How to hollow out a lightbulb and make a stand for it

for other uses like plasma globes and aquariums

Step 1 Materials

for this you will need;

lightbulb (preferably burnt out)
scrap wood block
wire hanger
salt

tools;

wire cutters
duct tape (or stapler or staple gun)
drill

Comments

[Ward_Nox]

considering this type of bulb is illegal to manufacture in the US now some one should consider making and selling pre hollowed out ones for doing crafts like this cause the new spiral kind wouldn't be the same

[9w2xyz]

When you mount the wire to your block of wood, simply drill a hole slightly smaller than the diameter of the wire and use a grommet for a finished look. Nail polish will hold it permanently. I used them for money plants, the roots look cool.

[Father Christmas]

i want to say thanks for this instructable. the whole hollowing out a lightbulb was a pain for me until i found it. i emptied my bulbs for the hourglass i made. it was prettyy fun.

[paqrat]

Very, very cool!

[Martyll5]

that is freakin sweet

[QueenK]

That is really cool - creative and it looks good. Great job!

[kaptaink_cg]

That's cool!

[Gage987]

how long does the hourglass go? as in time

[Father Christmas]

about twenty five minutes. and 37 seven seconds. depending on humidity lol

[Wasagi]

You should post an instructable on how to make it!

[clemsonguy1125]

cool idea

[AlexTheGreat]

Awesome! Thank you for sharing.

[dbaum2]

How about a sea monkey aquarium?

[whiteboyninja]

What's the salt for??

[jkufahl]

salt removes the "Soft White" coating from the inside of the bulb. Basically the salt acts like a media abraisive. Meth addicts around the world use this technique to very inexpensively create a "Pipe" so if you've got teen age kids, this may well be a good way to catch them in time to get them treated.

[JcBeaver]

instead of drilling into to the end of the bulb, use a hammer to break the black glass cool instructable!

[shootfilm]

This is very cool!  I'm going to try to combine it with this idea as a novelty gift:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/teamdroid/487588642/

[Patented]

Neat idea! look what I found, it seem to be a cleaner tecgnique of removing to end of the bulb : http://www.instructables.com/id/Incandescent_Lamp_Hack/

[underscore_jeff]

bamboo

[QueenK]

Holy cow - I love this!!

[AlexTheGreat]

nice. thanks for sharing.

[RIV3RFr0G]

this is what i made

[QueenK]

That is really cool as well! Great job - I love the creativity of the people on this site.

[vov35]

this totally isn't meant for making a vap or anything... :p

[pyra_builder_1337]

ya i totaly just figured ... put a candle under it

[zachninme]

Nice. You could do something really ironic like save the contacts and all the stuff and fill it up COMPLETLY with gas, and if no oxygen was dissolved, and it was all sealed up, you could screw it in, turn it on, and it wouldn't explode... maybe... DO NOT DO THAT. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU DO. I may just use them to make abstract art... I like the fish idea...

[NinjaSloth]

little bit of fight club, no?

[zachninme]

Boy my comments didn't make much sense a year ago...

[GorillazMiko]

Your comments never make sense....

_{(Just kidding).}

[zachninme]

How dare you insist that my speech is coherent!
You're so mean D:

[Lance Mt.]

 May I insist that your math is coherent? 
cause last time I checked "2006" and "2008" is 2 years correct? lol, 

Either way caution as lightbulb gas molotovs may just be the new thing! =D

[falcotheimpaler]

A) ... how. B) why C) natural gas? dead. gasoline? would short out, gasoline needs a specific air/gas ratio to combust

[kyuubiunl]

 ALL fuels require a certain air/gas mixture.  Natural Gas (methane) is 10:1 feet cubed with atmospheric air, and 2:1 pure Oxygen.

[zachninme]

Well, I don't know what I was thinking a year ago... And I guess I couldn't spell "sense" either...

[zachninme]

Wow, that made no sence...

[clemsonguy1125]

is it really a good idea to put fish in it

[brunoxyz]

I asked a fish, he doesn't like the idea at all.

[FrenchCrawler]

If you have enough time on your hands, you could also make these into LED lights.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/7aa8/

[bomberman3]

thinkgeek rocks!

[zupperzipper]

w00t :thinkgeek rules