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How to make Russian Balls
Ken Nishimura - 6th December, 2005.
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)
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Prepare balls. I bought a hundred of them at Toysrus for about $20us. They are for children as you can see. |
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Make a cut with a knife. |
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I made this big hole, but now, after some months of using them, I recommend that you make the hole as small as possible. |
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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! |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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This time, I filled it up this much. Maybe 30% ?? Really easy to stall the ball on my foot. |
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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. |
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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. |
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And the color of the ball does really change as you use it. |
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post a new message23rd Dec 2005
Tennis Balls
I couldn't find that kind of balls from local toy store. So I bought tennis balls and filled them with very small screvs so that the weight was 130 grams. 1cm long cut to the ball is enough for insertting the filling.
These are only russian balls, I've ever tried so I have nothing to compare. But, I think that they work very well.
These are only russian balls, I've ever tried so I have nothing to compare. But, I think that they work very well.
2nd Mar 2006
Re: Tennis Balls
For my club, I make water-filled tennis balls to hand out. You simply take 2 hypodermic needles (like what you would use on cows/horses). Insert one needle into the ball, to equalize the pressure, then inject the 2nd needle with the water in it. About 2-3 ounces works well. When you pull out the needles, the hole seals itself up. No glue, no tape. I've found 2 needles, 16-18 gauge, and 1 1/4 " long works best. Try it sometime. PS...go to a local tennis club, they'll give you free used tennis balls...which makes this option even better!
24th Jan 2006
Re: Tennis Balls
oh yah duh it would be nice if i gave you his website it is www.bestjuggler.com
24th Jan 2006
Re: Tennis Balls
hey i did the same things and the tennis ball thing is really good to start learnig to juggle with i just went and bought a bunch of the toy balls they also work great if you look on cjs website in a couple days here you can see how they look they are not that bad pretty cool i think i just had trouble with sealing them back up other then that its nice and i made small ones so they work for my small hands too
28th Dec 2005
Re: Tennis Balls
I am currently using tennis balls with sand in them, covered in balloons, they work alright, but I'd love to try some other kinds of balls. If I can find anything I'll give this article a try.
28th Dec 2005
Re: Tennis Balls
Look for something called PlastiDip, it's basically liquid rubbery plastic. It should work to seal the ball and to patch any holes, so long as you dont slop it on.
18th Aug 2006
Re: Tennis Balls
hello,
if you are still looking for plasti dip, we are athe German distributor of plasti dip.
You can contact us
info@benedict-messtechnik.de
best regards
m. benedict
if you are still looking for plasti dip, we are athe German distributor of plasti dip.
You can contact us
info@benedict-messtechnik.de
best regards
m. benedict
8th Apr 2006
Re: Tennis Balls
I kinda went a stage further....
go to a diving shop and purchase lead shot by the kg.
put them in a soc (~or a baggie may be supplied), tape them around with insulation tape, although gaffer tape works well to make them squidgable.
i now have totally unique balls
3 x 2kg balls
3 x 3kg balls
3 x 4kg balls
With the 4kg balls i can manage about a minute of catches. The world record (according to a slovak website) for 4kg is 7minutes.
I do a bit of weights at the gym, but juggling these beasties has built up my forearms so much they are the same size as my upper arms!
Just warm up first with a couple hundred repetitions of normal balls to get the muscle perfused with blood, then work yourway up.
Unfortunately it makes my juggling bag 27kg heavier!
If anyone has any questions, leave a post.
Paul.
go to a diving shop and purchase lead shot by the kg.
put them in a soc (~or a baggie may be supplied), tape them around with insulation tape, although gaffer tape works well to make them squidgable.
i now have totally unique balls
3 x 2kg balls
3 x 3kg balls
3 x 4kg balls
With the 4kg balls i can manage about a minute of catches. The world record (according to a slovak website) for 4kg is 7minutes.
I do a bit of weights at the gym, but juggling these beasties has built up my forearms so much they are the same size as my upper arms!
Just warm up first with a couple hundred repetitions of normal balls to get the muscle perfused with blood, then work yourway up.
Unfortunately it makes my juggling bag 27kg heavier!
If anyone has any questions, leave a post.
Paul.
11th Apr 2006
Re: Tennis Balls
I have also made juggling balls with tennis balls, it really works! I also like to sew, so I have made the finish with sewing "bags" for them.
I think the "bags" makes it easier to grap the balls during the juggling. It only takes 4 little stuff pieces, a needle and thread!
Linda!
I think the "bags" makes it easier to grap the balls during the juggling. It only takes 4 little stuff pieces, a needle and thread!
Linda!
24th Jul 2007
Re: Tennis Balls
Former IJA champ Tony Duncan practices with tennis balls filled with about 20 pennies. You cut along the seam with a box cutter, squeeze, and drop the pennies in. You don't need to seal them or anything -- the pennies just stay in.
since i made russians i switched to vladiks for 2 months
i got nowhere
i then switched back to homemades
they are like 10 times better
i set my 7b record my first time ever using them and the time i used them after vladiks
im now doing 7 ball 360s with them and the patterns all feel so easy
i love the russian balls
thank you soooooooooo much