Has anyone used our drill press to drill wine bottles?
Hmmm… I suggest that you not want to use the drill press on wine bottles as the drill press bit, when in operation, has a wobble and is not a precision instrument for this purpose.
Also, the drill bit should be run on a lower speed, like a variable speed drill. The friction from drilling the bit using the drill press will create a high heat point that will shatter the bottle.
How big of a hold are you boring into the bottle?
Not sure, to be honest. A friend was asking if this was something I could help her with. I have not seen the project or anything.
I will just say that she should keep looking.
Thanks!
I’ve done a very little bit of glass work and the way I’ve managed to work it is with a diamond bit and dremel. Glass dust and heat are major issues so working it wet is a (as best as I can tell) a must, and definitely use PPE.
I’ve had some good results with other tools for shaping glass too, but for holes a dremel/rotary tool is the only thing that I can say works well. Also I don’t know how to get small holes and they tend to not have a straight bore.
Hope this is useful for your friend!
And I can confirm that this method works with wine bottles 
I have drilled holes into wine bottles before using a drill press.
The technique I used:
- A diamond bit hole saw from harbor freight…
- Have a method of holding the bottle still on the press (I used a V block of wood with some straps holding the bottle to the wood.
- A clay dam barrier around the area to be drilled, and then filling that area with water, so the drilling process is done under the water (keeps the bit and bottle cool, and the glass dust down)
- Safety glasses and gloves
I did about 15 bottles for a friend with this technique and not a single failure.