My daughter Megan (9y/o) plays in the local recreational soccer league and has the best coach in the area...hehehehe
Anyways, the sign for the field is in horrable shape. it is a piece of alum. with wood backing. The paint is peeling, the wood is rotton and the vinyl is also peeling.
I offered to re-do the sign as it really needs i and would give me a project that I can work on. After taking down the old one I decide to start from scratch and really make it nice. Right now it is 8' long x 2' tall,with plain block lettering.
I have designed a new sign I like but in the middle is half a soccer ball, kinda like the rest is behind the sign.
I need to make this out of something that I can shape into a soccer ball(half) and be weather resistant and light wieght.
Any suggestions????
Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
Maybe I read too fast but how big does the sphere need to be?
Posted by Troy Haas (Member # 472) on :
Sorry, that might help....
About 12"-14" across
Thanks
Posted by Dan Sawatzky (Member # 88) on :
I would make the sphere one of two ways...
Either hard coated styrofoam...
Or have an acrylic bubble blown and paint that. Think those bubble windows...
Think on these... reply back here (I'll watch) and then I can add more info as needed.
-dan
Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
I was thinking styrofoam ball too. Maybe check out the local craft store.
Posted by Ron Costa (Member # 3366) on :
Troy, If there is a lighting store nearby, I use the white globes for exterior lighting. Ours are 10 inch in diameter. I've seen some brittle ones which seem to be made of an ABS type plastic. The best are a softer nylon like material, easy to cut and drill. Paint with an adhesion promoter first or consider lighting it. My daughter and I used them to make 120 "bugs" for a dark ride. They make good hemisphere molds for fiberglass too.
Posted by Chuck Peterson (Member # 70) on :
Gemini has half spheres up to at least 24"
Posted by jimmy chatham (Member # 525) on :
cut a round hole the size of a soccer ball and put a real soccer ball in the hole.
Posted by Stephen Deveau (Member # 1305) on :
TA! TA! JIM........
Posted by Bill&Jane Diaz (Member # 2549) on :
Some times the easiest answer is the best answer. Why paint something to LOOK like a ball when you can use a BALL! Ya gotta love it! Posted by Mark Matyjakowski (Member # 294) on :
To expand (pun intended) on Jimmy's idea, or if you really only want to use half a ball ... get the ball ... and a can of expanding foam sealant from the hardware store. Sure you can figure it out from there.
Posted by John Smith (Member # 1308) on :
or get you a round type balloon, cut your hole in the sign the size you want, blow it up to the size you want and cover half of it with fiberglass. I betcha that will work !!
Posted by Troy Haas (Member # 472) on :
Do I see a combo of idea's ?????
I had thought about using a real soccer ball, but at the time decided against it due to keeping air in it.
The foam would handle that part and still keep it light weight..
BADA BING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by James Donahue (Member # 3624) on :
Dan, what is hard coated styrofoam? Probably a factory made product. What I'd really like to know is if thre's a way to make ordinary styrofoam hard, sandable, and paintable. I know fiberglass would disolve the foam INSTANTLY. I thought of paper-mache made with plaster, but am wondering if there's another way. Thanks, Jim.
Posted by Kelly Thorson (Member # 2958) on :
Check out your local department Store - Wallmart K-mart or whatever is in your locale. They should have round hanging planters that are just over 12" in diameter. I have three here that are perfect 1/2 spheres and they are made for outdoor use so I think they should stand up. Mine have been outdoors for about four years and are still fine so I would imagine they will stand up. Phone ahead to save yourself some leg work. If you can't find them there maybe a plant nursery would have them.
Posted by Chris Elliott (Member # 1262) on :
Troy,
Thanks for asking about this. To me, discussions like this one are the heart of what Letterheads is all about. It's also a reminder for me that we need more posts like these to balance out all of the off topic stuff we manage to get into in Letterville!!
I was so impressed with the simple elegance of Jimmy's solution & the way everyone expanded his idea into serveral possible answers for your problem that I almost skipped over Chuck's answer about half spheres being available from Gemini! If these other ideas don't work out, there's a proven product that should do the trick. Even though I haven't seen these Gemini half spheres yet, I've been happy with the quality of everything else I've seen from them. So, if you've got a deadline on this project, I'd give Gemini a call. Otherwise, I couldn't resist the urge to play around with some of the other ideas!!
An additional bonus for me is the planters that Kelly mentioned. A friend just called the shop today & asked if she could put a few houseplants into my showroom so they could get more sunlight. I told her to bring all she wanted because it'd make the place look a little more like home (free plants & someone else is gonna water 'em... yeah, I like that) and Kelly's suggestion gave me a couple of new ideas!!
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