# How to drill holes in rubber balls?



## Elizabeth (Oct 17, 2009)

I have some dowels and small rubber balls that are destined to become drumsticks for my son. Does anyone have suggestions for a safe way to drill a hole about halfway through the center of a small rubber ball?


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## joek30296 (Jul 21, 2010)

You might try freezing them and drill before they thaw out. I remember years ago seeing my boss drill some sheet rubber. He dropped some dry ice into acteone and them dropped the rubber in and drilled after being in the mixture for a few minutes.


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## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

I would say the freezing thing is worth a try. I'm curious.


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

clamp them in a wooden clamp or between two blocks of wood using bar clamps and using the drill press, would be my guess.


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## PaulLL (Dec 27, 2012)

I had same thought as Blackie, clamp them in wood handscrews, or between 2 blocks then you can clamp to drill press or bench top. If you don't have a drill press, measure the depth you want to drill to on the ball, and mark that depth on your drill bit, put a piece of masking tape around the bit there so that you can easily see where to stop. Hope this makes sense, good luck!


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Freezing seems like it would help with tearing and make a smoother hole, but may not be a good idea if you don't have a drill press. It will make it harder to drill, making clamping more important. An awl or other pointed object to make an indent should help discourage the bit from wandering if you don't have a drill press.


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## Elizabeth (Oct 17, 2009)

I will try freezing; thanks. I do have a drill press and will probably try to make some kind of jig for repeatability.

I thought about just clamping it, Blackie, but was concerned about the fact that the clamps would be compressing the rubber and increasing the pressure on the sides of the drill bit. Unless if I somehow clamped it on top and bottom and then drilled through the clamping surface; that's a thought for the jig design I guess!


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

Another thought, make an L shaped jig large enough to hold the ball sorta like a fence using 1/2 ply, drill a hole through it at the location to pierce the rubber ball with the tip of a wooden screw, screw the ball up against the fence to hold the rubber ball firm to the fence, clamp the fence to the table and see if that would work, only down side it would leave a small hole where the screw entered.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

an alternate thought
if they are solid rubber
is to heat a smaller metal rod
(enough to melt not burn)
and melt it in
then squeegee the stick in
it should hold it tight

and round the end of the stick slightly
so it doesn't rip the rubber going in
maybe some random notches on the stick end
so it has more to hold it on


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## Stephenw (Nov 14, 2011)

I would drill a deep hole in a block of wood, slightly smaller in diameter than the rubber ball. Drill a smaller hole all the way through the block. Force the ball into the hole with a clamp. Remove the clamp. Place the block of wood in the drill press vise and drill the hole in the ball. A brad point would probably work best for drilling in rubber. Use a dowel through the smaller hole to remove the ball from the larger hole.

This is an idea. I haven't tried it.


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## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

Elisabeth you will most likely have trouble with the drill self feeding. Your idea about clamping on top and drilling through the clamp is a good one! set the depth stop on the drill as well so the drill doesn't get sucked totally through the ball.

You can make a shaped clamp by drilling a pocket hole with the correct size forstner bit. drill so that the top surface of the ball hits at the same time as the edge of the hole. It needn't be the same diameter as the overall diameter of the ball. If you screw two pieces of stock together and drill a pilot hole through then use the forstner to make the indentations in each half to the proper depth you can position the bottom piece on the table and clamp that first. Then clamp the ball in place with the second peice useing screws where they were used to hold the pieces in place to initially drill the pilot hole. Set the drill stop and have a go. The spur bit would probably be your best bet for the actual hole in the ball.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

I have made several tongue drums for kids and have had to make the drums sticks for them. I used a Forster bit to drill hole in a 2×4, just enough for about a third of the balls to set in, set the depth of your drill bit (I use point twist) so the it will go slightly better than half way through the ball. Hold between thumb and first finger, drill slowly, when you set the the proper depth, let the drill bit sit a few seconds at the bottom and then remove. Should have a nice clean hole. I use 5/16" oak dowels.

Have fun


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

A quick easy way to make a holder for the balls is to paste wax one, make a hole larger than it in a couple of blocks of wood, use epoxy to form around it. Cut the blacks apart when the epoxy is cured. You'll have a perfect holder for your jig.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

A regular twist drill won't work. A hole saw might, if you take small "stabbing" shots at it. Make the hole first; then fit the stick to it after, trimming as needed for a good tight fit.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

Depending on the size of the ball, you could find a round glass Christmas ornament; coat the inside of the glass ball with a release agent or cooking oil; pour in silicon caulk; push in the stick; let set; break glass. Just an idea to file away.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

why not buy a set of drumsticks nothing will be better for the job even used they should be cheap enough .If you must do it yourself then start out with a centre drill then a standard drill with luck it should work.Alistair


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

If you use a jig like one of these you should be able to drill them with out a problem. If you have a problem start with smaller drill bits and work your way up to the size you need.


