The Gum Wrapper Foil Ball
I’m a strange guy and I know this. I often do a lot of weird things for some reasonable goal, for example, fixing the Big Screen TV. Nevertheless, I do a lot of things for no purpose as well, and the best example is the gum wrapper foil ball. I don’t really remember how I started, I do know it was my second year of undergrad sometime and that I had one and lost it before working on this second one. I started it by acquiring about 50 de-waxed wrappers and rolling them into a ball, meaning what you see is gum wrapper foil all the way to the core. I like to work on these when watching movies and stuff, just some mindless activity to keep my hands busy which seems to destress me.
This is the current state of the ball, with a nail clipper for a size comparison. It’s a little bigger than a raquetball, maybe a little smaller then a tennis ball. It weighs a couple of pounds.
Here’s the ball with an un-processed wrapper, once again for size comparison.
I have a process for removing the wax paper from the foil and leaving the foil as a full sheet, which I will now document. Here’s a wrapper.
Flatten the wrapper out.
Pinch the end with the foil side in.
Roll the wrapper between your fingers for its entire length.
When you’re done, it should still be bent. The rolling causes the wax to curl slower than the foil, seaprating them.
Now the ends should begin coming apart. Find any separation and begin to make it bigger with your finger.
I then slide my finger in which makes the separation bigger.
More separation.
Finally pulling the two layers together, the foil has some tacky glue on it still.
Here’s the wrapper, separated.
Put the wrapper on the ball, glue side down.
Fold the wrapper around the ball.
More. . .
Finally, the wrapper is down, though not smooth.
I take the ball and roll it against a smooth table, pushing down. It compresses the foil and makes the surface smooth and shiny.
Come by my room and see it sometime, it’s kind of amazing to look at and hold!
