Hey Lowell,

I've thought about doing that same ball myself several times. I agree that
once you carve a few chains . . . what do you do except to go smaller and
smaller to keep it interesting. The Chinese Ball as the other thread
mentioned has the steps down pretty good. You will have to make your own
tools and turn it on a lathe as stated. If it can be cut without a lathe, I
haven't figured it out yet so tell me if you do--I would like to carve one.

Chains are fun while watching TV, drinking a beer while thinking about what
to carve next that is a little more challenging. BTW my smallest chain to
date is around 1.5 times the height of the date on a dime. One of these
days I will beat it . . . in the mean time, I need something else to
challenge the hands and mind. I like the idea of nested balls or boxes with
a ball in the center.

Have you thought about a mobius with a ball inside, inside of a ball in the
box? That would be fun!

Just a thought, but yes check out the book mentioned; check it out, it will
tell you what you need to do.


Patrick








"Lowell" wrote in message
...
Scott, I've carved many ball-in-cages and have had good luck in wood of
pine, walnut, apple wood, etc. I Used blocks of wood from 1-1/4 inch to 3
inch on short side. (Walnut and apple wood make large blisters I've found
;-)To carve nested spheres may require specialized carving tools which one
would probably have to make. I imagine one would start with an array of
tapered holes around the sphere, then, using the special tools, carve the
waste from between the holes only to a specific depth. Finishing the
interior spheres would present another problem.

I'll check google for info too.

Thanks for your suggestions. Van


"Scott" wrote in message
m...
This is the same as carving a ball in a cage except that the cage is a
sphere. Saw some directions once that suggested drilling stepped holes
in each of the six sides to remove the bulk of the waste wood. Tried it
and did not like the result although it was "nested." What would happen
if you googled "nested spheres" - both as web pages and pictures. Maybe
some ideas would reveal themselves.

If I were going to do another, I would start large - maybe 3" square and
make a ball using a template to tell when it was round enough. As there
won't be much wood left, something harder than basswood might be
appropriate albeit harder to carve.

I afraid that isn't much help, but all that I can think of now.

Scott

"Lowell" wrote in message
...
Looking for tips to carve nested spheres in wood, probably no more than
two or three spheres. Any ideas or leads?

TIA, Van