So here’s the thing: I had this old basketball that was totally flat and useless for playing. It’d been sitting in my garage corner for months gathering dust, right? And I’ve got this chunk of timber that used to be a doorstop before it split at one end. Got tired of tripping over both of them, so last Saturday I thought – why not glue these sad leftovers together into something useful?
Where I Started
First I fished out that dead basketball from under a pile of tools. Grabbed my heaviest scissors and started cutting – man, that rubber fought back! Had to use my kitchen shears in the end since normal scissors just slid off. Cut around the equator till I had two shallow rubber bowls, like a squashed Halloween pumpkin.
Then came the timber piece – sanded off all the rough splintery bits with coarse grit paper. Made sure it fit decently in the basketball bowl, but the curve was all wrong. Timber’s straight, basketball’s curved. Ugh. Had to slice away excess rubber with a box cutter until things settled together without wobbling.
The Messy Part
Brought out my strongest epoxy glue – the two-tube kind you mix yourself. Squeezed equal amounts onto cardboard and stirred with a popsicle stick. Slathered that goop thick around the timber’s bottom edge and pressed it hard into the rubber bowl. Used clamps to hold everything while I wiped off the ooze with paper towels. Big mistake – epoxy sticks to everything. Had glue on my fingers for two days!
While that dried overnight, I painted the top exposed wood with spare deck stain. Then remembered basketballs are meant to bounce, so I grabbed some pebbles from the driveway to weigh it down. Poured them into the cavity under the timber through the other half of the basketball – ended up using both halves as bookends.
Surprise Win
Next morning? Solid as a rock. Took off the clamps and couldn’t believe this actually worked. Plopped it down near my workbench and it’s perfect for:
- Hammering small things without scratching the table
- Holding loose screws while I’m fixing stuff
- Looking weirdly cool in a junk-chic way
My kid thought it was a modern art project at first. Got the whole thing done with crap I already had – didn’t spend a penny. Thought that basketball would sit there rotting forever and now it’s propping up other tools. Funny how garage trash becomes useful junk!
