workinforwood
Member
I bought 3 bowling balls really cheap at a garage sale yesterday. This morning I decided to cut them in half. It's going fine until I get near the center, then the saw won't move forward anymore, not a cheap blade, not a cheap saw! It's like there's metal in the middle, it's just tossing sparks, so I start rotating ball until I saw all around whatever it won't cut. I grabbed a couple chisels, pounded them in and pry ball apart to reveal what is in the middle. It appears to be a ceramic ball. My blade is very nice and trashed, and cutting these balls is making so much smoke you can't breath with a mask on or off and the doors open. They don't look anything like the pictures that Bruce was showing of his balls, uh bowling balls that is! One is blue the other two this funky green pearl. Seems to be full of epoxy inside. The second ball I did not cut in half, I cut it off to one side, so I don't know if this ceramic thing is in it too. I can't seem to get that ceramic thing to come out, I've been pounding on it with a small sledge. These do not cut well at all, although my now dull blade is likely half the problem, since the piece I have that's small enough to enter the table saw cuts just fine. What is in these? Any suggestions how to get that ceramic out? Is that stuff inside any good for anything? I noticed a blank that I did cut that has a lot of the inside stuff, if I throw it on the floor, the inside breaks loose from the outside. OH...think if I make a pen that I'll need to paint the tubes?
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