Mushroom stakes VS ball stakes

Loren Patterson · Post by **Loren Patterson** » Tue Jul 24, 2001 6:40 pm

Ive been searching for steel balls that I could purchase to make my own ball stakes for nearly 4 months. Ive found 3" chrome steel balls for like $150.. arg.. and mild steel balls at 2" for $20..
but I know the larger ones are out there somewhere.. I'm almost ready to give up.. but I wonder what ball stakes have over mushroom stakes when planishing. Anything? is there any reason that would make a ball stake superior to a mushroom stake when planishing? because I can forge/grind a mushroom stake pretty easily...
Thanks for the help
- Loren Patterson

Alcyoneus · Post by **Alcyoneus** » Tue Jul 24, 2001 7:09 pm

Try a concrete plant. They start out with big balls which they use to make little rocks out of big rocks. When the balls get too small, they get rid of them.

Gundo · Post by **Gundo** » Tue Jul 24, 2001 8:25 pm

There really is no inherent difference or advantage.
My PEXTO mushroom stakes have much larger radii than my ball-stakes, but there's no reason they had to be made that way.

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Loren Patterson · Post by **Loren Patterson** » Tue Jul 24, 2001 8:39 pm

I have some 2" round bar laying around. I could easily cut a section.. and upset it into around 3" dia.. and round it and make a mushroom stake. but.. Ive seen some HUGE stakes.. like a 9" ball stake.. where do those come from?
- Loren

Gyric Riehl · Post by **Gyric Riehl** » Tue Jul 24, 2001 11:22 pm

I've found several from 7 to 9 inches in diameter at the local Scrap yard. I'd been
checking periodically for three years before
they showed up from a local rock quarry. A
ball of 9 inches in diameter will weigh over
a hundred pounds. Where do you live? If
you are close to Greensboro NC, I can fix
you up with one.

Loren Patterson · Post by **Loren Patterson** » Tue Jul 24, 2001 11:27 pm

Its a damn bummer, I'm in Olympia Washington. Thankyou for offering to help.

- Loren

David deKunstenaar · Post by **David deKunstenaar** » Tue Jul 24, 2001 11:29 pm

I had a shock-put (sp?)welded onto a pipe. This worked like a dream. I could also use it to dish into a stump. It came form one of the second hand sports equipment places for about $5.00.

Sir David

Loren Patterson · Post by **Loren Patterson** » Tue Jul 24, 2001 11:32 pm

I thought that Shotputs were usually Cast Iron and hard to weld. And wouldn't the cast iron be prone to cracking?
-Loren

Rainald · Post by **Rainald** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 12:41 am

I use the shotput on a stick also, works damn spiffy.

Also another way to get big stakes is to buy a used dumbell. The weider variety works well. Cut off one side and you end up with a big chunk o' metal on a stick that you can carve into whatever shape you want with an angle grinder. I have two 45lb dumbells awaiting such treatment.

Willing Pell · Post by **Willing Pell** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 5:16 am

I used a decorative iron fence post ball and welded it to an old dumbell handle I had laying around. Works great. I've seen new ones online for $15 bucks.

[This message has been edited by Willing Pell (edited 07-25-2001).]

white mountain armoury · Wed Jul 25, 2001 7:01 am

cast iron varies in quality quite a bit. Ductile cast iron is quite nice.
i have one old dumbell i used for a stake, still works great, i found a similar dumbell but the metal was of such poor quality that it was actually cast with a steel armature inside to give it strength.
i suggest iron monger for armouring tools if fabricating your own is a pain

David deKunstenaar · Post by **David deKunstenaar** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 8:44 am

I thought that Shotputs were usually Cast Iron and hard to weld. And wouldn't the cast iron be prone to cracking?
-Loren

I don't know, I tried to drill it out to put a handle in it and got rather frustrated before I took it to the gas station to have the mechanic weld it. I don't know how he did it, but I used it for several years on and off before I lost it.

Loren Patterson · Post by **Loren Patterson** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 8:53 am

I should probably go the route of the shot put then.. not before checking my local scrap yard though. I've been there before atleast 5 times.. its not great.. or huge.. but ive found old coal forges, a post vice, and an old sandstone grinding wheel there.. so they might have something. But prices are high.
- Loren

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 9:43 am

Loren,

Sounds like we have a project for this weekend!

Pounding out that little mushroom stake was a LOT of fun last weekend. We could cut in half and make another one...or a "cone" stake of some-sort....

-Aaron

Mad Matt · Post by **Mad Matt** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 10:48 am

You can easily find 1-1/2" to 2-5/8" balls for making stakes from. They're called trailer ball hitches. They'll cost you about 3-5 bux depending on where you get em and wether they're on sale or not.

