How to Cut a Light Bulb in Half

In this Instructable, we'll have a look at one of the ways to cut light bulbs in half.

Once the bulb is cut in half, you can put in a large object and glue the bulb back together.

We will need:

• Empy/Hollow Bulb
• Nichrome Wire
• Copper Foil Adhesive Tape
• Battery from a drill or alternative power source

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Step 1: Put a Nichrome Wire Onto the Bulb

Take a piece of nichrome wire, twist it to make a loop.

Slide it onto the bulb.

It should fit tightly.

Step 2: Secure the Wire With a Copper Tape

Secure the wire to the bulb with a copper tape.

Put 2 pieces of tape on each side of the wire twist.

Step 3: Separate the Wire Twist

Cut off the twist and separate the wire.

Step 4: Prepare Your Power Source

Prepare your power source.

I used a battery from a drill.

It's a 24v battery, but lower voltage batteries should also work.

As long as the battery has lots of amps, it should work.

Most of the power tool batteries will be powerful enough.

The power source will also depend on the nichrome wire you use.

Thinner the wire, less powerful battery you will need.

Step 5: Cut the Bulb

Put the positive cable to one end of the wire and the negative cable to another end of the wire.

The wire will start to glow.

Be careful as it will become extremely hot

If the wire does not light up in 2-3 seconds, your battery might not be powerful enough.

If the wire burns out, that means you have too much power.

After a few second of heat, the bulb will split in half.

Don't worry if there is a piece of glass that is uncut (the part where the wire did not touch).

It will break once you try to separate the glass.

Step 6: What's Next?

With a bulb cut in half, you can make something cool.

I put a large pad-lock in the bulb and glued the bulb back together.

If you look closer, the line is visible, but it still looks impressive.

If you want to hide the cutting line, you can try to use a window color to draw something on top.