Use A Rock Tumbler To Transform Broken Glass Into Faux Sea Glass For All Your Projects

Broken glass might seem like a hard thing to upcycle — but whether you're rescuing remnants of a wine glass or just picking up litter around your community, there is actually one unique way you can transform broken glass to be repurposed around the home. All you need to do is tumble the glass until it's smooth, making it look just like naturally formed sea glass. You'll then have loads of gorgeous glass pieces to use for planters, mosaics, garden features, and so many other décor projects.

To tumble your broken glass safely, you'll need a rock tumbler, medium grit, and fine grit. According to RockTumbler.com, for a finish that looks like classic frosted sea glass, you should run your glass pieces through a tumbler with less than 60 revolutions per minute with medium grit for seven days, then with fine grit for seven days. For clear glass, you can run the pieces through the tumbler with fine grit for seven days only. 

Glass is much more delicate than rock, so even if you have experience with tumbling, you may struggle to turn out nice sea glass pieces at first. Use a variety of glass pieces to fill the tumbler, and try to opt for thick pieces that won't break while being tumbled. Tumbling glass can also produce gas, so some glass tumblers recommend adding a tiny amount of baking soda to the tumbler to help absorb these trapped gases. Otherwise, the lid of your tumbler could pop off.

Always be sure to wear safety glasses, gloves, and skin protection when handling glass. When you're switching out the grit that you're using or checking to see if your glass is ready, many pieces may still be sharp, so handle them with care — and always wear safety gear, even if you think the pieces are smooth. Keep in mind that, because glass is so delicate, the tumbled pieces can sometimes break during the process, leading to surprise sharp edges even after you've tumbled your glass for an appropriate amount of time.

Choose glass pieces that are relatively flat, about an inch to two inches wide, and are at least a quarter inch thick (thin pieces are likely to break). Not all glass pieces are safe to tumble — but that doesn't mean you can't turn them into sea glass in other ways. Instead of tumbling fragile glass (such as from glass bottles), try using sandpaper, a belt sander, a glass grinder, or a dremel. These methods will create extremely fine, loose shards of glass, however. For this reason, it's even more important to wear full face, arm, and hand protection while smoothing out glass manually, along with a respirator. 

While turning broken glass into sea glass can be a bit of a learning curve, using a rock tumbler or just a plain piece of sandpaper can help you achieve gorgeous upcycled pieces of sea glass for decorating your home. Add them to the tops of your indoor plant pots or outdoor planters, use sea glass to create stunning beach-inspired wall décor, fill a bowl or vase for a beach-inspired display, or make some sustainable jewelry out of your tumbled glass.