A bottle is an insulated, hollow-bodied container usually made from plastic or some other impermeable substance in different shapes and sizes designed to store and deliver liquids, typically from a closed bottle top (bottle neck) to an open or closed bottle bottom (bottle cap). The bottleneck is usually attached to the bottle by means of a metal screw or other fastening device. A bottle generally consists of two separate halves: the upper half, called the bottleneck, which contains the liquid; the lower half, known as the bottle body or base, which holds the filler material for the volume created by the liquid. Inside the body of the bottle is the rubber or other flexible inner liner, which is typically made of nylon or other material, with the seal acting as a chemical barrier to the liquid inside.
A bottle has been in existence for thousands of years. Glass bottles have been discovered in tomb paintings thousands of years old, and the process of making a bottle out of glass was probably first discovered around 6000 B.C. The Greeks and the Romans first used a mold to shape a bottle and into which liquid or food would be poured in to ensure a longer storage time. Water bottles were formed in Asia, while wooden barrels and wicker baskets made from palm fibers were found in Africa, among other places.
Bottle molds are usually made from glass or pewter. Pewter mold is shaped like a long tube with an inner liner made from the same material that forms the bottle body. Pewter mold may also contain a metal crown that fits over the pore of the molded material to form a decorative edge. These molds may be filled with a fluid like glue or wax, the action of which squeezes the material into the mold giving it the thickness and shape of the final bottle. After the material has dried and hardened, it is cut into the required length to fit the end of the mold, trimmed to the desired hole size and then allowed to dry completely before it can be painted or decorated.
Most bottle making equipment is found in the home. This equipment includes a bottle press, mold maker, bottle funnel, bottle brush, glass squeegee, and bottle funnel. All of these pieces of equipment are used to manufacture different shapes and sizes of bottles from different materials. Bottles can be single serve, two servings, three servings, six servings, eight servings, ten servings or twelve servings. Hot water bottles, for example, can have as few as four servings, a bottle design to match any occasion, and the caps of varying sizes to fit whatever type of bottle is being produced.
The process of transferring the bottle design to the bottle body can take several different approaches. The most common method used today is called conversion moulding, which involves filling the bottle with the desired material and allowing it to cool slowly so that the design on the inside of the bottle can adorn the outside of the bottle. There are also ways of creating plastic bottles from other materials, such as rubber or polystyrene, which can have bottles fashioned after nearly every bottle shape. However, since the earliest bottles were shaped directly from glass using simple moulds, the art of bottle making is centuries older than most people imagine.
Bottles are one of the easiest ways to show off a loved one’s talent, whether it be culinary skills or perhaps just a love for creative glassware. For a person who is producing their own bottles, it can be difficult knowing where to begin or how to go about creating a bottle worthy of showing to family, friends, co-workers, or even fellow wine bottle collectors. Fortunately, there are many sources for information on how to make a bottle, from books on the history of bottles to how-to websites on making your own glass bottles. Bottles can be an enjoyable and educational hobby, especially if you choose something you are particularly fond of.
