Hollow Light Bulb

From the Youngest Daughter

Every time a light bulb burns out, you probably throw it away without even thinking about what you could do with it.
So now are you curious what you can do with them? I found a fun tutorial on Instructables.com for hollowing out a light bulb! I did it and took pictures to show you the process.

1. You'll need newspapers to cover your work area, gloves (I just used garden gloves!), safety goggles, needle-nose pliers, screwdriver, and a handy tool called a tack remover. You don't REALLY need this tool, but it sure works nice! Oh yeah, and I suppose you just might need a burnt out light bulb too. :)


2. Take the needle-nose pliers and pull off the metal tip at the end of the light bulb. It will probably take some wiggling and bending and twisting, but it should work.

3. If you're using a tack remover, poke one of the sharp tips into the hole where the metal piece used to be. Twist it around, push, poke, and generally bust the black piece with just plain force. If you don't have one of those tools you could use a screwdriver, chisel, or pretty much anything strong and sharp.

This part is not for the faint of heart. There will be an awful sound, kinda like nails on a chalkboard. So if you're squeamish, this might not be the project for you ... unless you use earplugs. :)

4. Once all the black stuff is off, you'll be able to see into the light bulb. Unfortunately there is still another glass part that needs breaking. Shove your tool inside and don't be afraid to do some pounding. Just don't pound to hard or you'll break the rest of the bulb too! :-S

5. After you break part of the glass, you can dump out the little stuff and use a pliers to pull out the big pieces. Be sure to pound and rub off all the glass inside! There will probably be a lot of glass shards flying around, hence the goggles and newspaper.

This is what the bulb probably looks like by now. Inside, the white stuff is actually a chemical powder. Once you start shaking glass fragments around in it, the powder will begin to rub off.

6. Roll up a paper towel and shove it into the bulb. Wiggle it around and get out as much powder as you can. This chemical is pretty much harmless according to Instructables.com, but it's still a chemical. Be sure to throw away the paper towel and wipe up anything that doesn't land on the newspaper.

7. Rinse out the bulb, and there you go! A hollow bulb! :-D

7. But don't get too proud of yourself, cuz you ain't done yet!

Hot glue a washer onto the bottom of the bulb so it can stand up. Now you can be proud of yourself!

Oh, but wait. What do you do with it now, you might ask.

Well, it makes a super cool vase! Or a tiny terrarium. Or whatever you want, really. I just set mine on my bookshelf as art. Next to my amazing giant green clothes pin, of course. :)