I've come to notice that a whole lot more people than I thought are interested in Russian balls. Yes, it's easy to make them on your own and it's really cheap.

I don't know whether I should recommend beginners to use them since they have a unique wobbly move when thrown. But, as you get used to them, your throws and patterns will become stable. Some jugglers say that high throws and catches are much easier with these balls than it is with beanbags.

There's a lot more to talk about regarding what's good and bad about the balls, how to seal them up, how much it should be filled, what type of ball to start with and where to buy them etc ...

Anyways, here's some pictures to show you how to make them by yourself.

Happy juggling! -- Ken Nishimura(2005.12.07)

Prepare balls. I bought a hundred of them at Toysrus for about $20us. They are for children as you can see.

Make a cut with a knife.

I made this big hole, but now, after some months of using them, I recommend that you make the hole as small as possible.

It's easy to pour the sand through a big hole like this, but this will result in a sand shower when you are doing a shower, if that makes any sense. Keep the hole small!

Use some sand or bird seeds to fill the balls. Too fine the sand, it may escape from the ball. Don't use pebbles, they make a lot of noise.

Use the scale. As you get used to it, you will know how much sand weighs 1 gram. I recommend somewhere between 80-120 grams. Try out different weights. That's what DIY is all about.

Seal it with tape. Tape it around the ball. That will make them more durable. But don't expect that you can use them more than half a year. Sooner or later, you will step on it and rupture it.

This time, I filled it up this much. Maybe 30% ?? Really easy to stall the ball on my foot.

This pink ball is the one I'd been using. 90 grams. It's filled more than half way up and has less Russian-like effect.

This is the end of a Russian ball. I used it for about four months. Not very durable, but it should be okay, considering the price.

And the color of the ball does really change as you use it.