Space Balls?

[Richard Amabile]

My daughter has asked me to make a mission style bed for my grandson. It will require a number of panels in both the headboard and footboard - each about 6 inches wide and 12-36 inches high (three or four in a section- two sections) being put together and inserted into a frame and panel set up. I am a bit concerned about expansion of the wood and am considering using some form of mission rail and stile approach for the panels. I have seen references to "Space Balls" in places like EagleAmerica.com, but have never used them. It says they are about .26" diameter and I was planning on making the groove 1/4" wide.

Does anyone have experience in using these and if so any thoughts or guidance would be appreciated.
I have a number of questions about them:
1. Will the 1/4 inch groove be OK for them?
2. Does that mean I also need to allow 1/4 inch extra depth for the stile to fit in?
3. Will they eventually dry out, crack, crumble, etc.? I am hoping that this would a piece of furniture that could be passed down to the great grandchildren.
4. Is there a better way of dealing with the expansion than using these or the "Door Construction Tape" that Eagle advertises on the same page?

I am even considering staining and finishing the panels before inserting them into the frames to reduce movement.

[Nicholas Lingg]

"Space Balls" are one the greatest things sence sliced bread. The .260 is made so they stay in a 1/4" grove. As long as they are out light they will not degrade.

[Dan Bowman]

I've never cared for spaceballs because of their large size. I have used these, although I often slice them lengthwise: http://www.sommerfeldtools.com/Panelign-Strips/products/442/

[Ron Kellison]

Lee Valley sell something similar, which they call "Panel Barrels", in 1/4" and 3/16" sizes.

Regards,

Ron

[Glen Butler]

Space balls are used on cabinet doors panels, but would work just fine in your application.

1 They are meant for a 1/4 slot.
2 I make my panel to fit within 3/16 of the back of the stile groove so there is a little pressure against the ball. This will keep the panel centered in the opening. My cutter typically have a 1/2" depth this allows for 5/16 on the panel which is sufficient.
3 No. They are not subject to sunlight so they should hold up.
4 Another option to dealing with panel expansion is sponge cord. It basically does the same thing as space balls but is harder to use.

[Howard Jahnke]

I make my own using butyl rubber. I keep a large roll on hand and just roll out balls to fill any size gap. It will always stay pliable and is sticky so they stay in place.

[Glen Butler]

I make my own using butyl rubber. I keep a large roll on hand and just roll out balls to fill any size gap. It will always stay pliable and is sticky so they stay in place.

You don't want it to be pliable. It won't push against the panel and keep it centered.

[Randy Henry]

I make alot of panels, and have never used the space balls or 1/4 rubber hose as some do. I was told by a professional door maker to center the panel in the frame and use a pin nailer and shoot one pin in the center on the top and bottom rails, into the panel on the back side. I use 1/2 in. pins. This allows the panel to still expand/contract, but alleviates having to use space balls. I like this much better, and have never had a problem.

[Mike Cruz]

Classic movie!

[Logan William]

I make alot of panels, and have never used the space balls or 1/4 rubber hose as some do. I was told by a professional door maker to center the panel in the frame and use a pin nailer and shoot one pin in the center on the top and bottom rails, into the panel on the back side. I use 1/2 in. pins. This allows the panel to still expand/contract, but alleviates having to use space balls. I like this much better, and have never had a problem.


The trick is here to be able to put down the nailer after shooting that SINGLE nail into the top and bottom. This isn't a case where since one is good 2 is better. The single nail centers it and prevents it from moving, but gives it the freedom in the one axis to expand and contract as necessary.

[Neal Clayton]

"Space Balls" are one the greatest things sence sliced bread. The .260 is made so they stay in a 1/4" grove. As long as they are out light they will not degrade.

agree. i use the barrel style ones though, they stay put easier if the groove isn't just the right size.

[Kent A Bathurst]

agree. i use the barrel style ones though, they stay put easier if the groove isn't just the right size.

me too. I sometimes will put a very small dab of CA medium in the bottom of the groove to hold the barrel in place.

[Chris Tsutsui]

Can you just use weather stripping sized accordingly instead of having to order this stuff?

So the combination is... one, two, three, four, five?

I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate?

Ok, the last two questions were quotes from "space balls".

