wax, fabric
•  Pillar drill /foster bit drill I used 6-12,5 mm

When I first tried this I had exact measure of the wooden lid into the glass, however with the glass filled with some water the lid expanded and the glass broke. So always make the lid slightly smaller then the inside diameter of the glass opening (I made it 2 mm smaller). 

Look what I found at the local charity shop, great glasses to start this project with.

Start to measure your glass

I often make a sketch/drawing before I start, and this is a sketch for the little vase, but for the bigger vase did not use a drawing.

I turned two lids. I started to cut my birch on the bandsaw.

Mark the center on both ends by drawing two diagonal lines corner to corner. Make an indentation to fit the blank on the drive spur. 

I sawed it with the band saw but you can also use a drivespur.

Place the drive spur (even better if you use a worn out drive spur) on top in the center and hammer with a mallet so you get an indentation on one side.

In this video you will see the turning process. But it was the first video since a long time and I was not so satisfied with the results. I hope the pictures and descriptions will help you to turn your own lid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOVCdHwR23Q&t=51s

Put the blank in between centers, the dents on the drive spur and rough out the wooden blank with a roughing gauge. Start turning at slow speed (600 rpm) until your log is round.

When the blank had reached the desired diameter I marked the end of the lid, the neck and the shoulder (where the lid rest on the glas) with a pencil.

Now you can turn up the speed to 1600 rpm- 2500rpm and make indentations on the marks with a parting tool. Measure the shoulder a few times with you calipers so the glas will fit, but make sure to make the shoulder a few mm thinner than the glass see step 1.

After that I changed my tool and use a spindle gauge. I turned the top of the lid in the desired form.

When i drill a bigger hole I always start with a 6 mm drill and increase with bigger drills until 12,5 mm. I will believe that I hit the center better that way.

I removed some wood with a knive on the bottum of the lid.

I live in Sweden and the flowers in the shop are expensive. I picked some flowers on the road side before the lawnmowers did their jobb. That keeps the costs of this project low.

As you see I found some more glasses and turned some more vases, that will be fine presents I think.

Thank you for reading this instructables and good luck with your own vases.