# I machined a... golf ball



## FliesLikeABrick (Jan 22, 2022)

short one today ...

My dad found a new-in-box "Cordmatic" retracting reel extension cord.  We thought it would be good to use overhead in the woodshop, for smaller power tools  (<10 amps) that are being used in the middle of the room, etc.


The ceilings are 13', so we need the cord to never retract fully.  Upon thinking about materials that could be used to make a cord/retract stop, I came across a few old golf balls in a box of junk.








At the mill, I put a flat on the top and bottom.  Then clamped it sideways and milled flats down one side, so that holes could be drilled and tapped for fasteners to provide clamping.





Cut the ball roughly down the middle on the bandsaw, after drilling a vertical hole through it (which is where the cord would pass through)






10-32 tapped holes allow straightforward clamping.  I wrapped the wire in a small scrap of rubber (probably SOOW cord jacket off-cut from something) to increase friction.  The inside of the golf ball had slightly too little friction on the yellow cord's aging plastic jacket, and the rubber plus extra thickness provided exactly what was needed so that it did not slip easily/over time.






Now my wife and I can reach the power when needed.  We aren't tall -- but take some comfort in the fact that nobody could reach this if it was 12-13 feet off the ground!




Thanks for reading


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## woodchucker (Jan 22, 2022)

wow, most golf balls do not machine well, they don't drill well, only a few do... 
I'll have to ask my neighbor for his old pinnacles. But I think he keeps them to go across the street to the school


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## FliesLikeABrick (Jan 22, 2022)

woodchucker said:


> wow, most golf balls do not machine well, they don't drill well, only a few do...
> I'll have to ask my neighbor for his old pinnacles. But I think he keeps them to go across the street to the school


 Yeah! I was pleasantly surprised how well this went.  For a yard game build project a few years ago, my wife and I and some friends drilled holes through a ton of golf balls.  The difference in interiors was significant.... some really did not like to cut/machine nicely while others had great properties for this purpose.


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## woodchucker (Jan 22, 2022)

FliesLikeABRick said:


> Yeah! I was pleasantly surprised how well this went.  For a yard game build project a few years ago, my wife and I and some friends drilled holes through a ton of golf balls.  The difference in interiors was significant.... some really did not like to cut/machine nicely while others had great properties for this purpose.


I use big stakes, I use them for camping, for setting lines. I put a golf ball on them so I know where they are.   Thanks for the info.


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## Shootymacshootface (Jan 22, 2022)

When I was a kid I threw some golf balls into a fire, they popped open and tons of rubber spaghetti came out. I've always considered golf balls an unusable medium.


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## woodchucker (Jan 22, 2022)

Shootymacshootface said:


> When I was a kid I threw some golf balls into a fire, they popped open and tons of rubber spaghetti came out. I've always considered golf balls an unusable medium.


depends on what the core is. Some/most are like rubberband core.


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## Hawkeye (Jan 22, 2022)

Good addition to the cord. I had one like that, mounted above my workbench. After my Dad died, I was finishing an RC ship model he had started. The cord reel slipped off the mounting screws and crashed down through the hull. I felt sick! I did manage to repair the damage. Check your mounting now and then.

Another time, I was drilling some old golf balls to use for knobs on the end of file tangs. (They work really well for that.) On one of the balls, when the bit hit the core, there was a fountain of clear liquid going straight up in the air. I did say _old_ golf balls. I had forgotten that they sometimes had a liquid centre.


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## Spajo (Feb 2, 2022)

FliesLikeABrick said:


> short one today ...
> 
> My dad found a new-in-box "Cordmatic" retracting reel extension cord.  We thought it would be good to use overhead in the woodshop, for smaller power tools  (<10 amps) that are being used in the middle of the room, etc.
> 
> ...


Seriously, I inherited hundreds of golf balls after my father passed away. I've been selling them at yard sales. I'm going to whack a few apart. 
Spajo


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## randyjaco (Feb 3, 2022)

Golf balls make great machine handle knobs. I particularly like the pink and yellow ones. Just drill and tap them. But stay away from liquid filled ones though.


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## MikeInOr (Feb 3, 2022)

Shootymacshootface said:


> When I was a kid I threw some golf balls into a fire, they popped open and tons of rubber spaghetti came out. I've always considered golf balls an unusable medium.



When I was a kid we cut open a golf ball with a big smile in it then stretched the piece of rubber spaghetti up and down the block.  The next day when the inquisition from the parents came neither of us had a clue where it came from... must have been the kids from one street over, they were always causing a lot of problems.  

(We were recruited to clean up their mess for them)


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## cathead (Mar 9, 2022)

Some golf balls have Gutta-percha in the center.  That's the stuff dentists use to fill in the roots of teeth when doing root canals. 
I'm no golfer but do know that they are called "gooties".  I bet they are a rare commodity these days.  
Gutta-percha comes from the percha tree and grows in Malaysia.


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