Slam ball - Page 3

Allan Fisher · 03-03-2006, 09:40 AM

Yes, mercury is very dangerous stuff. See e.g. http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/m1599.htm. Not recommended for weightlifting despite its appealing density.

Mark Roughton · 03-03-2006, 02:10 PM

I looked all over for a small funnel - finally found a "perfume funnel" at The Container Store for 64 cents. It's perfect. (They were hiding on a bottom shelf in the kitchen section, near the little spice bottles.) Heh. If only they knew what I was REALLY using it for.

Mark Roughton · 03-07-2006, 03:57 PM

Finished my second ball this weekend, a mini-basketball which weighs in at 12.5 pounds. Took about 3-1/2 hours to fill it, approximately 1/2 tablespoon at a time. Seriously. After a while it gets to be pretty zen-like as you're watching the sand disappear down the little hole. (I screened my sand first to get the big chunks out, which saved a whole lot of frustration over my first attempt.)

A couple notes: Make the hole as small as possible. A tiny slice in the cover works a lot better than drilling a hole, because you're not removing any material. The ball cover will actually stretch around the needle for the string-plug, so the hole doesn't need to be any bigger than the funnel tube. (My string-plug sticks out just a little bit, but that was easily smoothed over with the Shoe Goo. Which, BTW, works really great.)

Pierre's the man! Thanks for publishing those instructions!

Tim Clavette · 03-08-2006, 07:44 PM

Coach Burgener - Have you noticed any correlation in d-ball weight versus bar weight? For example between an athlete that can C/P a 120# d-ball for 5 reps versus one that uses the 90# for 5 reps, would their bar weights differ by ~25% as well? Also generally, how much heavier does it correlate to with the bar?

Eugene R. Allen · 03-08-2006, 10:07 PM

I got one of my basket balls up to about 22 pounds or so...a guess by feel and comparison as my garage scale is an area weapon. I sealed the two holes with a tire patch plug and no shoe goo or patches and it seems to be holding up just fine.

I bellyached about my non-fixable D-balls a bit ago and decided to give the flat repair kit a try. In the ball with a couple small tears I used on plug and then gooped shoe goo over the top of it, covered it with a patch and then taped the patch down tight. After I let it sit over night on the patch I pulled the tape off and the patch came with it. The shoe goo stayed though and I have been slamming it with gusto and no leaks.

Another ball had a 3 inch slice in it around the plug. I jammed 4 of those flat tire things into the slot bent them over to fill the depression made by jamming them in the cut, filled the gap and surrounding area with shoe goo, covered it with a sandwich bag, taped it down tight, flipped it over on the kitchen counter and let it sit. I did something outside and when I came back in I noticed the house smelled like a hat factory (mad as a hatter comes to mind) and I figured I ought not leave the ball/shoe goo set up in the house and put it out in the gym. The gym got a bit stinky but that cleared out when I opened the big doors for a group workout. That ball too is intact...so far.

Sam Cannons · 03-08-2006, 10:26 PM

Using a standard size basketball i got it up to 33lbs using sand and have been throwing around for a few weeks now without any signs of breakage.

Eugene R. Allen · 03-09-2006, 10:12 AM

Sam - 33 pounds? How'd you get it so heavy? I used silica sand and filled it completely and mine is 10 pounds lighter than yours. What's your secret?

Joseph Hart · 03-09-2006, 11:37 AM

I just had a thought. That is why I am putting here for posterity. What if you cut a slit to fill the ball. Took a vulcanized rubber patch with glue on it. Apply a peice (same shape as patch) of wood or metal on the non sticky side and a string attched to the wood/metal. Run the string through the patch. Now the patch will lay on the support that hangs by the string. Put it all through the slit and use the string and brace to seat the sticky side of the patch on the inside. Cut the string off and place another patch on the outside of the ball. Roll the ball onto the patch so the weight contiinues to hold the patches until they set up. On filling..what if you ran a long straw or tube down through your funnel to vent the ball. Pull it all out when done. I think I have seen funnels that have a vent tube integrated into it. Just a thought.

Joe

03-09-2006, 11:53 AM

Joseph, that's basically how I made mine a couple years ago, except no string. I cut three sides of a square hole about an inch across, filled it with sand. Then I stuffed into the hole, a rubber patch larger than the hole, blew away as much of the sand off of the surface of the patch as possible and squirted shoe goo into the opening all over the patch. Then I rolled it over to hold it all together until the glue set. It came out to about 27lbs on my bathroom scale. Plain old river sand.
It's lasted a couple years of abuse and sitting in the woods, but I don't expect it to last too much longer.
Never did try to pressurize it.

Roger Smith · 03-09-2006, 02:30 PM

I've been wondering if there is a difference in the weight of various types of sand? I have 2 I made a long time ago, with a larger hole method. Anyway, weighted with a very accurate digital postal scale, one weighs 26 and one 30. The nearly identical full wise. I'm not sure the sand type, but not silca, as I didn't know about it at the time. There is a bit of a difference in playground sand and the type they put in those bags to weigh down cars/trucks in the winter. The latter being rockier. It is possible I used a different type in each. It's also possible silca is lighter?

