Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

Look up metal spinning. make 2 hemispheres and then join them.

"Vic Barkas" wrote in message
news
Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

Look up metal spinning. make 2 hemispheres and then join them.


He said without a lathe!

Lane

This would be a lot easier in copper...
Just anneal it, pound it into a sandbag, repeat...

"Vic Barkas" wrote in message
news
Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

Vic Barkas wrote:
Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.


Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

If it is a "one off" and not a production kind of thing, (you didn't say
if you wanted to make one or multiple copies) Why reinvent the wheel?

a quick fix would be to get two large ladels from a kitchen supply
store, chisle off the handle and weld the two halves together. I just
looked in my kitchen and we have one that would hold a baseball, maybe
even a softball, but ladels come in different sizes, so just find a size
you like and buy two.

If it is essential for you to "make it from scratch" a mold made out of
a good chunk of hardwood would be helpful. Take a log round, tall
enough to work at a comfortable height, and make a hemisphere hole in
the middle of it. You could rough it out with a drill press and finish
it up with a hand grinder or chisle. Heat and slowly cool your flat
steel blank and then with a ballpeen hammer slowly pound it in, a couple
of reheats and slow cooling at stages should keep the metal from
tearing. When you have one, make the other and weld away.

Vic Barkas wrote:
Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

Look into hydroforming, might do the trick.

John

what about just using a toilet tank float, does it have to be round?

"Vic Barkas" wrote in message
news
Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

Go to Ikea, buy two of their stainless steel bowls,join them
face-to-face,and weld along the seam. The bottoms are flattened, but a bit
of work with a sand bag and a ball faced hammer should take care of that.

Tom
"Vic Barkas" wrote in message
news
Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

McMaster-Carr sells hollow spheres in a variety of sizes, configurations,
and materials and will custom make to your order. Search for "float balls"
on their web site:

www.mcmaster.com

"Vic Barkas" wrote in message
news
Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

Vic Barkas wrote:

Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

YOu can dish steel sheet to a sphere, and then use raising techniques
over a stake to take it to almost a complete sphere, if having an
opening is ok. All you need are hammers and a ball stake.

What you describe below is dishing, but you don't need to do it hot
(it does make it easier.) Using hammers with a face radius similar to
the final result you want will make it easier.

Since two hemispheres are ok. get to the point where you have dished
it close, and then put it over a ball of some sort, and start
planishing it closer to your final shape.



Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

jk

"Vic Barkas" wrote: (clip) heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot and
pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Pounding into a hole , like the end of a pipe won't work too well, as you
have discovered. However, if you hear a circular piece of steel red hot,
you can pound it on an anvil into a cup shape. If you have difficulty
making the cup deep enough, take a V-shaped dart out, close it up, weld it
and pound some more. After you have a few of these, you can assemble and
weld them into a sort of sphere, and grind smooth.

You did say you have plenty of time, didn't you?

I like your second method, but then I'm a blacksmith.

If you're pounding the metal into a hollow, like the pipe, it thins (as
you no doubt noted), leading to punching through. I'd start with thicker
material, maybe 1/8". This method is usually called sinking. You may
also find that a ball pean hammer end is too tight a radius to come out
with a nice finish.

The other way to do this is a little harder, but you don't get punch
through. This method is called raising. You start with a piece of metal
with a diameter equal to the circumference of the finished sphere. You
hammer the metal down over a domed stake or ball, preferably about the
same as your finished piece, but not required. You never hammer so that
the sheet is squished between the hammer and stake (thus thinning it),
you are hammering "on air", bending the sheet down to the form, but not
hitting the form with the hammer. You can start with thinner sheet, say
1/16"; in the end the edges will be thicker. The tricky part is that you
will get wrinkles as you work, which you must get rid of without
thinning the metal.

Someone else suggested copper, which will be a lot easier.

Steve



Vic Barkas wrote:

Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

That just takes all the fun out of it!

Mike Henry wrote:
McMaster-Carr sells hollow spheres in a variety of sizes, configurations,
and materials and will custom make to your order. Search for "float balls"
on their web site:

www.mcmaster.com

"Vic Barkas" wrote in message
news
Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

Clamdigger wrote:
snipped

a quick fix would be to get two large ladels from a kitchen supply
store, chisle off the handle and weld the two halves together. I just
looked in my kitchen and we have one that would hold a baseball, maybe
even a softball, but ladels come in different sizes, so just find a size
you like and buy two.

snipped

Deja vu all over again!

or...

"Two minds without a single thought." *

I did exactly that about 45 years ago when I needed a perforated
stainless sphere to make the outer grid of an ion density measuring
probe for use on a high altitude sounding rocket.

In those pre NC daze some poor sod in the model shop had to hand crank
an index head forever to drill longitudinal lines of holes through the
two ladle bowls.

See:

http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/temp/soupersm.jpg

More silly stuff from me relating to that era is at:

http://www.aracnet.com/%7Epdxavets/wisnia.htm

Jeff

* Not meant to be insulting, it's an old reference to Laurel and Hardsy....

