In kj writes:

I was doing a routine lightbulb replacement in the recessed ceiling
fixture in my entrance hallway when the top of the bulb sheared
off cleanly from the threaded metal part. Great.

I yanked off the bulb, but now the metal part is stuck in there,
so I have a useless fixture. This would be a pain under any
circumstance, but the fact that the socket is recessed makes it
impossible to stick a pair of pliers in there to attempt to unscrew
the metal part.

The housing for the fixture is attached to the socket, so even if
I managed to pry it out, I still would not be able to access the
socket with pliers. I suppose I will have to pull the housing out,
cut the wire, and replace it with a new housing, splicing the wire
coming off the new housing into the cut end.

I had another idea, hopefully not too harebrained. I could use a
flexible shaft attached to my handheld drill to apply a torque
inside the socket. The only problem is finding a suitable drill
attachment to transmit the torque from the end of the flexible
shaft to the inside of the socket. The only thing I can think of
is something like a drill "socket wrench" attachment whose outer
diameter is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the sheared
off bulb thread, with a rubber band wrapped around the outer rim.
(Hopefully the rubber band would produce enough traction to twist
the bulb thread.) If anyone can think of a better drill attachment
for this strange task please let me know.

Am I on the right track here? If so, what do I have to do to remove
the housing. After working at it for a while I didn't get very
far at all. One would think that one has to rip the ceiling to
get that housing out, but I can't believe the system would be that
stupid.

How does one fix a situation like this, without ripping out a big
chunk of ceiling?

Thanks!

kj

--
NOTE: In my address everything before the first period is backwards;
and the last period, and everything after it, should be discarded.
--
NOTE: In my address everything before the first period is backwards;
and the last period, and everything after it, should be discarded.