This entry is a quick look at some of the ways you can cut spheres out of ice. First, check out the video from YouTube above. This isn’t a recommended method, but it’s impressive.

     In an earlier entry, we looked at the nailboard. Adapted from the standard nailboard, this "nailbowl" (below) is used to help make spheres by eliminating surface irregularities. Junichi Nakamura came up with this version and Aaron Costic gets credit for the photo and for sharing the idea. Aaron apparently used this tool for his (along with Steve Cox) sculpture “Crescendo,” which is composed of a series of spheres.

A nailbowl? (image courtesy of Aaron Costic at www.elegantice.com)

    The bits below, called sphere cutters, are from the Ice Crafters website and are designed for use with a die grinder. I have not used them, but at the Olympic event in 2002, similar bits helped French carvers Michel Amann and Patrick Roger de Campagnolle secure second place and the silver medal. Their sculpture was titled "Hymn of Amphitrite," and depicted a mermaid with feathery wings that also featured many precisely cut spheres. The bits below were produced by Ed Tillotson.

image courtesy of www.icecrafters.com

    The photo below is from an event in Lulea, Sweden, and, as you can see, we (Erik Cantine and I) had several spheres to carve for the sculpture. Erik brought a specially made, portable lathe to make the spheres from block-shaped pieces of ice. Each sphere had a snowfilled design inside that was frozen in before the lathe was used. Erik’s lathe was lightweight enough to carry in a suitcase. Despite some minor difficulties, his portable lathe worked out great.

    Finally, I used to carve sculptures in competition that would incorporate a small, nearly perfect sphere of ice. With the help of Aaron Costic, I came up with a reasonably quick procedure for making the approximately  3-4” diameter spheres.

    The spheres were incorporated into a couple of different designs, one an “merman” holding a pearl above his head and the other a mermaid diving for a pearl. The mermaid sculpture earned a gold medal at a Florida competition.

    First, using a chainsaw, a cube with a slight larger than needed diameter is cut. Next, a narrow flat chisel is used to begin shaping the sphere by cutting through the middle of the edges instead of working on the corners. Rather than write a long, possibly confusing description, I’ve added the following diagram:

    Instead of taking down the corners of the cube, you’re working on the “edge centers.” This method has a distinct advantage in that you keep control of your sphere because you’re not initially removing the cube corners, which would make it harder to handle. Once the “edge centers” have been cut down, all that’s left are the eight original true corners of the cube and, of course, the partly revealed sphere. The combination looks something like an eight pointed star. After the “star” is finished, the points of the star are removed with the same flat chisel or a slightly wider one and the resulting rough sphere/polyhedron is lightly sanded with an angle grinder (24 or 36 grit pad, with rubber backing wheel) to knock down irregularities. Finally, the sphere is placed in some sort of appropriately curved metal holder that can be heated. I used to use a large ladle and I heated the ladle with a heat gun. (Unfortunately, the heat gun would often be damaged by the splashing meltwater, but they’re usually cheap. That’s likely not the safest procedure though.) While the metal is being heated, the ice is “rolled” so that it smoothes out the sphere shape. The idea is to get a sphere that will roll and spin almost effortlessly in the ladle or other holder. Letting the ice sit still while heating will quickly damage it.

    Do you have another method for cutting spheres? Feel free to share it in the comments below.