Heating glass enogh to make a hole?

Question

I was woundring if it is possible to heat lets say a 100W lightbulb enogh to be able to puncture a small whole in it, about half the size of a pea.

Or are there anyways to do this without heating? i tried heating it on the stove and it just cracked the bulb

Answer 1

it would be easier to unsolder it on the bottom.

Answer 2

I think, perhaps, the glass of a lightbulb is made in such a way that doing something like that would be quite difficult. Whereas, you could use a gas stove to mess around with a glass thermometer easily enough....

Fire (torches) is the normal procedure, to my knowledge.. ..for example, chemists and botanists use regular butane torches to seal off test tubes and the like, to my knowledge. Or to repair broken glassware.

As for it cracking, ..there's probably a sort of technique to it. If you pour boiling water in a glass (like a ..glass beverage cup) ..it'll probably break. (That's why tea and coffee tend to be served in ceramic mugs.) ...You can avoid cracking your glass by introducing a medium of sorts. Placing a stainless steel spoon or knife or something into a glass, then pouring the boiling water down said implement circumvents the temperature shock that causes breakage.

Similarly, ..putting it on the stove probably just heated it too fast. ..Glasswork to make bowls and suchlike is done between 1200-1600 degrees fahrenheit, if memory serves (...though, i'm just making up the numbers....so don't consider it gospel =p)
...a gas stove's flame probably has no problem reaching ..say.. 1300-1400, at its hottest, I think....

anyway, so what i'm saying is ...heat it more gradually. It might soften better that way. I don't know if it'd work, but maybe ..heat something else on the stove (like one of those kebab sticks, ..and don't heat it 'til it's orange. and don't worry if it oxidises the hell out of it ..it'll probably come off =p..) ..and touch it to the glass in the desired spot. If it doesn't crack in the first place, hold it there a couple of seconds, ..then reheat your new tool, and do it again.
I dunno if that'd work, honestly. But if you've got the time, do the experimenting! Cracking happens from rapid change. Like cooking, versus burning. Burning happens 'cause the ingredients are heated too fast. ..Get it?

Good luck, ...and be careful. Seriously. Glass cracking is only a step away from glass shattering like a pipe bomb and throwing shrapnel all over. ..I think in 2004, the Darwin Award went to the individual who ...put a lavalamp on the stove.. and the glass pierced his heart and killed him.

Answer 3

you may drill a hollow in any glass, window glass, jars, etc utilising this methodology. Take and mound up window putty around the area to be drilled, then fill with mild device oil + coarse abrasive rubbing compound. Then take a steel dowel the scale of the hollow you desire and proced to drill the hollow in a drill press. After approximately 5 minute of abrading you would be via the glass with a neat sparkling hollow. Incidently, you may drill a great hollow the type used at action picture Theatres to offer tickets for funds via taking a steel can and mounting a bolt driving force to it and utilising that during a drill press with an identical technique as defined above. those holes for the action picture instruct have been abraded that way in glass for centries Its no longer my concept, Im only passing it alongside to you so which you will drilll that hollow into the jar for y our lamp twine.

Answer 4

It can be done (I've done glassblowing), but light bulbs are too thin to make it easy to do this. You might be able to do it with a propane torch, especially if you use MAPP gas (which burns hotter). Since burned-out light bulbs are easy to find, it's a cheap experiment. Use gloves and safety glasses; there is a special sort of glasses (called didymium glasses) which are particularly suitable for glassblowing, as they selectively absorb the sodium D-lines (bright yellow) which otherwise make it hard to see what you are doing.

Answer 5

Heating only turns the bulb into pieces.
Using a sharp khife is the best way.

Answer 6

rhsauders's answer sounds like a good one. Vote for his answer.

But may I repeat - safety goggles are absolutely required. Glass will be heating unevenly and might shatter, and you don't know where it will fly. My dad's friend lost an eye by throwing light bulbs in bon fire (don't know exactly how... sad story). Be careful, please.

Answer 7

use a dimond tip bit with a rotory tool (dremal)