Three Strikes ~ Bowling Ball Pens

[SteveRoberts]

This material is new to me. I generally don't like drilling or sawing round blanks and this has done nothing to change my mind. The other "joy" of this stuff is that it ribbons way, way too well. I had one that I stretched out to a few yards before it broke. Loves to wrap the mandrel, bushings and the turner!

But they are shiny, ostensibly tough and I am sure someone will want them, all in Barons, the black and red in satin nickle, the purple in upgrade gold.

Ooops.. three strikes in bowling is a turkey.. hope that isn't an omen.

 

[DWK5150]

All look really good. I am yet to try bowling ball material yet but I do want to.

 

[pete00]

looks good....ive never tried it either

 

[Charles]

They look great! Did you have troouble getting all the fine scratches out? I have found it takes a lot of elbow grease and scratch remover to get the shine back. What type of finish did you use and please address the scratch comment. How did you get your finish so nice. Thanks
Again very nice looking!!

 

[TheDudeTim]

Very Nice Pens!

My Brother and I just started playing with Bowling Ball blanks.. Went to the local Pro-Shop and picked up several "Used" Bowling Balls for 5bucks a piece. We than cut them up using a tile saw and removed the centers using a SawZall.

Out of all the Bowling Balls that I have cut up, only one has had enough material to work with. (It was an older ball, probabaly about 20+ years old)

Im thinking about laminating the thinner material together in order to have something to turn, but I'd like to skip this step in the future.

So my question is... What kind of Bowling Balls are best for cutting up and making into pens?

 

[BigRob777]

Nice work. I especially like the bottom pen, but that red one has some real fire.
Rob

 

[jtate]

www.pocwoodworking.com

Pens Of Color has bowling ball blanks already cut for those of us with a fear of losing our fingers and those of us without proper equipment.

$39.99 for 10 asstd colors but I bet they'd sell them individually too.

They also have the best priced SlimLines that I've found for purchasing the small quantities I buy.


Julia

 

[tseger]

I purchased some red, white, and blue bowling ball blanks from POC along with some flag clips for patriotic pens. That was the sweetest turning stuff that I have ever turned.

 

[TheDudeTim]

I'm not really into purchasing pre-made blanks. I always cut my own. (One of the benifits of living close to a saw-mill [] ) That's why I'm searching for the "Perfect" Bowling Ball to make blanks from...

 

[OSCAR15]

You think this "ribbons"? You should try Water Buffalo Horn....Not only RIBBONS, but stinks when you turn it...End result is terrific though, so I use a lot of it...OSCAR

 

[SteveRoberts]

I have turned horn, yes it smells not quite as bad as antler or satin wood which smells just like a dirty PLASTIC diaper... and I don't use it because it has cracked on me again and again. (not to start that talk again).

 

[its_virgil]

I've cut up bowling balls and all of the ones I've cut had abvout 1/2" thick "good" stuff and most of the center was ugly brown or gray concrete like filler. I then had to cut strips and laminate them to get thick enough parts to turn. I will not be cutting up any more bowling balls. Lots of trouble, hassel, work, time, dust, plus there is lots of other nice stuff to turn without endangering life and limb to cut up a bowling ball to get a not so impressive blank. This is just my opinion...its okay to disagree.
Do a good turn daily!
Donm

Originally posted by TheDudeTim
<br />I'm not really into purchasing pre-made blanks. I always cut my own. (One of the benifits of living close to a saw-mill [] ) That's why I'm searching for the "Perfect" Bowling Ball to make blanks from...

 

[TheDudeTim]

Virgil,

Thanks for the advice.

I can see how it is dangerous to cut up a bowling ball. The first one we cut up we used on the Band Saw.. That was difficult at best.

The next one and everyone after that we decided to score it with the SallZall and then split the ball using a log splitter and hammer. Once the ball was in two, we just put it on the tile saw and started cutting 2 inch strips. It's pretty safe, and takes about an hour per ball.

I'll agree that some of the blanks are not very impressive. But the few that have been turned have a very nice swirl pattern to them (Purple and orange.. Then after about 2 weeks, a white swirl appears.. very odd). The weird thing about these pens, is that they finish so nicely, they end up squeeking in your hand.. (again, very odd)

The bad part of it all is that my brother, father, and I have opened up a kind of pandora's box. We've shown off these pens and given a few away as gifts, and now we can't stop people for asking for more!

When my photo account gets setup, I'll get some pictures of our creations and post them to the site...

Dude.

 

[its_virgil]

Dude,
I agree the pens made from the more swirly colored bowling balls are really nice. I've decided it (the cutting) just isn't for me. There is a turorial in the articles section that shows how to cut them safely. Check it out:
http://www.penturners.org/content/CuttingBowlingBalls.pdf

Have fun and be safe. Looking forward to your pictures.do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[TheDudeTim]

Don,

Thanks for the article. I would have never thought of straightening the blanks once they were cut! That's a neat trick and will help me laminate the material that I have! And the tips about the different types of balls? Wow. I'll avoid the urethane for sure!

Using the band saw scares me when cutting up bowling balls. It can catch the ball and start spinning it. That's not good at all! I now avoid using the band saw altogether when cutting up bowling balls.

 

[DocStram]

I just turned a few bowling ball blanks as well. I bought the blanks from PSI. When I first called Woodturningz to order them I was sort of discouraged. They said that bowling ball blanks were difficult to get a shine on. I found that not to be the case at all. They polished right up and look terrific.
They're great to turn .. plus you get lots of material to work with for larger pens. I need to call Ryan and let him know about the great results I had.

 

[DocStram]

One more thing about the bowling ball blanks ...... when I first got mine in the mail I was a little worried about the colors of the blanks. The "Crimson Red" looked kind of plain and boring. But once that thing starts to get polished .... jump back! You're gonna be very surprised at how beautiful it turns out. Just take a look up there at Steve's!

 

[Jim in Oakville]

Very Nice work with the bowling ball blanks. The pens look great!

I have turned alot of BB and I have found it very sensitive to scratches when final finishing, also the issue with the air pin holes....how are you dealing with the air holes please...

Thanks![]

 

[jdavis]

looking good have yet to try bowling ball material