How would you cut a croquet ball in half?

Re: How would you cut a croquet ball in half?

Dustmaker Mike

Glue and clamp it in a V holder then run the RAS across it. Take a 2x4 cut it then cut a V shape into it. Press each V into the ball and use hot glue and a clamp to hold it. Center ball and cut with RAS

Re: How would you cut a croquet ball in half?

John K Jordan

>>>I do not have a band saw. I have a RAS and a table saw, but can't see safely using either to cut a croquet ball in half. This is an for an artsy-fartsy thing LOML came up with. So it HAS to get done somehow

Do you know anyone west of Chicago who has a bandsaw? I'd hate to try it another way except for maybe a hand saw.

It would have to be held securely and well supported or it could be a disaster. I'd probably make a jig/cradle from wood and tape, double-stick tape, or hot melt glue it to the cradle.

Do you have a lathe and expertise? Another thing would be to shape two hemispheres on the lathe and paint them like a croquet ball. Anyone who can turn a nice sphere should be able to do it. (Glue two blocks together with paper between, turn the sphere, then split apart.)

This place sells split wooden balls ready to paint but only up to 3", a bit shy. Will anyone measure, could you cheat a little? http://www.craftparts.com/balls-ball-knobs-wooden-split-balls-wooden-c-277_278.html

JKJ

Well I'm "west of Chicago"...

Mike Circo

and have a band saw. but I cannot see a way to do this even on a band saw without having the ball securely mounted in a jig/cradle. Any saw will immediately spin the ball once the blade bites.

I'll offer the band saw (14" Delta) but still can't imagiing cutting it without some sort of way to secure it.

Oh... What is the expected quality of finish on the cut side? Bandsawing it could leave it rough.

Also, what is it made of? Are we certain it's wood of some sort and doesn't have a hidden center of another material?

The hardest projects are those requested by wives.

Re: How would you cut a croquet ball in half?

Walter Ahlgrim

The idea of cutting a ball with your power saw is not worth the risk. Without a good way to hold the ball things could go very wrong in the blink of an eye.

I do like the idea of using a lathe. Turn a wooden cup for the head stock and use the tailstock to press the ball onto the cup. Use a thin parting tool to cut it 95% of the way thru and finish with a hand saw.

If you must use a power saw, I would put 4 screws thru 2 wooden blocks so the ball cannot spin when you are cutting.

How long could it take make 1 cut with a hand saw. If you need to do 50 then it would be worth the time to make the jigs.

Walta

Re: How would you cut a croquet ball in half?

Michael van pelt

on my tablesaw. build a jig to hold the ball firmly. I would route a circle large enough to hold the ball into two pieces of thick wood. sandwhich the ball. then cut just about to the center, filp the jig over then cut the otherside. remove ball from jig then use a hand saw to finish the cut. then sand flat

Freehand it through a table saw blade ...

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

No .. do NOT!

But, if you exclude a bandsaw just because you do not own one, then you may as well try the table saw freehand.

You have to do two things: hold the work securely, and cut it though the centre.

I like Mike's suggestion of centering the ball on V-blades, and glueing it in place (hot glue). I would also glue the v-blocks to a solid substrate that you can push securely along the fence. A few practice cuts with offcuts to ensure that you are centred.

Take up the offer of a bandsaw loan.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: Depth of Cut Issue

Hank Knight

What is the max depth of cut you can achieve with your RAS? All of these suggestions involve holding jigs that add to the vertical dimension of your work piece. I don't think you want to do this with more than one pass. I'd take Mike up on his offer to use his bandsaw.

Re: How would you cut a croquet ball in half?

JohnV

you could make 2 V shaped jigs the same height as the ball diameter. Fasten to opposing sides with 1 screw each side and hot melt glue . Sorta like a sled for a table saw. fasten the jig to the RAS table. take multiple small cuts. flip over if necessary. The screw holes can be filled easily.

