Russian Help!
Hey Guys,
So for a while now I have been toying with the idea of making my own set of Russians, mainly because I don't like any of the Russians that exist on the market right now, I'm not convinced that they are done in the best way, and adhere to far to rigid of a framework.
I've decided I want a set of 70mm hardshell balls, semi-filled (to about 90-100g depeding on what works), with a material that I'll decide on after some R&D.
The main problem I have found is finding a decent supplier of the type of hollow ball that I want that isn't in China only ship huge quantities. It might come to it that I want larger quantities but for R&D I want samples, so I was wondering if anyone knew of any suppliers of these sorts of products, and what materials might be best for what I'm looking for.
I've requested a sample from these guys:
https://www.theppb.co.uk/
So any other links would be mucho appreciated for my project.
Cheers,
Cam
While this may not be quite to the level you want, the linked video tutorial is worth mentioning as the best I've ever seen about making homemade Russians.
https://youtu.be/DtAWREXeRj8
The author suggests that you can use holeless "whiffle" balls and links to an American supplier in the description. These balls are a a vast improvement on playpit balls because they are thick shelled and tough. They are limited to about 73mm in diameter (same size as baseball which is 9 inch circumference).
Juggler Bambi - - Parent #
When I was looking into it I found a company called euro-matic that appeared to have some offices in the UK and near me. Their old .com website doesn't exist any more but I think https://euro-matic.eu/ is their new site.
euro-matic does not reply, or they haven't to the mails I've send them.
Their balls are of amazing quality though.
I had a set of euro-matic balls and I would love another but their customer service or policy really sucked.
So I bought intell balls instead.
That will show them, those few hundred balls will make the difference for them. :p
Intell balls are lighter, easier to turn into russians and are very durable as well.
Their shells (80mm) are a little bit more flexible as the euro-matic (74mm or so?) balls but that might be due to the size as well.
Depending on the way you make the holes in your shells: when drilling a hole euromatic shells can crack. 2/32 balls but still. They are the only balls that have that problem.
TL;DR:
Euro-matic shells: great balls, sturdy
Intell balls: also great balls, little bit more flexible, no problems when making the russians.
Jerry Lee Lewis: alse great balls, of fire!
If I was ever going to make a set of Russians (which I wouldn't because they are awful) I'd probably start with a regular stage ball which have a wall thickness measured in mm rather than microns.
Daniel Simu - - Parent #
Of course, if you would use regular stage balls I understand why you think Russians are awful..
Thanks for the input guys, it seems to be quite a niche thing, hollow balls, and no one seems to offer a large range of sizes :(
I'm wondering how easy it would be to vacuum form my own, could probs get access to a form, would just need to make the negative for it, then I could fill them before putting them together which would totally eliminate the need for any kind of hole, what do people think about that?
I'm pretty sure you can get different types of materials for vacuum forms too, so could experiment myself. I don't really remember much from my design technology at high school, anyone know if this is viable?
So far I've paid ranging from 0.02 to 0.15 € for the balls I use. including shipping.
I have given away a few hundred of those balls.
Lost a few dozen, broke some of the earlier ones, donated 40 to some charity box at a festival and I still have about 200 left.
In total all those balls,about 450 from 4 different kinds, cost me less than €50. (including shipping)
If you decide to form your own shells I would love to see how they turn out but is it worth the effort?
I also think a mold for most forming processes is a lot more expensive.
Daniel Simu - - Parent #
How would you vacuum form a ball? I thought that you could only make hemispheres..
Vacuum forming has a set up cost of easily a 1000, and the finishing touches on a small batch are a lot of work too....
Little Paul - - Parent #
True that vacuum forming isn't the right choice for a ball, (you would probably want rotational or blow moulding) but you can build a vacuum forming rig for very little money, all you need is a frame to hold the sheet material (easily built out of wood), a heat source to melt it (I've seen people use electric fires, or even domestic ovens) and a vacuum box (easy to construct from MDF and a vacuum cleaner)
Google "diy vacuum forming" there are loads of low cost options.
None of them are going to make a satisfactory Russian ball though
Yeah, was just a thought.
The sample I got sent through is great anyway, I'm just in the process of getting a quote from them, will hopefully order 100 and figure out the best way to fill/seal them. Then work on their aesthetic afterwards.
With that in mind what's a good way to print onto Polypropylene? I'd like to get a logo or some custom design work on there but have no idea where to start!!!
Hey guys,
Here is my proof of concept ball, just ordered 15 to make a set, need to adjust the chalk to salt ratio to give it a darker tint (1st full set will be purple I think), and continue stress testing the silicone sealant as a hole plug but it looks promising.
Need a good name for them, I wanted "Absolute Balls" but it's taken by some stupid golf company (I know, shit right?!?) so am open to suggestions. . ."Balls Deep" is my fave so far.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B43piakjTyYsblZpUlNtUUVVMFd1TFlLdXZ5NzFxMEc5Q0Zv&authuser=0
Cheers,
Cam
Looks good. I recently experimented with making some. I used plastic pellet fill and filled them about 75%, so not really Russian balls but the same idea. I sealed them by basically welding them using a thin strip of plastic cut from another ball and a soldering iron. The result is permanent, air tight and almost invisible.
I was toying with the idea of welding them on, that seems to be the most common way, though this silicone seems to be holing up pretty well so far after running it under water etc...We'll see how it ends up, I guess the silicone isn't as permanent so there is the option (with a bit of effort) to re-weight/color them.
Might do 1 set welded and 1 set filled and see the diff.
Little Paul - - Parent #
I believe Absolute as a trademark is currently owned by Beard isn't it? Eg https://www.beardjuggling.co.uk/product/cosmetic-seconds-absolute-4-panel-juggling-ball-70g
Aye, I shan't be using that name, too much already around it, will think of something further down the road I guess, first thing is to get a working set of these bad boys going.
I think you used the right technique, after some stress testing the silicone plug failed and fell into the ball. I'm going to try soldering a tiny strip into the hole (which is only 4mm in diameter to start with) then using some fine grained sand paper to smooth it out.
I used the soldering iron to smooth it out as much as I could, but sandpaper may help to finish it off.
Yeah I sanded them. . . As it turns out Polypropylene is too stiff, the balls split on a 9 throw hitting the ground. . . .Back to the drawing board I guess, Low Density Polyurethane is the next material to try.
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