50AE Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 Yesterday I bought a 80mm plastic ball for christmas trees and when I saw the equator mark where two hemis are glued, I thought of the idea if I could cut the ball on that mark and use the resulted two hemispheres for a shell? Of course, the hemis are thin, so I would paste the shell as a classic paper one. What do you think ?
Pyro09 Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 I would rather use the two plastic hemispheres for making paper hemis. You could also use the plastic hemis directly for your shells, but it's bad for the environment and it could end bad if the shell explodes in the mortar!Plastic shrapnels aren't nice Greetz
a_bab Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 I have used them before. They work BUT they are very thin and made of a brittle plastic (PS), so reinforcing them with 2-3 layers of paper is needed. Just the bare hemis are difficult to work with, especially when they need to be joined. Being so thing they bend, annoyingly spilling the break/stars contained. At the time, I didn't care as much about the enviroment as now, so I pasted them with fiberglass tape. They are really fast to make. As about the shrapnels, not something to worry. The shells are fragile though; I had a dud and it totally smashed when when it fell; the tape contained the stars though. This being said, I highly suspect that the mere lift may crack the halves too. The breaks weren't bad either, but fiberglass tape is needed (or classical heavy pasting). I find the 50mm globes great as formers for making 3" hemis though.
50AE Posted December 21, 2009 Author Posted December 21, 2009 Alright, so I'd better use them as formers. I just have to find a resin that is very strong and resists water.
a_bab Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 I meant to paste the balls as they are with some 6-10 layers of newspaper (it can be worked easier) and PVA glue, I mean lots of glue (use gloves and work the glue between each layer) and once dried (a night in a warm place will do it) cut the paper with a sharp knife. It's a good idea to cover the ball in cling wrap. It may save it so your Christmas tree won't be affected
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