Thread: Hollow Sphere

Can't identify a particular manufacturer. It could be welded of segments of a sphere. The term of art is "hemispherical dished head" from ASME pressure vessel standards. A fabricator of boilers, tank cars, and such could make such a device. Search google for "dished head."

Joe

Is this a leg pull or what? Is it April fools day in Yankeeland?
Let me see? You lob in here to an Australian woodwork Forum to ask for an 8 foot steel ball that will support the weight of a man and not offer anyone a clue to what its intended use could be..

You are posting in a metalwork forum admittedly, but (hey its mainly amatuer level blokes here ) supported by a woodwork forum.
Not too many of us here, have a use for a 2.4 metre steel sphere, let alone have the tools to make one. Most of our metal work is slanted towards woodworking. Can we perch a woodworking tool on it? Or use it as a dust extractor receptacle?

Talk to some of your mates in Texas,everythings bigger there and some have big balls or so they tell us.

OK! Ok! I will be serious. The only fabricators who might take the job on might be sheet metal fabricators. The work would probably require a very large English wheel as the spher would need to be fabbed in sections ( think of an orange divided into 8 or 16 equal pieces and joined at the seams.

Grahame with
S.I.L.

Like Joe says - you need to find someone who makes tanks for liquids & gasses - maybe a railway car scrap yard would have some old tank car ends, or try a semi-trailer fabricator who does liquid & gas work.

And by all means, put some release latches on the INSIDE.

Joe

Let us speculate as to why someone with a nick of "xplsives" would ask such a thing.

1) xplsives is a terry-wrist looking to deliver a nuclear weapon and wants to protect the deliverer? she/he figures that by posting in a Woodie forum they are less likely to be detected by the authorities

2) xplsives is a scifi movie geek and is looking for a prop for a scifi movie.

3) xplsives is a wannabe deepseadiver

4) xplsives is a pioneering stellar astronaut and wishes to take a dive into the sun

5) xplsives is a high energy circus artiste and wishes to stand atop the sphere while rolling it from A to B (A and B are cities of your choice)

6) xplsives in a neuwgen architect from the school of MRIM (metal really is meaningful) and wants to create a new form of high density accomodation.

7) xplsives is a midget who figures that people will take more notice of him/her if she/he is standing atop of an 8 ft high spherical metal ball.

8) xplsives is a resident of Happy Farm Cottages (high security section) and likes collecting round things.

9) xplsives has a really cute girl/boyfriend who has set him/her an unusual challenge to win their fair hand.

and

10) xplsives works as a night filler at Wal Mart and has discovered that combining parts from bins 3, 74, 23, 91 and 17 from aisls 12, 22 and 3, plus 420 butane gas canisters and the contents of the Kenny's staff room locker will build a time machine and needs an 8ft metal sphere to house the travel agent.

The original post was quite thin on details. For example, support a person inside, but what supports the sphere? More info could invalidate any suggestions thus far.

My first thought was some sort of transport contraption. Land-borne or water-borne. IIRC, there was a series on the tube many years ago, that had something like this on water. I think it was part of the intro teaser and wasn't included in the story. In any event, you'd need to have some windows or portholes, or steering would be very chancy.

We should have some fun speculating with this. I just hope we don't find out the real answer on the evening news.

Some clues: xplsives lists location as Delaware. Delaware abuts the Atlantic Ocean. DuPont chemicals is in Delaware, and I think explosives are some of their products; this may, or may not, be relevant - maybe they just work there.

I did a google search for "hollow metal sphere" and "delaware". All I got was some research links on metal foam. (definitely not 8-ft diameter.)

Joe

Out between Dubbo and Nyngan there is a sphere mailbox made from plough discs, this is about 4' dia. I know everything is bigger in the ol' US so your "US" sphere of discs should come out at about 8'dia.

As far as tools go I have a hammer and silastic gun if you would like to borrow them.

Glad to be of assistance

How bout the old SS ball's from rundle mall Adelaide!

Kinda 'spensive to ship air by ocean freight from Adelaide to Delaware. And, yes, they do charge for shipping air, depending on average density.

Joe

Mate twas a joke... you wouldnt get an art display from the middle of a major city without being noticed!

Arrgh! My Ozzie dictionary let me down.

Joe