Singapore Ball
My challenge this month is to make a Singapore ball. I have been aware of these for many years but have never even considered making one. It’s an interesting puzzle where small points protrude from a ball, but the points have enough space to move around and hide within their holes, so, despite its potentially prickly appearance, it will always be safe to touch. Even before researching it more closely, I can tell it’s going to be a fiddle to make.
The place to start my research is David Springett’s excellent book Woodturning Wizardry. Amazingly, the Singapore ball is one of the simpler projects in the book – but don’t let that put you off. If you enjoy making intricate items that will have other woodturners and nonturners alike scratching their heads, then this is for you.
I don’t want to simply lift David’s article straight from the book, but it will be an invaluable companion as I go about this challenge.
As with any new project or challenge, I look at the project and mentally break it down into stages; this is undoubtedly the best way to tackle such an apparently complex job. The simple parts for me are going to be turning a ball and turning the little spikes – the challenge will be marking out the holes and holding the ball to drill them out.
Making a start
Initially, I have a lovely piece of walnut lined up for this project, but when I realise that I need to show the markingout for the holes, drawn clearly on the ball in the photos for the article, I discount it as walnut and pencil marks are a tricky combination. I root through my timber pile again and find a suitable board of steamed beech which will do the job perfectly.
The original idea of the puzzle is that it all appears to be made from a solid piece of