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## Elizabeth (Oct 17, 2009)

Scotsman wrote: "why not buy a set of drumsticks nothing will be better for the job even used they should be cheap enough"

It's because my son is obsessed with drumming things - we bought him a set for $8 a month ago and he barely lets go of them - and the rubber balls protect things from getting dented. They are rubber balls epoxied onto dowels and dipped in tool-dip. But the dowels are getting grimy, chewed and worn at the bottoms and sometimes he wanders off with both and then comes back with only one and we have to hunt down the other one, so it'd be nice to have some spares without spending $8 per pair for them. A dowel is 57 cents for 4 sticks worth, we got a big bag of hi-bouncing balls for $2; the plasti-dip is the most expensive component!

Thanks for all the jig ideas everyone, and especially the pictures. I have some experimenting to do!


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## joek30296 (Jul 21, 2010)

When you get it figured out, please let us know what worked. Everyone is curious as to how you did it.


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## Parsimonia (Jan 21, 2013)

How about a hot pencil soldering iron? It kind of depends on if the rubber will melt.


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## ArlinEastman (May 22, 2011)

Drill in Reverse the drill bit and it will work without the drill bit wanting to pulling through.

One other option is what I did and turned the drumsticks and put it in the dipping plastic to harden.

Arlin


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## Underdog (Oct 29, 2012)

In my experience rubber is difficult to drill. I tried a couple of times with some rubber in a vice and the drill, as has been said, self feeds. And the vice distorts the rubber such that if you do get the hole to drill, the hole is distorted and ragged…

That being said, I successfully drilled some rubber stoppers once, by wedging them into the taper of my lathe, then drilling from the tailstock. The twist drills worked!

So I recommend that you use a jig like A1Jim shows and StephenW alludes to. I think if you get the ball wedged into a circle shaped jig so it cannot move, that you'll find even a twist drill will drill a clean hole.


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## Elizabeth (Oct 17, 2009)

I ended up a) freezing the balls and b) making a rubber ball sandwich. The freezing (chest freezer for a few days) didn't actually get them very cold/solid particularly, but it kept the outside of the ball from getting damaged by being held in the jig. There was no difference in drilling the frozen vs unfrozen ball.

Here's the jig - two scrap pieces from a bed project a couple years back, two leftover bolts from a swing set, and a bunch of drilled holes. I didn't even need the wingnuts I found to put on the end of the bolts - they aligned everything without needing to be fixed in place and it made disassembly easier too.

The inside surfaces of the jig:










The bottom:










Sandwiching:



















Drilling (a reenactment):










Sticks superglued and drying:










I've got some Plastic-dip from HF and once they're dry I'm going to dip the balls and the first inch or so of stick to make the join a bit firmer.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Nice work Elizabeth.


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## Elizabeth (Oct 17, 2009)

Thanks Jim. Now I have to get the superglue off my fingers…I overestimated how much would be needed on the first stick and some spurted out onto my hand. I managed not to stick my fingers to each other or anything else though!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I hate it when that happens.


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## tomd (Jan 29, 2008)

A little nail polish remover should do it.


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## Elizabeth (Oct 17, 2009)

Hah…one of many "girly" things I've never owned. Maybe there will be some in the cupboards at work tomorrow.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Finger nail polish remover is Acetone and yes it does work on removing super glue. I've only used it when the super glue is wet.


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## tefinn (Sep 23, 2011)

That's a great jig. Have to remember it if I ever do another tounge drum. To make my mallets I used some pre drilled wood balls from the craft store and plastic-dipped them after gluing to the dowels. They work but really don't have the same sound as rubber ones.


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## Underdog (Oct 29, 2012)

Great jig! Thanks for showing us the solution.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

I would use cork/stopper borers.
We use thes in the lab to put holes in rubber corks to then insert glass tubing or thermometers and such in.

Could be easy to make as well by just sharpening brass tubing.









They then nest inside eachother as a set for different sizes.


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## ArlinEastman (May 22, 2011)

I could not remember the name, but I am glad you found the Plasti Coat. You can use it for alot of woodworking things and turnings I found.

Arlin


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