How to make homemade medicine balls
MATERIALS NEEDED:
mini-basketball
(Target), regular basketball(Walmart), oversized training basketball
(http://www.sportsauthority.com/), Shoe Goo, super fine steel wool (Wal
Mart), premium play sand (Lowes), 1' of 1? automotive heater hose, 3M
Super Weatherstrip Adhesive (auto parts store), wax paper
TOOLS NEEDED:
drill
motor with drill bit, paint remover wheel (Walmart), rat-tail file,
small funnel with ballpoint pen barrel duct-taped to end, window screen,
yard nippers, nail
HERE ARE THE STEPS:
1 sift the sand thru window screen
2 drill out the air valve on the basketball(s).
3 ream out the hole with the rat-tail file.
4 put the pen barrel end of the funnel apparatus into the hole.
5 fill basketball with sand.
6
sand with form a cone inside the basketball and stop the filling
process when it reaches the top. when this happens first, rock the
basketball back and forth to move the sand into the corners of the
basketball.
7 when the
ball is almost full, this above process gets harder. tamp down the cone
of sand inside with the bottom of the funnel/pen barrel between smaller
and smaller scoops of sand.
8
occasionally take the funnel/pen out of the hole, put your thumb over
the hole, and rock the ball back and forth, and gently tamp it down all
around. take a 2.5# weight plate or hammer and gently tamp the sand down
around the hole. continue filling.
9 keep on keeping on, as it gets tuff. fill the ball as full as you can get it. then put some more sand into it.
10
when you think it can’t possibly hold any more, it is time to plug the
hole. take the drill motor, mount the paint remover on it, and lightly
ruff up the area about 2? around the hole.
11
get a piece of superfine steel wool about the size of your thumb,
stretch it out a bit, and open the weatherstrip adhesive tube. place the
nipple of the adhesive tube into the hole, and squirt plenty into the
hole, into the sand and around. then allow it to fill up the hole, and
overflow slightly. take the steel wool, and poke it in with a nail.
allow to dry overnight.
12 next day, trim off the excess glue and steel wool down to the level of the ball, and lightly buff with the paint remover.
13
take the automotive heater hose, cut about a 2? long piece, then slit
it lengthwise. take some yard nippers and cut the corners off, then make
a round patch. use the nippers to trim the thickness of the edges. lay
under something heavy for a few minutes to flatten out.
14
open the Shoe Goo tube and put plenty around the hole. then put some on
the underside of the patch. allow both to dry for about a minute or
two, then put the patch on. hold tight with the palm of your hand for a
couple of minutes, then place the ball patch-down onto the wax paper and
allow to cure overnight.
This
ball is not for slamming, but can be used to bounce off walls in the
wall-ball exercise. Sometimes you dont want to use your fitness
sandbags, and want to use other tools.
If you must use this ball for slamming, put less sand in it in steps #9 and #10 to leave it a bit loose. Or, use an old ATV tire for slamming. (my preferred option).
Here are our fitness sandbags.