They've got a flat spot on top though so here's what you do. You can do either of these for different results.

1. grind the flat spot down so that you've got a mushroom stake (gives you a larger diameter curve for planishing shallower dished things.

2. Cut off the threaded part right at the ball so you've got a ball with 2 flat ends. Now weld the ball on it's side to a piece of round stock and you've got a ball stake with the diameter of the ball. You don't really use the sides of a ball stake so the flat spots don't matter anymore.

Now for the shotput thing yup they definitly vary in the steel quality but generally they're made from cast iron that doesn't crack since they get thrown around all the time. I've got a 12#er that's about 5-1/4" diameter. It's pretty soft but thats fine. It had a plug in it that screws out and inside the hole is some lead shot used to make the weight of the ball exact. Take out the plug and dump out the shot. Now either go to an industrial fastener supply place or have it specifically made (I got mine made for free through some connections) what you want is a big bolt that screws into the threaded hole the plug came from. Now you can put the bolt into a vice and it works like a charm. Take it out of the vice and hold on to the bolt and you've got a hammer. Also you can use this bolt to screw the shotput into a treadle hammer or other similar contraption (I still need go get and make myself one.) But basically the bolt option makes a shotput a very versatile armouring tool.

You can weld cast iron it depends on the type though. If you braze (basically glueing with molten metal and heat but not quite fusion welding I may have the term wrong though) it'll definitly work. Anyone who knows what they're dooing with welding will be able to do it though.

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The budding mid 14th century German Transitional guy.
Mad Matt's Armory

Loren Patterson · Post by **Loren Patterson** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 10:58 am

Thanks Matt, I guess I'll try a shotput then, atleast once. Brazing.. yes, you have the terminology right. That should work, it slipped my mind I guess. As for welding.. I am a trained welder.. but not as far as welding cast.. I should ask my teacher when school starts again. And having a shallow radius will compensate for not having a huge ball then I suspect.. yes, that makes sense.. even if your stake is only like 2" in diameter.. but has the radius of a breastplate.. then you could do a huge piece on a small stake.. because you can only hammer so much at once. Do I have that right? Then why does everyone try to get bigger and bigger ball stakes?
Thanks everyone
- Loren

Konall · Post by **Konall** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 2:03 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Willing Pell:
...decorative iron fence post ball ... I've seen new ones online for $15 bucks.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey WP, how about some links?

I've found some at State Street Steel, but the largest is 2.75 inch diameter for $5. Have you found larger?

Edits: I Can't figure out how to link to the right frame , so go to <A State Street Steel </A> , and use the search box for "sphere"

[This message has been edited by Konall (edited 07-25-2001).]

Mad Matt · Post by **Mad Matt** » Wed Jul 25, 2001 2:18 pm

That's about right you only hit an area that pretty small. A bigger area then that allows for a little more fudging and you need to be able to hit both on and off of the stake for bougeing so that needs a little more space.

People want huge ball stakes for a couple reasons.

1. They're really heavy. Not only is it cool to be able to show off your really heavy armouring tools but more mass means the stake is more stationary. So your hammer blows are more effective.

2. Grinding down a smaller ball into a mushroom takes a fair bit of time and people would rather make armour then make stakes. Also sometimes having an actual ball does come in usefull. Big stakes seem to be what people prefer for bougeing and planishing helmet halves and quarters etc.

Yup basically you can make lots of different radius mushroom stakes for different things simply by grinding them differently.

Smaller stakes are nice sometimes too. But a ballpien in a vice is the easy solution for the smaller stakes. Besides you've probably already got a pile of different ball piens. I know I've got about 7 or so.

------------------
The budding mid 14th century German Transitional guy.
Mad Matt's Armory

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jul 26, 2001 6:18 pm

Here's another vote for Shot puts...

I have a shot put planishing ball. It has worked great, and I've also used Gundo's alot, and they've never broken.

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Founder of The Armour Archive

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Sasha · Post by **Sasha** » Thu Jul 26, 2001 9:49 pm

I have just foaund another nifty source of balls.
Return weights from cable logging operations. About a 100pound steel ball with a chain loop through it. Used to send things back down the hill....

This is now added to my other sources for great balls of steel.

Ship ball bearings.
mill balls (lots of sizes)
Steam blasting balls (these are a scary/funny thing. these balls are "fired" down pipelines using steam or water pressure, they tow a dangerouse looking wire brush thingy and clean 3km lengths of pipeline....)

Sasha

Loren Patterson · Post by **Loren Patterson** » Fri Jul 27, 2001 5:44 pm

Well, since I have a car wrecking yard on the same street that I live on, I should just go pick up a handful of hitchballs out of the million that probably just laying around... Thanks for the advice.

- Loren