Does anyone here have any tips on what materials I can use to make a crystal clear bowling ball? Making the mold is no problem, but what should I use for the actual ball? I need something that's going to be hard but not fragile, and I don't want it to cloud up on me or scratch too easily (I know some scratches are to be expected with regular use)

I was wondering if anyone here has cast any clear objects and can recomend the best stuff to use. Much appreciated.

Draco

I would think acrylic would work well. That's the stuff that a lot of contact juggling balls are made of.

Josh London

You can probably get one custom made somewhere, I've seen them in use before, often with "unique" things suspended in the middle of them. Check with a bowling alley's pro shop or do a net search on custom made bowling balls. You might find materials there as well.

Try these folks:

Clear Bowling Balls

Oops!...Out of stock on the plain transparent.

Buying one pre-made would be my preferred solution. The time and materials required to DIY would probably cost more than purchasing the commercially available product.

But if I *had* to do it from scratch, I'd probably go with Smooth On's "Crystal Clear 200" casting resin. http://www.smooth-on.com

Good luck!

Dan Wolfe, aka. "The Amazing EARL"

...as long as you don't drop it!
;)

I'd love to buy one, trust me, but sadly it's not an option. I'm in need of a few quite different ones, and one that I'm adding a slot to so I can slip in and remove a playing card. Plus we need a few other custom things with the others. If buying a pre-made ball were an option, I'd love to do it, but I've been out voted.

I'll definately check with some places that make them, however, and ask what they used. I didn't think of that before. Great idea.

If anyone has access to hollywood prop-builders, they might have some ideas. The reason I say that is, one was used in the movie The Mystery Men. The Bowler had her father's skull in a crystal bowling ball.

You can actually buy a skull bowling ball...

Why not? "Crystal Clear" is actually a very durable plastic. Their "Smash" plastic is the stuff used to make breakaway bottles.

The only thing I have used Crystal Clear for is casting fake water for model railroad layouts, and that has been quite a while. We had to do this in several layers to prevent the formation of bubbles. The material would also crack pretty readily when something fell on it.

I would think that casting something the size of a bowling ball would require special casting equipment, and a lot of pressure to prevent bubbles. Also, the Smooth-On website shows Crystal Clear 206 as the preferred product for castings greater than 6 inches thick. I readily admit, however, that this is out of my range of knowledge.

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

Looks like I've found somewhere to turn. I've a friend of mine who's brother is in the movie special effects field, and he will be able to cast my ball for me