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."

That kind of depends on the goal - making the spheres or the thing they go
on/in g.

"RoyJ" wrote in message
ink.net...
That just takes all the fun out of it!

Mike Henry wrote:
McMaster-Carr sells hollow spheres in a variety of sizes, configurations,
and materials and will custom make to your order. Search for "float
balls" on their web site:

www.mcmaster.com

"Vic Barkas" wrote in message
news
Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

Contact Kent White and ask him.
http://www.tinmantech.com/html/the_sphere.html


Lane

http://www.kingmetals.com/

king architectural metals has balls and hemispheres ranging in diameter from
like about 1 1/2" to 12", i think they have better prices than
mcmaster/carr.

http://www.kingmetals.com/Pages/Page10A.html

(they're pretty nice, they'll send you a hard copy catalog for free. the
hard copy version is much nicer to leaf through.)
(ernie mentioned king architectural metals here on this list a while ago,
thanks ernie)

b.w.

(i couldn't resist an opportunity to post pics of the project to the
dropbox)
spheres_steel.txt
spheres_steel_rock.jpg




"Vic Barkas" wrote in message
news
Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

oops...

http://www.metalworking.com/DropBox/spheres_steel.txt
http://www.metalworking.com/DropBox/...steel_rock.jpg



http://www.kingmetals.com/

http://www.kingmetals.com/Pages/Page10A.html


b.w.

(i couldn't resist an opportunity to post pics of the project to the
dropbox)
spheres_steel.txt
spheres_steel_rock.jpg

Just for reference, the 4th of July weekend Woodwright's Shop (PBS) had a
gal in that was doing metalsmithing. Made up a teapot on the show. The
techniques for making hemispheeres would just be an extension of work on
these techniques.
The two top pieces were well domed and she was working with tinned steel.

--
Why isn't there an Ozone Hole at the NORTH Pole?

I would raise it, as Steve described. I might start with tuck
shrinking, which is a sheet metal technique used by metalshapers, but
ultimately I would be raising.

My local bearing supply house sells individual solid steel balls, as
does McMaster Carr. Buy one 2 inches in diameter or so, weld or
otherwise fasten it to something that you can clamp into a vise. At
that point you have a ball stake or post dolly, which will be very
helpful in making a hemisphere. You do not need anything other than a
hammer and a ball stake to make a hemisphere. The link below shows,
among other things, a ball stake, in the photo with the sheet metal stakes.

http://fergusonsculpture.home.att.net/tools.html

I sometimes make bowls, but have never made a hemisphere. Maybe I will
try to make one sometime soon.

Richard
http://www.fergusonsculpture.com


Steve Smith wrote:

I like your second method, but then I'm a blacksmith.

If you're pounding the metal into a hollow, like the pipe, it thins (as
you no doubt noted), leading to punching through. I'd start with thicker
material, maybe 1/8". This method is usually called sinking. You may
also find that a ball pean hammer end is too tight a radius to come out
with a nice finish.

The other way to do this is a little harder, but you don't get punch
through. This method is called raising. You start with a piece of metal
with a diameter equal to the circumference of the finished sphere. You
hammer the metal down over a domed stake or ball, preferably about the
same as your finished piece, but not required. You never hammer so that
the sheet is squished between the hammer and stake (thus thinning it),
you are hammering "on air", bending the sheet down to the form, but not
hitting the form with the hammer. You can start with thinner sheet, say
1/16"; in the end the edges will be thicker. The tricky part is that you
will get wrinkles as you work, which you must get rid of without
thinning the metal.

Someone else suggested copper, which will be a lot easier.

Steve



Vic Barkas wrote:

Hello group,

I am sort of a novice metal sculptor. I work mostly with the
oxy-acetylene torch, some modest blacksmithing equipment, a drill
press, grinder, band saw and the usual small hand and power tools.

My question is, what are some suggestions for making a smallish hollow
steel sphere without my inversting a bunch more in tools, such as a
lathe? I am talking about a sphere the size of a baseball.

Two approiaches I have considered are building it up with rings of
sheet metal, perhaps 1/2 inch wide, and welding them, as like lines of
lingitude on a globe. Pretty tedious. The other method I have
experimented a little with is heating up a 1/16" thick sheet red hot
and pounding it into the open end of a large piece of pipe with the
ball end of a ball pein hammer. I found it somewhat difficult to get
a full hemisphere by this method, and it is also quite possible to
hole the dome with hammer blows. The plan was to create two
hemispheres and weld them together.

Any thoughts? A perfect geometric sphere is not essential.

Thank you all!

I am impressed with your thoughtful and varied ideas. I want the
capability of making such spheres more than once or twice, so some
sort of fabrication plan seems appropriate rather than the ladle
method. I like the idea of making my own ball stake and I would not
have thouight of looking for a ball to start with from some supplier
had it not been suggested. I will follow up on the links provided and
get welding on that. Thanks again.

Vic