Glass shop called. They said the ball shatters when the machine runs. Eep!
Okay…I’ve come across drill bits that are designed to drill into marbles (presumably for use in board games) that are self-centering. Perhaps if I can find one of those with a diamond tip, and use a drill press…? Hmmm. Much to think on. I’m going to have a chat with the glass people later today. My first try shattered too, but that was because I didn’t have lubrication/coolant. Perhaps they made the same mistake?
The only problem that I see with the hole saw set you linked is that they are hole saws and not drill bits. They are ment to make a hole by drilling all the way through something. If you only go part way through then it wont core out the section you drilled.
Oddly, those bits I linked to are core bits. Weird naming convention. At any rate, the glass shop is giving it another go. Haven’t heard from them yet. I ought to take a picture of the rig I have going right now. I do my own homebrew cider and meads, so I have a bottling bucket (5 gallon) rigged up with it’s spigot over my vice. I then have another 5 gallon bucket sitting under it. I have rubberized grips on the vice to keep from scratching up the balls. I can run for about a half hour before the top bucket completely drains into the bottom one.
The problem is that my arms are killing me by the time I’m done. I really need a drill press.
I’ll put up more info tomorrow. With any luck at all the glass shop can get this done. Otherwise it’s onto diamond-tip bits. I’m using a carbide glass bit right now, and the tapered head is what’s screwing me up I think.
I have got a drill press and I am sure I could come up with some sort of rig to lubricate it. The problem is that I dont have the right drill bits.
I noticed that the solid drill bits I linked to werent the rigth size and since I posted that I have been searching for the right size, but havent been able to find 5/16" in anything but a hole saw.
So my only thought of how to possibly make the right size whole would be to drill a 1/4" whole with the solid bit and then carve the hole larger with the 5/16" hole saw. I am not sure how the glass would hold up to this, but I am certain it would break if you used the 5/16" hole saw first. I would think that using the hole saw first and then coring it with a 1/4" bit would put too much strain on the glass column.
I wonder if I should pick up a set of bits and give it a try myself. I certainly have the free time for it right now.
But hopefully the glass shop can get it done. That would be the easiest way to go.
Actually, I have a 5/16" carbide glass/stone bit that I’ve been using. Seems to work okay, but it’s SLOW. That would at least get you started. Perhaps if you have a drill press, you could use the 1/4", then widen with a 5/16" carbide? I got mine from home depot.
I also agree with the glass shop. I never imagined it would be THIS hard to drill a freaking hole.
Who wants to volunteer to do this into cubic zirconia?
With this you could embed objects, such a rose, like someone mentioned earlier. And I am sure it would be easier to drill a hole in than the glass.
The only problem with this would be how to go about making the mold. If you wanted to embed something you would have to make it a two part mold so you partially embed the object before putting the top part of the mold on. Then you would have to add the rest of the resin through a hold in the top and hope that everything comes out nice without any air bubbles and such.
I have tried searching for a spherical mold and the closest thing I came up with was a dome which wasnt anything near the right size. So if some one has a nice way to make a mold that would work, you may want to give it a try.
Making a mold is simple. Give me some time to absorb. In the meantime, I’ll check back with the glass shop in the morning. Also, if anyone wants something OTHER than a glass ball, speak up! I was looking into hitting a gaming shop for some 1D6/1D20 dice as well, and I’m going to mutilate a Happ battop this weekend.
I played a little bit with the ball resting on the stick, not screwed down. Yes, it is a little heavier, but understand that I grew up on Happ Ultimates. I actually like the feel a bit better than the plastic.
I pulled out one of my ancient Happ batts. It’s blue. I need a new hacksaw blade though, my blade is in sad shape. I’ll do that when I go out shopping here in a bit. There’s a tabletop gaming shop on the same road, so I’ll hit that up too.
Huh, learned something today. The Happ bats have the steel rod going clear up into the bat. There’s bad and good news to this. The bad news is that it makes it a pain to convert a Happ bat to go onto a Sanwa/Seimitsu stick. The good news is that it make it VERY feasible to get a die wrench for $20, and a 6mm die nut and die-cut 6mm threads into a Happ shaft, allowing you to use Sanwa/Seimitsu tops. I can go pick up a die wrench locally, but a metric die-nut I would have to special order. Just FYI.
That said, I think I have this licked. If someone could find me a blunt-tipped diamond bit I’m golden. I picked up a diamon core bit here, and it works great. So…yeah. If anyone wants to do some Googling for me to find a 5/16" blunt diamond bit and link it here I would really appreciate it.
While I’m working out the kinks, this is something I did yesterday:
You won’t have to worry about these coming unscrewed too easily. In fact, you might want to use a pair of pliers with a towel wrapped around the top to put them on and take them off, as the threads taper slightly when inserted.
I may go ahead and sell this one if anyone wants it, otherwise I’ll just add it to the collection.
Update: Whoa…talk about side-benefits!
I love how tactile this thing is as a top! The grip is absolutely superb, perfect for precision motions if you use a finger-tip grip. Might be better for 3D-fighter players where there are a lot of tap-motions, but even doing SRK motions or your typical KOF SDM motion…I love it. I may go with one of these for my personal stick!