Trivial task with a hand saw

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

A potential flying object with a power saw. A power saw's teeth will grab any circular cross section object and try to spin it. Don't underestimate the force that can be applied. There is a substantial lever arm acting from the ball circumference to its center. I turned a band saw blade into an art object attempting this kind of operation on a piece of 2" plastic pipe. I thought I could hold it and failed to.

Probably dangerous

Lee Schierer in McKean, PA

Any method other than a hand say is likely to be dangerous. Cutting round objects free hand with power tools usually results in the object spinning. Clamp in in a vise and use a hand saw.

Lee

Re: Trivial task with a hand saw

Sgian Dubh

I'm with you Bill. A simple job with a handsaw and a vise. All that's needed is a mark, achieved by creating a block the thickness of the ball's short radius (croquet balls not being round) on which to hold the point of a pencil as the block and pencil are spun around the ball cramped to the bench. Then put the ball in a bench vise with the marked line vertical and perpendicular to the vise's chops, and saw. Rotate the ball as required during the splitting. I'm thinking thirty or forty minutes maximum to achieve.

Convoluted dancing to come up with a holding device for a machine approach taking perhaps thirty minutes or more to make doesn't make any sense to me … unless there's maybe a need to cut in half many croquet balls, e.g., ten or twenty. Slainte.

Ax...one good strike...done...unless

Barry Irby

neatness counts.

Actually as much as I love my power tools, I am with Bill and Richard on this. Handsaw. Although, Richard must be speaking in metric minutes. 30 or 40 minutes? He must be Considering the entire process. Walking to the ship, turning on the lights, Cleaning up a bit, putting on the kettle, finding his balls and warming them up, sharpening the saw and the pencil, oiling the saw with camellia oil, marking and making the cut, drinking some tea, polishing the cut to 600 grit, cleaning up a bit, and turning out the lights. Now that I think about it, 40 minutes may not be enough. Even Imperial Minutes.

Re: How would you cut a croquet ball in half?

Philip Duffy

Turn it between two cup centers on a lathe! P.

Many times hand tools are not slowest

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

For many years my woodworking was done with, and limited by power machinery. Doing stuff with hand tools was "too slow" and I needed to get on with it, I thought.

My advice to someone starting a life time of woodworking would be to acquire some basic hand tools- saw(s), plane(s), chisel(s)- and the means of sharpening them, as early as practical. At first, force yourself to use these tools until some proficiency is acquired. Maybe take a class. The reward will be the discovery that for many operations a hand tool is quickest, safest, least prone to screw ups, and most accurate.

In the assembly of the frame and panel back described earlier the goal is to fit, to less than +/- 1/64", the length of the panel dividers within the external frame. That is a challenge with a chop saw or table saw. My son in law who had never done it before executed this task effortlessly with a plane and shooting board. This is but one example of many that cropped up in making a chest of drawers.

Re: Trivial task with a hand saw

CharlieL

I would try a hacksaw with a 14 TPI blade instead of a wood saw because the teeth are smaller which would mean less grab.

Re: How would you cut a croquet ball in half?

ebd

If you have access to a lathe - mount it between centers and part it off at the centerline.

Good one Barry

David Yoho

You had me laughing so hard there were tears. Read what you wrote again. I'm sure you meant shop and not ship but it was the locating and warming part that got me!!!!! One would certainly want a cup of tea after that.

Re: How would you cut a croquet ball in half?

TomD

I would just cut it with a hand saw, a ryoba has the advantage of a very thin cut, no limit in the geometry, and depending on the orientation you need to cut, it can do at least rip or CC, so as long as it isn't riff...

Next choice would be a bandsaw. I don't think a radial would be a problem except the kerf is so fat.

I have a lot of lathes, so that is another option, a vac chuck would be perfect.

Re: How would you cut a croquet ball in half?

CharlieL

Well Tim, what did you end up doing ?

Or a nap