Troutsqueezer's Rolling Ball Sculpture

[Troutsqueezer]

Who's Troutsqueezer you ask? Someone who just fell off the turnip truck with a new welder. Danger Will Robinson!

What's a Rolling Ball Sculpture? Imagine a roller coaster for steel balls, or just look at the pics.

I started building this contraption with my only experience at welding being the 20 or so coupons I welded together the day before. I blew a few holes in the tube frame but quickly learned how to weld them shut and at the same time learned the power of the flap disk. Welding 1/8th inch rod end-to-end and keeping it smooth also proved quite a challenge for a rank amateur.



There are two tracks, each leading through different track elements, such as chimes, spirals, track switcher, etc. I'll have the video posted in YouTube soon.

I stole the motor and gears from a Homedic back massager that quit working. The motors were still good so I put them to use in the Archimedes spiral ball lift.



The top of the Archimedes screw lift is an eyebolt with some washers welded on it. The swirly thingie came from my wife's plant hanger. Actually, almost every part on this thing came from something laying around the yard or the shed.



I got my money's worth out of that ol back massager. There's two good, powerful dc motors in there that would have cost me just as much to buy separately. As soon as the massager broke, I went out and bought another one. In fact, I'm getting a back massage as I write this! oooh.... If you don't own one of these things, I highly recommend it.

[Reebs]

Fantastic
I Iike the small size

[Mondo]

That is a truley great project! A piece of art!

Do I see a lizard climbing up the side of the structure????

-Mondo

[SWells]

Great Job, for a first time welding project....I'm even more impressed. Can't wait to see the video.

[Terr]

Good to see more RBS enthusiasts

[dave powelson]

That's outstanding! Both sculptures!

You could license the use of these for commercials or movie headers.

[Troutsqueezer]

Thanks for the compliments folks. I know some like to see the actual welds up close (of course!) I'll add some more pics soon.

>Do I see a lizard climbing up the side of the structure????

Yep. Stole that from my wife's garden. It's a gecko. After seeing it she had to admit it was cuter there than where she had it. I'll take a closeup.

>Good to see more RBS enthusiasts

I knew there were couple of enthusiasts on here. You sure can make those tight turns! I'm not that good yet. Reminds me of this one I spotted, I think it was on a German site:

[Terr]

Originally Posted by Troutsqueezer

I knew there were couple of enthusiasts on here. You sure can make those tight turns! I'm not that good yet. Reminds me of this one I spotted, I think it was on a German site:

I don't know what it is about copper that turns me off, but I hate the way RBSs look when made of copper. Stainless is clean and pure. Copper is just dirty.

[mb_welder]

The largest rolling ball sculpture I've ever seen I believe was at West Edmonton Mall in...well, Edmonton. It was years ago though.

Good work!

[Tamper84]

Now those are pretty cool. I have never seen one before. When are you going to put a video up?

[Terr]

Originally Posted by Tamper84

Now those are pretty cool. I have never seen one before. When are you going to put a video up?

Would be nice to see yours in action, Trout

Here's one of mine:

You Tube

You Tube

[farmersamm]

Pretty neat

[Reebs]

I will have to add that damn thing to my "to do list for class". Very nice

[jotram]

thats pretty dam sweet ....you should sell it on ebay. or go to flea markets ....maybe id buy one

[Troutsqueezer]

Thanks Guys. Here is a link to the YouTube video I uploaded. Not sure why it did not upload in the 16:9 format that I created it in so the aspect ratio is a little off. No big deal. I tried to put some drama into the video. Hope you like it. Please excuse the less-than-stellar welding, my next one will be better, I promise.

I dunno....something about watching rolling balls just fascinates me....oh, maybe it's because I"M A GUY.

-dennis

You Tube

You Tube

[PoisonPancakes]

That's a long ride to the top. Very cool. Great job on the video as well.

[eyeball engineer]

thats bad a$$, I like the screw, this thing reminds me of a game I use to have when I was little, called mouse trap good job

how much $ ? or how much for you to make another one?

[Tamper84]

Thats Neat. How many hours do you have into this thing?

[Magnetic Mechanic]

Do you guys plan this all out for months, or just go after it like SWells?

Pretty amazing either way.

[Vipernut]

I like the little steps on the back side - haven't seen that before - good job!

[Troutsqueezer]

>how much $ ? or how much for you to make another one?

That's a hard one to gauge. Like most things homemade, I'm sure I wouldn't get back what I put into it as far as time spent. It took me 1-2 hours most week nights over a three month period. Some of that time was spent figuring out the intricacies of my new Millermatic180 and of welding in general and also learning how to braze copper onto steel.

A few months back I went to the Sausalito Fine Arts show to meet Jeffery Zachmann (http://www.zachmann.com) who makes a living selling these things. His designs are somewhat elegant. Given the simplicity of some of his sculptures I was surprised to see that he was getting well over $3k for the smaller ones.

>Do you guys plan this all out for months, or just go after it like SWells?

Speaking for myself, I started with a plan but threw it out the window when paper hit reality. So it was more like put in the first track and turn, think about the next turn, and so on down to the bottom, testing each section as I went.

I'll tell you this, next thing on my list to buy is a darn auto-darkening helmet.

[Terr]

Originally Posted by Troutsqueezer

>A few months back I went to the Sausalito Fine Arts show to meet Jeffery Zachmann (http://www.zachmann.com) who makes a living selling these things.

Seeing Jeff's stuff is how I started this as well a few years ago.

So it was more like put in the first track and turn, think about the next turn, and so on down to the bottom, testing each section as I went.

Same here. Build frame. Build lift (if needed). Start from top and add curves/elements until you reach the bottom, testing all the way.

[riceburner]

What kind of material is used on the rails? That is way cool.

My first thought is a wind vane as the power source for the ball elevator. The wind doesnt blow that much here though.

[stevinator]

Very Cool, I need more patience to try that.My hats off to the builders,great videos too.

[Troutsqueezer]

>What kind of material is used on the rails?

1/8th inch mild steel rod with 3/16th inch supports.

Some use stainless, especially for those sculptures which are destined for museums, lobbies, etc. I'll get around to using SS but I'll need to get another CO2 tank for my MIG first. And SS ain't too cheap so I'm not rushing into it.

>I need more patience to try that.

stevinator, I've seen your thread on that tractor. Something tells me you've got the patience.

There is a guy around these parts who buys old Kubota tractors and restores them to almost brand new condition, paying attention to the slightest detail, then resells them. I've always I wanted to do that and just may get the chance when my neighbor gets tired of his and passes it on to me.