The next time you replace an old light bulb don’t throw it out. Instead, reuse and recycle it to make a bunch of cool, new, handy things. This video from YouTube’s Shake the Future channel will show you how to make 5 different things from an old bulb. Check it out and read on below for more information on the projects covered in the video!
Make sure to use protection and wear safety goggles and gloves. The last thing you want is sharp glass fragments flying into your eye or a cut finger! To prepare the bulb use a utility knife and separate the contact from the surrounding black glass on the bottom. Take a small flat head screwdriver and twist it around the black glass until it breaks, remove the rest with pliers.
Reach into the bulb and break the stem with a small flat head screwdriver, then use a bigger one to loosen and break the inside filament. Empty out everything and if you need to make the hole bigger slowly apply more pressure to the surrounding edges. Wash out the bulb, let it dry, and now you can use it for a variety of things.
The first way in which you can use an old light bulb is as a handy paperclip dispenser. Place some paperclips inside and shake it upside down when you need one. It also makes a neat flower vase. Fill the bulb halfway up with water, stick in a flower or two, then place it on a small round cookie cutter to stabilize it.
For this next project you only need to remove the bottom of the bulb. Take a solar garden light and glue a string to it, then glue the bulb to the light so it forms a base. Hang it in a sunny spot and voila, you have a new solar light. Alternatively, you can make a light bulb torch.
Use a high temperature sealant to attach a washer to the bottom of the bulb and place it on a cookie cutter base before filling with paraffin based fuel. Insert a wick, wait 10 minutes to soak up the fuel, then you can light it. Make sure to never leave this unattended!
Finally, make a cool corkscrew by removing the worm, the pointed metal helix part, from an old or cheap one and place a small screw through the bottom hole. Fill a light bulb with InstaMorph, a mold-able plastic product, place it in the oven to melt then remove it and top off with more InstaMorph.
Put it back in the oven to melt again and repeat this until it’s filled with melted plastic. Push the worm into the bulb opening and hold it in place for 10 minutes while the plastic cools. Once it has cooled further you can run it under cold water to speed up the process. Finally, when it’s completely cooled off take a hammer and break the glass, now you have a light bulb corkscrew!
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