Introduction

There is not a lot of art I particularly like, or enjoy looking at. I cannot distinguish between what I am told is a good painting and what is not. I want action and movement and a still painting can never capture that for me. For what passes off as art nowadays I think I can safely call Rolling Ball Structures art. I spent a long time looking at other people's wonderful creations on the internet and marvelled at the complexity and simplicity of their designs. Some of the mechanisms are ingenious and I encourage you to look at the links page at the bottom of this page and check them out. Sadly I don't have a welder - yet ;) -, materials or the experience to build a metal one so I looked around for alternatives. I must have seen some bamboo skewers in the kitchen cupboard and thought of having a go at building one.

Construction

At the time of building and as I right this now I have still never seen any other RBSs made from skewers on the internet. (If you have please email me). With no guidance on materials I settled on garden wire to bind the skewers. For the first ever small RBS I made I didn't strip off the plastic coating which was a mistake because the pieces slipped. With narrow wire you can tighten the wrapped wire using pliers until it digs into the soft wood. This stops slipping and is relatively durable. However, after about a year I have needed to re-tighten some joins and the wire has snapped in places.

The only tools I use are pliers and cutting pliers. This means there are no expensive tools to buy and bamboo skewers are extremely cheap.

There is a major cost in time. I didn't time myself but I imagine I spent between 25-30 hours on the tall one and 15 hours so far on the smaller one.

The Finished Product

I've decided the tall RBS is now finished. I like the shape and as the saying goes: If it isn't broke, don't fix it! When I finished the first one I had no intentions in building another but I was still on holiday and began to miss the time spent constructing something. I decided to go for sometihng different and ambitious by building one with two tracks instead of one and in smaller base.

This leads to a very tight structure with few gaps. If multiple balls are running down both tracks then the effect is chaotic, yet pleasing. The taller RBS has more gaps so you can see the track clearly which gives the addtional benefit of easier repairs.

The tall RBS's running time is about 43 seconds. The dual track one has a combined track time of about 50 seconds.

What next...

Eventually I would like to build a metal RBS but because I have no welder and materials for it then for now it shall remain a dream. Once I get myself I job then I can fund it!

Which leads on to the fact that I would not mind selling the tall or indeed the dual track one (However, I think more should be added to it). They take up quite a bit of storage space and you cannot leave heavy things that might drop and break it. I have no idea on the how long it will last either, wood is a natural material and you cannot predict what it will do. But they are unique items and you certainly will not find them mass produced in China! Oh, and you couldn't transport them for huge distances. (I live in South Scotland)

MAKE Fame

My Rolling Ball Sculptures were featured in the online version of MAKE in June 2007. A year and a bit later I received and email from Megan Mansell Williams asking me if I wanted to be in the printed version of Make. Of course I did! After exchanging a few emails and a Skype conversation she said she had all she needed. In February I checked the new issue online, and sure enough, I'm there!

Yesterday was the first time I saw a printed version of Make in W H Smiths. It was the previous issue but it was great to see it in Britain on the shelves. For £7.99 it is more expensive than other magazines but the quality of the contents, small, interesting ads and thickness makes it a good buy. It is also well supported by the online version. I shall have to start my subscription!

Links

These are some of my favourite RBSs and websites.

Unigamer's YouTube Videos - These are my videos
Wooden RBS - Has a flip-flop
Yahoo RBS group - The art and enjoyment of Rolling Ball Sculptrures
Flexible Tube RBS - I especially like the lift machine on this RBS
YouTube RBS Videos - You could spend a long time here!
RBSs for sale - Made by Matthew Gaulden
RBS information - A definate site to bookmark
Eddie's Mind - Another excellent site with construction hints
Many different RBSs - A prolific sculptor!

Contact Me

My email is unigamer @ gmail . com