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joe greiner
22nd January 2012, 10:37 PM
This oversize Un-Golf Ball has bumps instead of dimples. Cherry, 2 3/4" (70mm) diameter; clear gloss polyurethane.

Golf balls typically have 330-500 dimples. A recent search of the US Patent Office database found 136 titles containing the words "golf" and "dimple(s)." Many different arrays are disclosed. My Un-Golf Ball has 482 bumps.

I laid out the pattern in pencil as subdivided spherical triangles in an icosahedral array. I erased the node intersections. I modified a drift punch with rounded end (~1/4" diameter), and used a 2-pound hammer to punch 162 dimples at the nodes, followed by 320 dimples at the centers of the small triangles.

I used a hand-held drum sander to reduce the outside to the bottom of the dimples; this also "erased" the layout lines. I sanded it further by hand to 600 grit. The only remaining evidence was variation in chatoyance.

Then I placed it in boiling water for a few minutes to raise the bumps, and let it dry. Google [ukibori] for more.

Cheers,
Joe

tea lady
22nd January 2012, 11:40 PM
:U Nut! Fun and interesting though! :cool:

Ad de Crom
23rd January 2012, 04:44 AM
Joe, quite interesting, and it amazes me, as seeing this for the first time.
Ukibori, is this not a carving technic invented by a Japanese person??
Ad

dr4g0nfly
23rd January 2012, 04:49 AM
Do the bumps help it fly any better than dimples?:;

artme
23rd January 2012, 07:44 AM
You have more patience and a steadier had than I do Joe!

Very clever an very well executed!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

wheelinround
23rd January 2012, 08:57 AM
Joe thats amazing

sparkie54
23rd January 2012, 09:49 AM
Lot of thought gone into that well done:2tsup:

sturina
23rd January 2012, 10:45 AM
Wow that is quite amazing. I would have tired long before getting a final result.

cookie48
23rd January 2012, 04:14 PM
Patience is not mine to have. Rekon it would have ended like my golf shots do( In the scrub.) long before it was finished.
Very good exercise in whatever. Do admine your work tho.

hughie
23rd January 2012, 04:53 PM
Joe you have way too much time on your hands :U

Still and interesting excersize, well done, your patience must be unlimited.

joe greiner
23rd January 2012, 09:44 PM
Yes, Ad, it's of Japanese origin. Tomiharu is cited as the expert.

Oddly enough, and unbeknownst to me until today, in the period of about 1890 to 1908, some golf balls had raised projections called "brambles." Thus called because they resembled wild fruit of the English countryside. Then recessed dimples were found to perform better.

Worked in small doses, it isn't very tedious, usually during television commercials. The clamp accessory was devised for another project, so it was already at hand. Somewhat squirrelly otherwise.

I found that a piece of carpet, without any cushion, provides the best support on the far side. On a hard surface, the far side might get flattened; with cushion, the initial dimples aren't deep enough.

In case it isn't obvious, the reason for erasure is to avoid marks on the final product. It also helps to wash hands frequently.

Cheers,
Joe

TTIT
23rd January 2012, 10:58 PM
Speechless :shrug: Awesome stuff Joe :2tsup:

Skew ChiDAMN!!
24th January 2012, 09:07 AM
Cool! :2tsup:

Hmmm... I wonder how effective this process'd be in making "non-slip" tool handles? :think:

Crunchie
24th January 2012, 10:10 AM
Cool! :2tsup:

Hmmm... I wonder how effective this process'd be in making "non-slip" tool handles? :think:
Now you've got me thinking. When I was teaching Plastics in the 70's, we used to squash a key or coin into hot acrylic, let it cool, sand the surface flat, polish it and then reheat it to allow the "indentation" to rise. Of course, the old method of steaming dents from wood means that the same technique would apply. I may be rehashing something many of you already do, but the idea of using it to produce raised sections on tool handles sounds good.

sjm
24th January 2012, 03:44 PM
Cool! :2tsup:

Hmmm... I wonder how effective this process'd be in making "non-slip" tool handles? :think:

The bumps are essentially raised bruises, where the fibers have been deformed by stretching then restored. They are softer than the surrounding timber and easily worn away, so not ideal for long-term use in tool handles.

It's easy to try this yourself - hit a hammer into a bit of wood, then steam it out again. You'll find the bruised area will never be as hard as it once was.

joe greiner
24th January 2012, 09:42 PM
You may note the rubber bands on my drift punch. I used them because I couldn't find any cushion grip tape at hardware stores at the time. All they had was plastic dipping goop, with attendant drying time. Finally found some foam tape at a sporting goods shop - typically used on racquet handles.

Cheers,
Joe