Those whom I owe freebies should have PM’s from me.
I hope no one takes offense, but I’m only copping to the minimum number I originally mentioned, as I have to sell off the rest to make up for what I’ve sunk into this. I can’t imagine anyone minds, but if you really have a problem with it let me know and we’ll work it out.
I dont know how well these would work, they might be too hard to drill or too heavy to use, but I am just throwing it out there since it seems interesting.
Out of these I think they best two would be either one of the Chlorite in Quartz or one of the Rose Quartz ones.
They should work okay. The bits I use are rated for glass or marble. So far as weight…I have no idea there. 
I seem to have people confused. I have an eBay store I started up, and I’ve put it in my sig now. You don’t have to PM me to buy anything unless you want to commission a specific ball, or pre-order something to get it done before other stuff I have going on, otherwise whatever I have available for sale I put there. I also have a thread going in the Trading Outlet, and I have additional pictures of stuff that I’ve put up for sale over there too.
Just felt the need to clarify. This thread is for discussion the technicalities of doing the balls, or finding/trying new materials and methods. The trading outlet thread is for buying/selling stuff, and I have my Flickr pages where you can look at everything I’ve done to date. I have the eBay store to go buy stuff at.
Would you happen to have the weight of the glass ball tops? I see the site I posted before has the weight of each of spheres and I was curious to see how heavy they are in comparison to the glass ones you are making. I assume the stone ones would be heavier but I wonder by how much. The reason is that when I get around to making my next stick I think one of the blue spheres they have would look pretty cool on a stick. I know its 30mm compared to the normal 35mm, but it should be good enough.
http://www.mysticgemcreations.com/index.php?stock=SDSPH30_033&item=Item&
It would probably be a month or two before I know if I would want to have a top like that made, but as long as the weight is close to that of the glass ones then I will keep this in mind for later.
NP. I could weight it. We own one of those fancy digital scales for baking, but for the life of me I can’t find it. I’ll have to wait until my wife comes up. Also, I’ve added more pics to flickr, and adding more balls to the store.
http://www.mysticgemcreations.com/ebay/sdsph30_033a.jpg
Dang, that is pretty awesome looking. Too bad they don’t have it 35mm. Going smaller than 35mm is awfully tiny. I’d be looking for something cheaper that’s 30mm to play with first before investing in that. I’ll be more than happy to try converting it into a ball top for ya, but that’s just me.
I’m back amongst the living. I’ve updated the “buy” thread with what’s been going on with me. I can’t do anything that requires water-drilling until the temperatures come up a bit. I am however looking for new materials to try. Please try to keep it close to 35mm. There’s a post earlier in this thread for a 30mm stone ball. If someone has a cheaper 30mm material for me to test on, please post a link in-thread, as those would be awesome…albeit pricey.
Glad to see you back in action looking forward to your product!
I need to hit you up for an aluminum case, if you make them for other people. That thing looks awesome, and there’s an anodizing shop nearby - could make a mag-lite stick with a glass top. 
So - I was informed on monday that as of Friday I’ll be out of a job. 
I have another lead, but that would start up June 1. Presuming I have another job to look forward to, sounds like I could go on a ball-making binge here shortly. I’m looking for suggestions on how to do these.
I posted up an image of the jig I use to make these a while back. I need to refine that design, mainly because the subject has to be constantly flushed with fresh, cool water to keep from overheating, and I need something that’s going to hold the ball perfectly square to the bit throughout the drilling process.
I thought about going back to the bit manufacturer and having them make me a jig mandrill that is hollow and delivers water to the drill site, but those are $300+ PER BIT. I’ve got to be able to do better than that. :\
So here’s the process as it is:
Take two pieces of composite deck board, screw them together. Take a drill bit, run a hole down the middle of them. Unscrew the pieces. Take a forstner bit, drill into both pieces using the pilot hole, going into each side only far enough to encase the ball. Put the ball inside, close it up.
Widen the pilot hole on one piece enough to get the glass bit through. We’re done.
Now my options for flushing it with water are either to keep a constant stream of water over the top (what I do now with a water bottle), or keep the work submersed. I’d thought about somehow attaching the jig to a loaf pan, but I can’t find loaf pans the right size for less than $10, plus I need some way to hold the thing steady on the drill press, and my drill vice won’t hold a loaf pan steady.
Thoughts?
I’d definitely be interested in buying your balls
Get your hands on a small submersible pump. Like for the desktop waterfalls. Have a tank under the drill press table with the pump. Run a tube from the pump to the drill jig and turn on the pump. Now you have a recirculating cooling system. Just make sure you wax the drill press table or it will eventually get rusted. You can use an automotive wax that should do the trick.
TTFN
Kaytrim
HEY - awesome idea on the pump. As it turns out I just bought a utility pump for my hot tub to drain it (since using the built-in drain took FOREVER), and this thing is basically a small waterbed pump. That might be a bit overkill, but I can certainly try. As for the drill press table, I actually painted it with bedliner last summer to keep it from rusting. The only trick is catching all of the water coming off the drill to recirc. I have a rather cheap drill press. Prehaps a small plastic storage bin? Set the drill press inside that, then have a drain hole in the bin that drains into a water bucket…
That might just work. I have to keep working until friday, but I’ll look around over the next few days, see what I can find.
Forgive me, if this sounds stupid, but would you really want to use water? Wouldn’t some other type of lubricant be better since the material your drilling is heating up so quickly and the water will be in essence “flash cooling” it, ie putting more stress on the material. Isn’t there a higher likelihood that it will crack?
You can regulate the water flow with a small clamp. They sell the perfect clamps where you find the landscaping ponds in your local plant centers. you could also use a small pond pump if you can’t find your other pump. The clamp is a small thumb screw compressing two plates together. With a smaller opening in the tube less water comes out the other end.
TTFN
Kaytrim
Hit up Google and give me a better solution. 
Seriously, I spent a good chunk of last summer making this solution work, and I’m pretty sure water is the right coolant for the job.
WD 40
I would absolutely LOVE an aluminum ball top for my custom VSHG.
word, same.
Aluminum is tricky, and I lack the right tools to do it - for now.
You have to machine a hole into the ball, and use of all things, a lathe to put the hole in centered. Instead of a stick of wood, you set the ball in one side, and then you bring a special drill bit from the other side. On that one you use an oil as a lubricant.
I don’t have a lathe though. Maybe one of these guys with a wood shop would like to try that one.