Im looking for Sphere/Ball jig plans

[Jack Gaskins]

Anyone out there made an easy to build ball/sphere making jig? I will mostly be making balls 3 inches and smaller. No, I dont want to make them without a jig. I have seen several around the internet, just wanted to check with you guys on SMC to see if anyone has built an easy jig out of wood.

Thanks
Jack

[Ryan Baker]

Here's one that I buit. It's not all wood, but you could do it all from wood if you want.

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The base of mine is a steel plate with a cross piece welded on to lock between the bed rails so that it is always centered on the spindle. A second plate and knob clamp it down to the bed. Above the plywood base is a layer of HDPE plastic to reduce friction for swinging the arm. The arm is just laminated plywood (this was made from leftover scraps). The knob at the top locks down the cutter and allows it to be moved in and out to adjust diameter. The cutter is a standard lathe cutter, ground to a rounded edge. The whole arm pivots on the bolt (which again is centered on the spindle).

This one was designed to make spheres of a specific size, so it does not have a large amount of range. You likely will want to slot the arm where it fits around the pivot bolt in the base so that you have a larger range of adjustment. (The trick there is to find a way to lock down the arm position without locking down the arm rotation. :) ) If I did it again, I would probably make some changes, like beefing up the arm a bit. But it does the job I made it to do. I hand turn the sphere close to shape before I bring in the jig to finish the job.

[Jack Gaskins]

Thanks Ryan, its a start. I have looked at one for sale from turning supply stores and they want and arm and a leg for one, holy crap, $375 and up. Cant belive PSI or Rockler hasnt been able to make one for a lot less. Id pay up to $150. The homemade jigs I have seen look a little to difficult to make as I am not to good with precise square cuts and stuff.....

[russell dietrich]

If you do a search on "wooden ball jigs", David Warkentin got some replies on jigs. Some are metal, some are wood, all look easy to make.

[Randy Rhine]

well...this isn't what you asked for...but....try making them without a jig. They're not too difficult...and once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to make them a lot faster and with a better surface than with a jig. Most jigs use a pointed tool or scraper which leaves a rough surface and you'll need to do more sanding. And even with a jig, you still need to use the cup chucks for the final step to turn off and blend the nubs.

[Charles Drake]

If you do a google search for boffin53, you find his site on ebay-he sells a sphere cutting jig for under $150. Knlow nothing about it but may give you some ideas.

Good luck, Charlie

[jared herbert]

i have made a lot of balls from 2-4 in in diameter using just a couple of home made cup centers. Once you are able to visualize how it is done it goes really fast. with a little care you can make them close enough to perfectly round that no one can tell that they arent. It is also a good way to build your skills with a skew and the side of your bowl gouge to scrape them smooth. just my two cents worth Jared

[Marvin Hasenak]

Dale Maxim made this one http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?180582-Low-Cost-Duplicator

[Ryan Baker]

Jack said in his original post that he didn't want to make them by hand (for whatever reason). I hand turn a lot of spheres, and often that is good enough, but there are definitely times that the precision that a jig provides is a requirement. Hand-turning them is fun, and definitely a good thing to practice, but it doesn't solve the same problem.

[Jack Gaskins]

Well it looks like I will have to do this by hand rather than jig. I was just looking for an less time consuming way of making a production run of balls about 3 inches in diameter.

[Rex Guinn]

Jack, I am going to use an old v-belt (varible) speed drive and make a sleeve to fit over the shaft. Weld a sq. bar on to the top, weld another to the end verticle. Drill a hole at the centerline dem of your lathe. I will then use the straight 3/4 bar with a cutting tip and lock it in place. Just losen the set screw slide the bar forward to make your cuts.

My v-belt came of my old palmgren lathe, i just have to cut it to the length needed say 1" slide the mating sleeve on after tighting it to the ways of my PM.
hope this helps!

[Jack Gaskins]

Thanks Rex. Post a pic when you get it put together, Id like to see it.

Jack

[Ed Kilburn]

Maybe you could ask this guy, http://vimeo.com/41892788

[Pete Jordan]

http://www.bobchapman.co.uk/_6__ball_jig.pdf

[Jon Parry]

Hi Ryan,

I'm thinking of building a similar jig to yours. I have question that you or anyone else who has built a similar jig may be able to answer. Do you angle the cutter or is it at 90 degrees to the lathe center height?

best regards,

Jon.

[Peter Blair]

Jack, a lot of good ideas and plans here. I built two one with a 1/4" square scraper and one with a cupped carbide cutter. Not happy with either so I now make them by hand. Seems to me to be more fun but if of course you are into production then I suppose a jig would work better.

[Brian Myers]

http://www.laymar-crafts.co.uk/tip39a.htm Bottom third of the page

[Dwight Rutherford]

Jon,
To answer your resurrected thread, yes the cutter is at 90 degrees to the lathe center height.

[Dick Mahany]

I built this jig from wood after watching an excellent video from Larry Marley. I used many of his ideas and it works very well. The cutter is a 1/4" HSS cutter with a rounded nose similar to those used on hollowing bars and is right on center line. One needs to take relatively small cuts, but it works better than I had initially hoped. I also built one from iron pipe and fittings that is no where as solid as this.
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[Jon Parry]

Thanks Dwight.
Jon.

[Mike Peace]

This one is a little more reasonably priced http://www.chefwarekits.com/ez-ball-radius-jig-xl-6in-max-ball-size-supports-all-model-lathes