I was thinking of making a couple of small (3/4") spheres for a
project I'm making. I was wondering if anyone had any nifty tricks
to do this.

I don't mind making half spheres and gluing them together, or putting
a small hole in the sphere for some sort of spinner device (I want to
embed a rare earth magnet into it). It does have to be perfectly
round though.

While I'm at it, just out of curiosity, how would you go about making
bigger spheres, say in the 3-4" variety?


Thanks

John

julvr wrote:
I was thinking of making a couple of small (3/4") spheres for a
project I'm making. I was wondering if anyone had any nifty tricks
to do this.

I don't mind making half spheres and gluing them together, or putting
a small hole in the sphere for some sort of spinner device (I want to
embed a rare earth magnet into it). It does have to be perfectly
round though.

While I'm at it, just out of curiosity, how would you go about making
bigger spheres, say in the 3-4" variety?


Thanks

John

"perfectly round" and "wood" don't really go together well. even if you
did get it nice and round, the first change in humidity would distort
it.

that said, making spheres out of wood is work for the lathe. and lots
of practise.

On Wed, 26 Jul 2006 01:54:25 GMT, lid (julvr) wrote:

I was thinking of making a couple of small (3/4") spheres for a
project I'm making. I was wondering if anyone had any nifty tricks
to do this.

I don't mind making half spheres and gluing them together, or putting
a small hole in the sphere for some sort of spinner device (I want to
embed a rare earth magnet into it). It does have to be perfectly
round though.

While I'm at it, just out of curiosity, how would you go about making
bigger spheres, say in the 3-4" variety?


Thanks

John

A lathe comes to mind. But, there's a better way to do it using a
router with a core-box bit and mounting the stock piece using a
double axis. Start by making a cube, mark opposite centers and
clipping off the corners.

This is strange, but works...For small spheres (1"), build a box that
fits over an upside-down belt sander. Turn on the sander and put in a
wooden cube. The cube will bounce around and eventually become a
ball!

In article , julvr
wrote:

I was thinking of making a couple of small (3/4") spheres for a
project I'm
making. I was wondering if anyone had any nifty tricks
to do this.

I don't
mind making half spheres and gluing them together, or putting
a small hole in
the sphere for some sort of spinner device (I want to
embed a rare earth
magnet into it). It does have to be perfectly
round though.

While I'm at
it, just out of curiosity, how would you go about making
bigger spheres, say
in the 3-4" variety?


Thanks

John


I would go to the local hardware or craft store and buy them for cheap.

I would go to the local hardware or craft store and buy them for cheap.

And where's the fun in that.

"sweetsawdust" wrote in news:kEAxg.23631
:


I would go to the local hardware or craft store and buy them for cheap.

And where's the fun in that.




You spend $.79 each, rather than $1700 on new tools and equipment...

"Patriarch" wrote in message
. 97.136...
"sweetsawdust" wrote in news:kEAxg.23631
:


I would go to the local hardware or craft store and buy them for cheap.

And where's the fun in that.




You spend $.79 each, rather than $1700 on new tools and equipment...

And where's the fun in that?

Patriarch wrote:
"sweetsawdust" wrote in news:kEAxg.23631
:

I would go to the local hardware or craft store and buy them for cheap.
And where's the fun in that.




You spend $.79 each, rather than $1700 on new tools and equipment...

You need a better better excuse to spend $1700 on tools?

julvr wrote:
While I'm at it, just out of curiosity, how would you go about making
bigger spheres, say in the 3-4" variety?

I've made a few this size on my lathe, after the first one
done by eye turned out to be slightly cylindrical :-). I
simply made a template covering about 90 degrees of arc,
and used calipers to compare length with diameter. It's
not too hard, just go slowly and check often until you get
the hang of it.

"L d"Bonnie" wrote in message
...
Patriarch wrote:
"sweetsawdust" wrote in news:kEAxg.23631
:

I would go to the local hardware or craft store and buy them for cheap.
And where's the fun in that.




You spend $.79 each, rather than $1700 on new tools and equipment...

You need a better better excuse to spend $1700 on tools?

Why? Any excuse to buy new tools works for me - most of the time!
Dave

I'd much rather spend $1700 0n a new machine

"Patriarch" wrote in message
. 97.136...
"sweetsawdust" wrote in news:kEAxg.23631
:


I would go to the local hardware or craft store and buy them for cheap.

And where's the fun in that.




You spend $.79 each, rather than $1700 on new tools and equipment...

Tried a prooved method on lathe the make purfect spheres

use 3 or 4 jaw chuck

Turn stock to just above finished diameter .... around 7/8 in your case

Now make the chisel to cut them .....
2 options here

Option 1
buy a 3/4" wad punch
weld or by some other means afix a decent size handle to it

Option 2
Obtain a piece of pipe with an inside diameter of 3/4"
Go to grinder and sharpen end of pipe around circumference like chisel edge

Use homemade chisel to maKe balls ....
set toolrest to just below bottom of stock
gently apply pressure to homemede chisel and you will notice a ball starting
to form
Be very careful and go very slowly as you get to centre. With the right
timber and a very steady hand, the ball will cut off. There is useally a
small (extremly small if you go very steady) knob to remove on one side of
ball

I have used this method for many years with great success on ball up to 3
1/2" Diameter. Your choice of timber makes a big difference to the quality
and finish of balls. Once you have done a few it will only take a matter if
a minute or two to make a ball

Everything in life is easy if you have the right tools and a little
knowledge on how to use them
Good Luck

Rgds
Paul



"julvr" wrote in message
m...
I was thinking of making a couple of small (3/4") spheres for a
project I'm making. I was wondering if anyone had any nifty tricks
to do this.

I don't mind making half spheres and gluing them together, or putting
a small hole in the sphere for some sort of spinner device (I want to
embed a rare earth magnet into it). It does have to be perfectly
round though.

While I'm at it, just out of curiosity, how would you go about making
bigger spheres, say in the 3-4" variety?


Thanks

John

julvr wrote:
I was thinking of making a couple of small (3/4") spheres for a
project I'm making. I was wondering if anyone had any nifty tricks
to do this.

I don't mind making half spheres and gluing them together, or putting
a small hole in the sphere for some sort of spinner device (I want to
embed a rare earth magnet into it). It does have to be perfectly
round though.

While I'm at it, just out of curiosity, how would you go about making
bigger spheres, say in the 3-4" variety?

There are good suggestions in this thread but metal workers have the
same problem. Go to www.mcmaster.com and search for 3318A1 for a
picture of a metal lathe fixture to make spherical surfaces. It might
give you an idea for a wood fixture. I've seen shop-made router
fixtures with gimble mounts that might work for this. This month's Sky
and Telescope has an interesting new telescope design that has gotten
me thinking about large wooden spheres.

Clever -- but with all the randomness in the process, they
will all come out different sizes. Some might be reduced
to a single wood particle before becoming spherical!

Phisherman wrote:
This is strange, but works...For small spheres (1"), build a box that
fits over an upside-down belt sander. Turn on the sander and put in a
wooden cube. The cube will bounce around and eventually become a
ball!

M Berger wrote:

Clever -- but with all the randomness in the process, they
will all come out different sizes. Some might be reduced
to a single wood particle before becoming spherical!

Phisherman wrote:
This is strange, but works...For small spheres (1"), build a box that
fits over an upside-down belt sander. Turn on the sander and put in a
wooden cube. The cube will bounce around and eventually become a
ball!

You do them one at a time, check them periodically, and remove them when
they are the right diameter.


--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)