[Mike Cruz]

May the Schwartz be with you, Chris...

[Neil Brooks]

I can't BREATHE in this thing!

[Mike Cruz]

Oh, sure Neil, with a last name like Brooks, I'm sure you can quote the ENTIRE movie! (Sp. might be different, though.)

[Fred Voorhees]

I've never cared for spaceballs because of their large size. I have used these, although I often slice them lengthwise: http://www.sommerfeldtools.com/Panelign-Strips/products/442/

Dan, I have been using those panalign strips for years and I still have thousands of them in my shop. They work wonderful and wouldn't consider anything else at this point. And Rich, staining and finishing your panels before inserting them into their frames will not cure expansion and contraction. Pre-finishing them only prevents seeing any unfinished panel in the case of expansion and contraction.

[Michael MacDonald]

1. Will the 1/4 inch groove be OK for them? 2. Does that mean I also need to allow 1/4 inch extra depth for the stile to fit in? 3. Will they eventually dry out, crack, crumble, etc.? I am hoping that this would a piece of furniture that could be passed down to the great grandchildren. 4. Is there a better way of dealing with the expansion than using these or the "Door Construction Tape" that Eagle advertises on the same page?

I just used space balls from Rockler in a porch bench... see pic of dry fit. I added 5/32 to the depth of the 1/4-wide groove. I have never used them before, so I hope they don't fail over time... I put two balls in the groove on each side of each panel. I needed clamps to get the rails and stiles to come together due to the pressure of the balls. I already have the bench back glued-up (but not the rest of the bench), and it has worked well so far.

[Richard Amabile]

:rolleyes:Thanks for all the responses on this. There is some very helpful information in the replies, as well as some smiles. I kind of thought the title of the thread might generate some interesting responses.:)

[Norman Pyles]

I've tried them, and didn't like them. Seemed to large, and I couldn't get things to go together right. I may have not left enough room though. They are a lot of fun when you knock off the little bottle you put them in, and they go bouncing everywhere.

[Adam Shapiro]

I was considering using these in some cherry cabinet doors I'm making with a Freud raised panel bit set. Would that require the panel be cut smaller than the Freud directions state (or the slot deeper)? I've had these sitting in my shop for a while, but can't find any directions on using them anywhere.

[Cody Colston]

I use them and like them. They center the panel and still allow seasonal movement. Being pre-sized means I don't have to spend time cutting pieces of tubing or weather stripping for the same purpose, ie, they are convenient. They are also cheap.

[Wayne Hendrix]

So the combination is... one, two, three, four, five?
That's really funny that's the same combination I use on my luggage.

[Glen Butler]

I make alot of panels, and have never used the space balls or 1/4 rubber hose as some do. I was told by a professional door maker to center the panel in the frame and use a pin nailer and shoot one pin in the center on the top and bottom rails, into the panel on the back side. I use 1/2 in. pins. This allows the panel to still expand/contract, but alleviates having to use space balls. I like this much better, and have never had a problem.


How do you know you like it better if you have never used space balls. $30 for 1000, autocentering, complete freedom for expansion and contraction.

[Paul Ryan]

They've gone Plaid!

[Neal Clayton]

I was considering using these in some cherry cabinet doors I'm making with a Freud raised panel bit set. Would that require the panel be cut smaller than the Freud directions state (or the slot deeper)? I've had these sitting in my shop for a while, but can't find any directions on using them anywhere.

nope, if you cut the width/depth that the bits recommend, they'll snug up just fine. they can compress down to about a 16th pretty easily.

the main benefit of them is their centering properties as cody said. i typically do panels with shallow straight profiles, so don't have too much trouble with them moving on me, but keeping them centered during assembly stops them from biasing one way or another, which can cause the finish to stick and crack loose later as the panel works its way to the path of least resistance.

you wanna leave your panels anywhere from 1/16 to 1/8 short on the inside of the hole, all the way around, and put one spacer on each side at least, could go with two or more on long stiles/panels.

[Darrell Bade]

I must be the only one that still uses the method of putting a little glue in the middle of the panel on the top and bottom. The panel does not seem to move but you can get a little rattle when closing doors that the space balls eliminate.

[Adam Shapiro]

Thanks for the info.