3 Simple Ways to
Share What You Make

With Instructables you can share what you make with the world — and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.

PhotosPhotos

Share one or more photos of a project, recipe, or whatever you've made, quickly and easily.

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

Step by StepStep-By-Step

Share your step-by-step photos with text instructions of what you made so others can do it too!

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

VideoVideo

Share your how-to video. You'll need your embed code from a video site such as YouTube.

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

Print PDF

Favorite

How to hollow out a lightbulb

I know this had been done before, but the one before had bad images. They were all blurry.

Remove these ads by Signing Up

Step 1Supplies

Basicly all you need is a screw driver and a 1 - 2 inch long nail and pliers.

« Previous Step

Download PDFView All Steps

Next Step »

16 comments

Nov 17, 2011. 7:55 PMmsmall2 says:

This was good, thanks for the help!

Jan 4, 2011. 7:18 AMhonigkuchen says:

"Take off" doesn't exactly describe what I had to do here: I had to hammer really hard.

Jan 4, 2011. 7:16 AMhonigkuchen says:

I don't know if it was for the german lightbulb I used or for whatever but tapping lightly with a screwdriver didn't do anything I had to use a hammer instead.

Nov 24, 2009. 9:11 PMstripedstarfish says:

Thank you. very good and helpful.

Dec 30, 2008. 5:56 PMchriskarr says:

And you said your pictures weren't as blurry as his! Liar! (Step 5 picture 2)

Aug 5, 2009. 5:06 PMH3xx says:

its a picture in motion dude, its gonna be blurry.

Nov 5, 2008. 12:54 PMNameless37 says:

I got most of the white stuff out with water but i used salt afterwords to ensure there wasn't any left.

Aug 30, 2008. 7:53 PMFather Christmas says:

why do the sprinkles/sand/ salt? i just ran it under the sink. worked fine.

May 13, 2008. 12:48 PMScott_Tx says:

I just hollowed out my first light bulb. I had trouble with the brass end/black glass stuff cause I couldn't get a good grip on it with pliers so I used a bench vice and kept pinching the end and rotating it till it finally got under the brass and I could pull it off with pliers. Then I used a drill and followed down the one wire on the side till the hole was big enough to get needle nosed pliers in and snapped it all out. I used a burn out larger 3 way bulb, it looks neat. Now what do I want to do with it?

May 13, 2008. 1:16 PMnm918273 (author) says:

not use it as a illegal drug paraphernalia EVER
Click here Please

May 13, 2008. 3:39 PMScott_Tx says:

No danger of that here

May 12, 2008. 7:22 PM

Browncoat says:

If the bulb's already clear, do you need to do the sand/sprinkles/etc step?

May 13, 2008. 4:46 AMnm918273 (author) says:

nope

May 4, 2008. 2:39 PMSgt.Waffles says:

Yeah, my pictures were REEEALLY blurry. /sarcasm

May 4, 2008. 4:32 PMjehan60188 says:

relax. Your picture at http://www.instructables.com/id/Light-Bulb-Shrimp-Aquarium/?ALLSTEPS were by no means blurry, but these are sharper.
Anyways, your project is about shrimp, hollowing a lightbulb is just a side-show!

anyways, both projects are neat

May 4, 2008. 3:10 PMnm918273 (author) says:

o yah sorry, i meant this guys http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-hollow-out-a-lightbulb-and-make-a-stand-for/