How This Whole Ball Thing Started
Honestly, I just stared at a pile of soft maple timber scraps piled up in the garage, looking kinda sad next to the old flat basketball. Got that crazy “what if” itch – could I make something bouncy outta this wood? Yeah, probably dumb, but decided to just go for it. Grabbed my tape measure first thing.
Measured that dead rubber basketball all over – the squished diameter, how thick the rubber felt. Scribbled the numbers on a dusty notepad covered in coffee rings. Then, eyeballed the thickest chunk of maple I had. Marked it out with a fat marker, trying to match the ball’s size roughly. No fancy plans, just winging it.
Took that marked-up wood to the bandsaw. Hands sweating a bit ’cause cutting curves ain’t my best thing. Went real slow, trying to follow my shaky marker lines. Ended up with this lumpy wooden sphere, looking more like a potato than a ball. Sanding happened next, ages of it! Used coarse paper first, attacking the saw marks and sharp corners. Got covered in fine maple dust, sneezed like crazy. Switched to finer grits later, just trying to smooth the darn thing out, fingers aching.
Tools I Actually Used:
- My Crusty Tape Measure (hoping it was kinda accurate)
- Marker Pen (the one leaking a bit)
- Bandsaw (with prayers)
- Sandpaper (lots!)
- Cheap Brushes (for the gloop)
Then Came The Rubber Mess
Right, the wood core was as smooth as it was gonna get. Now for the hard part. Bought some liquid rubber compound stuff meant for recoating. Mixed it up per the messy instructions on the bottle, smelled terrible. Slapped that gooey mix all over the maple core with an old brush. First coat was ugly, uneven, and dripping everywhere like crazy. Left it alone to cure overnight. Woke up, touched it, still tacky. Sighed loudly.
Applied a second thick layer, trying extra hard to be even. Still looked like a toddler did it. Let it cure another whole day, just sitting there gathering dust. Poked it again later – finally seemed dry and slightly bouncy to the thumb press, kinda. Hopelessly impatient by then, took it outside to the driveway like a kid on Christmas.
Tossed it down hard. Didn’t bounce like the old NBA ball, obviously. More like a weak lob. Gave it a solid smack against the garage door. It thudded back, barely. Huh. Did it again. Yeah, okay, it bounced! Not high, but it definitely moved. Felt weirdly pleased. Is it as good as a bought one? No way. But my weird maple lump covered in homemade rubber goo bounced off my garage door. That felt weirdly awesome after all the sanding and mess.
