Thread: Scale materials.

I saw half a bowling ball at a friends house, as far as I can remember it was a hard foam core with a one inch +- shell around it.

Originally Posted by jszabo

has anyone ever tried using granite?

Very brittle, will crack and chip quite easily. Especially the way I handle things. Are you thinking about going to Elberton Ga. and getting some?

Here are two pipes with stems known as "bowling ball" or "Cumberland". The one with the white dot is a pre-war Dunhill and the other is an Ashton. The material is sold in bars to pipe makers. It is beautiful stuff and may be available in large enough blanks to make scales out of. I will ask a pipe maker friend of mine.

I really like the cracked ice look. I wish I had the balls (bowling) to make some scales.

Charlie

Pipe Makers Emporium in Arizona sells cumberland rod, as well as lucite, and the ever-popular (among those of us who turn pens on the lathe) ebonite - vulcnainzed hard rubber. Very cool stuff - super easy to work / turn, but smells like old tires! it comes in long rods - 18" I think.

Lee Valley Tools used to sell bowling ball material for pen making. .. you might check and see if they still have it

Craft Supplies USA sells a lot of palstics too - but they max out at 6'' long

Barry

Good luck on that adventure...last time I had a rough encounter with an old bowling ball I ended up splitting it in two, and the "pretty stuff" was only about an inch thick and the core was about the texture of concrete. Once again, Good Luck.

That would be great if we could figure out the cracked ice resin and get a bunch of blanks made for members here, like a group buy, but who would make them???

Oh, and the thickness of the ball pictured is visible in the index finger hole of the ball pictured.