# Golf balls



## Leggman (May 3, 2017)

A couple of years ago I got the golfing bug and bought a box full (200) of used golf balls on ebay. While quickly discovered I was not the next Tiger Woods My golfing career came to a halt as quick as it started. 
Point being I now have a box full of dimpled knobs to use on equipment around the house and shop.
Am I the only one crazy enough to do this or are there other deranged minds out there?


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## mikey (May 3, 2017)

No, you're pretty much it, Leggman ...


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## coherent (May 3, 2017)

Now make a cannon to shoot the other 199. More fun than golfing!


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## silence dogood (May 3, 2017)

That is one way to make a hole-in-one.  Instead of a club, use a drill press.


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## rgray (May 3, 2017)

I like it. do they stay in place good?


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## DaveInMi (May 3, 2017)

I have used golf balls but someone told me that it was dangerous to drill them.  Anybody know anything about that?  One of my neighbors sends them to my property on a regular basis.  I have a collection I would like to use for handles but I'm not sure if it is safe.


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## dulltool17 (May 3, 2017)

Had a cannon that fired them when I was 16.
Put a hole in 14 Ga CRS at 50 feet.
Be safe. Have fun.


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## randyjaco (May 3, 2017)

I have heard that the liquid center ones are dangerous to drill. I have never had any problems with standard ones. I too favor golf balls for handle ends. 

Randy


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## ch2co (May 3, 2017)

I'm no golfer but when I was a kid I used to take golf balls apart. Now mind you the this was 60+ years ago just after we got rid of them pesky dinosaurs.
Many of the balls had a liquid center encased in a rubber ball and then wrapped in miles of tiny rubber string and then the outer jacket with all the dimples 
in them.  I understand that now days a lot of them are one solid core with a wrapper. If you drilled a hole in the ones with the liquid t would be sorta messy.
I'd sure rather bump into a golfball on the end of a protruding rod than the end of the protruding rod itself.

And my cannon was 50 caliber that we shot army surplus 50 cal shells out of. Couldn't aim the thing worth a dang though.

CHuck the grumpy old guy


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## DaveInMi (May 3, 2017)

How do you tell if a golf ball has a liquid center?


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## ch2co (May 3, 2017)

Bite into it.


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## Mister Ed (May 3, 2017)

That is a good idea!! My wife and mother-in-law just got done laughing at me because I made up some leveling legs with hockey pucks.



ch2co said:


> Many of the balls had a liquid center encased in a rubber ball and then wrapped in miles of tiny rubber string and then the outer jacket with all the dimples
> in them.


I remember them as a kid in the 60's. We used to be entertained for hours taking one apart.


DaveInMi said:


> How do you tell if a golf ball has a liquid center?


Drill into it. ;-)  You are talking less than a teaspoon of liquid.


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## mikey (May 3, 2017)

I liked the biting into it idea better!


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## Mister Ed (May 3, 2017)

He typed faster than me, lol.

Pealing those rubber bands back as a kid, was kinda like the owl licking to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop sucker (I guess you have to be old enough to remember those commercials).


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## Leggman (May 3, 2017)

I just drill the holes a little small and beat them on with a rubber hammer. Never hit a liquid core yet.


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## ch2co (May 4, 2017)

Do they still even make liquid filled golfballs?


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## Silverbullet (May 4, 2017)

DaveInMi said:


> How do you tell if a golf ball has a liquid center?


How many licks does it take to get to the center???


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## Redmech (May 4, 2017)

They make good file handles.


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## Silverbullet (May 4, 2017)

Lots of pool balls are used for sure. Behind the eight ball. Or cue you.


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## gonzo (May 4, 2017)

As a kid I took apart one of those rubber band wrapped balls and then tried to cut into the center with a knife.
When I pierced it the liquid spurted out and hit me square in the eye.
Luckily, I was not injured but the fluid stung a lot and I was frightened that I might lose my sight there for a while.
Be careful.


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## jamby (May 5, 2017)

I don't believe they make liquid center golf balls any more.  The materials have changed so much since we were kids (70+) that most today are a solid foam ball and the hides are much stronger then in the "day".   A miss hit would put a smile into the old ones and I've miss hit plenty of the new ones with out a cut.

Jim


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## hman (May 5, 2017)

I've made lots of tool handles from golf balls I buy cheaply from Goodwill.  Absolutely love 'em!


DaveInMi said:


> How do you tell if a golf ball has a liquid center?


I hold the ball in the lathe chuck and start drilling in with the tailstock.  Drill in no more than ¼" and look at the swarf coming out.  If it looks like plastic shavings, it's OK.  If it looks like bits of chewed-up rubber band, the ball is probably liquid centered, so I stop drilling and discard that one.  Just for safety's sake, you can impale a coffee can lid on the drill bit.  That will shield the tailstock and tailstock chuck from spurting liquids if you do happen to "strike oil."


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## francist (May 5, 2017)

Nice looking stands, John. 

-frank


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## ozzie46 (May 5, 2017)

I use them on the tangs of my files. Nephew is a golf nut.   Although people tell me he is really good at it. To me it's a waste of good horse pasture.

Ron


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## Frank Ford (May 5, 2017)

When I need a new knob or handle I make one.   (I don't do "drab")   . . . . . .


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## hman (May 6, 2017)

francist said:


> Nice looking stands, John.
> -frank


Thanks!  

I've been planning to write an article on how to design/build the wheel sets.  Not trivial, but not too complex.  I've probably done half a dozen of them so far.  They work pretty well, and hold a good amount of weight.  My table saw cabinet is the heaviest so far, about 350 lbs yet easy to move.


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## Leggman (May 6, 2017)

I am soo glad to see that I am not the only tightwad out there. Thank you gentlemen.


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## Superburban (May 6, 2017)

Silverbullet said:


> How many licks does it take to get to the center???



3


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## TomKro (May 6, 2017)

As gonzo mentioned, using a knife to cut the center of an old style golf ball can end badly if the liquid gets in your eyes.  Funny that someone else also took that same path as a curious kid. 

They do make nice handles.


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## Zamfir (May 6, 2017)

Superburban said:


> 3



LOL yup!  I can still see that OWL.


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## Franko (May 6, 2017)

I unwrapped a few golf balls in my lifetime. I remember being fairly disappointed with what I found inside.

Modern golf balls don't have liquid centers. They are made from 1 to 5 layers of different density rubber, according to the tv show _How it's Made._


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