A Tinners Porch - Making a sphere... fogcrawler - Apr 15, 2008 - 02:48 AM Post subject: Making a sphere...
Hey guys,
I'm looking for literature for making a ball... Not one with parts running horizontal like bands.
The ball I need to make has just one pattern for all 24 pieces... They run from pole to pole, kinda like peel on an orange wedge.
I've found two books on the horizontal band method and one for forming s copper float ball out of two pieces, but nothing for what I'm after.
The layout seems simple enough to me...
1. Multiply the dia. by pi to get the circumference and divide that by 24 to get the widest part of the pattern, like at the equator.
2. Divide the circumference by 2 to get the stretch out for pole to pole.
3. Add for seams and cut out 24 identical pieces.
I can also determine the diameter at given horizontal postions and repete step one to "fair" my curve at the pattern's edge.
I'm sure I'm probably leaving an important step out too...
Any body know of any articles that show the layout process for a sphere in this manner?fogcrawler - Apr 15, 2008 - 07:07 AM Post subject:
Never mind...
I found it in the Library...
The Metal Worker Pattern Book (1881)
By A.O.Kettridge
Part 5
Looks very easy to layout, but appears to be a mutha to fabricate. tintailoruk - May 17, 2008 - 05:16 PM Post subject:
a bit late to advise , be patient and be prepared to sit at a blocking table for several hours, using an oval mallet (wood), start from centre indenting each segmant, this forming 2 dimensional curves required for the sphere, have a template handy (radius of sphere segment) after the blocking, depending on material used planish or dress, a copper sphere looks the bees knees when finished and polished, especially if you silver solder total joints using the dovetail joint method, very rewarding but you gotta have patiencemartyg - May 31, 2008 - 05:54 AM Post subject:
unless your going for a look or just wanting to figure it out you could almost learn to spin a ball as fast as you can layout cut and assemble a ball like your talking about.steve2 - Jun 07, 2008 - 03:37 PM Post subject:
Hey tintailoruk, how about explaining what you mean by "joints using the dovetail joint method". Perhaps I know it by a different name, but I just don't know what you are referring to.bordontn2 - Jun 09, 2008 - 03:22 AM Post subject:
steve2. ... I think that joint is also called a cramped joint..You would feather or thin each edge and then cut dove tails on one side of each piece ..Bend every other one slightly out or in .Insert the the uncut edge between the dove-tail cuts ..Hammer closed.
Solder ,then planish and file..That is really old school ! Actually it was brazed, not soldered. It was heated in a fire. Then the joint was sprinkled with "spelter". I think that must have been a mixture of borax and powdered brass or bronze???
bordontn2