(Message edited by rogersmith on March 09, 2006)

03-09-2006, 11:53 AM	#29
Don Woodson Profile: Posts: n/a	Joseph, that's basically how I made mine a couple years ago, except no string. I cut three sides of a square hole about an inch across, filled it with sand. Then I stuffed into the hole, a rubber patch larger than the hole, blew away as much of the sand off of the surface of the patch as possible and squirted shoe goo into the opening all over the patch. Then I rolled it over to hold it all together until the glue set. It came out to about 27lbs on my bathroom scale. Plain old river sand. It's lasted a couple years of abuse and sitting in the woods, but I don't expect it to last too much longer. Never did try to pressurize it.
Don Woodson Profile: Posts: n/a

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03-03-2006, 09:40 AM	#21
Allan Fisher Member Profile: Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 63	Yes, mercury is very dangerous stuff. See e.g. http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/m1599.htm. Not recommended for weightlifting despite its appealing density.

03-03-2006, 02:10 PM	#22
Mark Roughton Member Profile: Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Round Rock TX Posts: 128	I looked all over for a small funnel - finally found a "perfume funnel" at The Container Store for 64 cents. It's perfect. (They were hiding on a bottom shelf in the kitchen section, near the little spice bottles.) Heh. If only they knew what I was REALLY using it for.

03-07-2006, 03:57 PM	#23
Mark Roughton Member Profile: Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Round Rock TX Posts: 128	Finished my second ball this weekend, a mini-basketball which weighs in at 12.5 pounds. Took about 3-1/2 hours to fill it, approximately 1/2 tablespoon at a time. Seriously. After a while it gets to be pretty zen-like as you're watching the sand disappear down the little hole. (I screened my sand first to get the big chunks out, which saved a whole lot of frustration over my first attempt.) A couple notes: Make the hole as small as possible. A tiny slice in the cover works a lot better than drilling a hole, because you're not removing any material. The ball cover will actually stretch around the needle for the string-plug, so the hole doesn't need to be any bigger than the funnel tube. (My string-plug sticks out just a little bit, but that was easily smoothed over with the Shoe Goo. Which, BTW, works really great.) Pierre's the man! Thanks for publishing those instructions!

03-08-2006, 07:44 PM	#24
Tim Clavette Member Profile: Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Madison WI Posts: 14	Coach Burgener - Have you noticed any correlation in d-ball weight versus bar weight? For example between an athlete that can C/P a 120# d-ball for 5 reps versus one that uses the 90# for 5 reps, would their bar weights differ by ~25% as well? Also generally, how much heavier does it correlate to with the bar?

03-08-2006, 10:07 PM	#25
Eugene R. Allen Affiliate Profile: Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Tacoma Washington Posts: 1,713	I got one of my basket balls up to about 22 pounds or so...a guess by feel and comparison as my garage scale is an area weapon. I sealed the two holes with a tire patch plug and no shoe goo or patches and it seems to be holding up just fine. I bellyached about my non-fixable D-balls a bit ago and decided to give the flat repair kit a try. In the ball with a couple small tears I used on plug and then gooped shoe goo over the top of it, covered it with a patch and then taped the patch down tight. After I let it sit over night on the patch I pulled the tape off and the patch came with it. The shoe goo stayed though and I have been slamming it with gusto and no leaks. Another ball had a 3 inch slice in it around the plug. I jammed 4 of those flat tire things into the slot bent them over to fill the depression made by jamming them in the cut, filled the gap and surrounding area with shoe goo, covered it with a sandwich bag, taped it down tight, flipped it over on the kitchen counter and let it sit. I did something outside and when I came back in I noticed the house smelled like a hat factory (mad as a hatter comes to mind) and I figured I ought not leave the ball/shoe goo set up in the house and put it out in the gym. The gym got a bit stinky but that cleared out when I opened the big doors for a group workout. That ball too is intact...so far.

03-08-2006, 10:26 PM	#26
Sam Cannons Member Profile: Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Cairns Queensland Posts: 123	Using a standard size basketball i got it up to 33lbs using sand and have been throwing around for a few weeks now without any signs of breakage.

03-09-2006, 10:12 AM	#27
Eugene R. Allen Affiliate Profile: Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Tacoma Washington Posts: 1,713	Sam - 33 pounds? How'd you get it so heavy? I used silica sand and filled it completely and mine is 10 pounds lighter than yours. What's your secret?

03-09-2006, 11:37 AM	#28
Joseph Hart Member Profile: Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lino Lakes MN Posts: 281	I just had a thought. That is why I am putting here for posterity. What if you cut a slit to fill the ball. Took a vulcanized rubber patch with glue on it. Apply a peice (same shape as patch) of wood or metal on the non sticky side and a string attched to the wood/metal. Run the string through the patch. Now the patch will lay on the support that hangs by the string. Put it all through the slit and use the string and brace to seat the sticky side of the patch on the inside. Cut the string off and place another patch on the outside of the ball. Roll the ball onto the patch so the weight contiinues to hold the patches until they set up. On filling..what if you ran a long straw or tube down through your funnel to vent the ball. Pull it all out when done. I think I have seen funnels that have a vent tube integrated into it. Just a thought. Joe

03-09-2006, 02:30 PM	#30
Roger Smith Member Profile: Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Calgary AB Posts: 388	I've been wondering if there is a difference in the weight of various types of sand? I have 2 I made a long time ago, with a larger hole method. Anyway, weighted with a very accurate digital postal scale, one weighs 26 and one 30. The nearly identical full wise. I'm not sure the sand type, but not silca, as I didn't know about it at the time. There is a bit of a difference in playground sand and the type they put in those bags to weigh down cars/trucks in the winter. The latter being rockier. It is possible I used a different type in each. It's also possible silca is lighter? (Message edited by rogersmith on March 09, 2006)