Fig 1

Large Wooden Ball Pedestal

How do you create a large wooden ball without an enormous and costly lathe?

 

The wooden ball shown here is 36 inches in diameter and forms the pedestal of a large, 6-foot diameter, conference room table. The ball is made out of multiple segments of mahogany that are glued and clamped together in a series of rings as shown in Figure 1.

Fig 2

 

Once the glue has set and the clamps removed, we have a ball which consists of a series of rings that need to be rounded (Figure 2). There are basically two options to do this: the first is to mount the ball on an enormous lathe and turn it down to the desired shape. This approach requires a curricular template that must be followed. There is also the issue of continual grain direction changes that makes it difficult to get a smooth cut with a chisel. Once turned down to the desired shape the ball still requires sanding to give it a smooth finish. All in all, this is a difficult task requiring a very large and expensive lathe.

 

The second approach is to use a method similar to that used for creating circles using a rotating sanding disc.

 

We have accomplished this using a proprietary system that creates a perfectly spherical and smooth ball as shown above. Using this system we can create a ball of almost any size without the issues of chipping due to changing grain direction.

 

If you would like a ball similar to this for a table pedestal, or to display a special sculpture, please contact us.

 

 

Patent pending