shock absorbing Basketball solid timber

The Beginning Idea

Got this crazy thought while watching a basketball game last week. What if we made a basketball from solid timber? But wood ain’t forgiving like rubber, right? So I started wondering: can we add shock absorption without killing the bounce? Dragged out my toolbox – this ain’t gonna be easy.

Grabbing Materials

First I chopped up an oak plank I had lying around. Thick stuff – like two inches. Measured and sawed six identical pentagon shapes. Sounds simple? Took three tries ’cause my hands kept shaking. Then sanded each piece rough as sandpaper ’til my garage looked like a sawdust bomb went off.

Trial Run Failures:

First assembly used plain wood glue – ball exploded first time I bounced it.
Tried adding metal springs inside – made the thing weigh like a cannonball.
Cut grooves for rubber bands – bands snapped after ten dribbles.

The Shock Absorption Breakthrough

Stumbled upon motorcycle shock pads at Junkyard Joe’s. Cut ’em into tiny wedge shapes with my rusty utility knife. Glued these rubber wedges between the oak pentagons like meat in a sandwich. Looked ugly as sin but held together when I dropped it from my roof. Got excited here – bounced it on concrete. Worked okay but bounced sideways sometimes. What a headache.

Final Tinkering

Sanded the whole thing again ’til my arms felt like noodles. Poured epoxy resin into the cracks to seal it tight. While wet, wrapped two deflated bike tire tubes around it with duct tape. After the epoxy dried, cut away the tires. Now we got timber coated in rubber without wrecking the shape. Bounced it in my driveway until midnight like an absolute lunatic. Still alive today so I guess it’s safe?

Finished Mess

This Frankenstein ball now lives in my shed. Heavy like carrying a brick but oh man – when you bounce it! Thuddy woody smack then this soft cushiony recoil. Does it shoot hoops? Aw hell no. Rolls sideways like a drunk raccoon. But the shock absorption? Solid. Wood vibrates less than store-bought balls. Worth the effort? Probably not. But damn it was fun to try.