Hello all,

To those fimiliar with Paul Gertner's Steel Cups and balls does anyone have any idea where to get the ball bearings, and what size they are?? I just noticed that he sells this routine in his DVD series Silver and Steel. Anyone check these out? If you haven't seen his steel cups and balls routine I suggest you check it out... I fell in love with it the first time I saw it on The WOrlds Greatest Magic II and I knew then and there I had to learn how to do that so I used to perform it with marbles which works out really well. IF you like the cups and balls, you gotta check it out!!

Stevie D

I know Rings and Things II sells large sized ball bearings,
that can be used as final loads... Check them out here

http://www.rnt2.com/productlist.aspx?cat......tegory=Y

Shawn.

Do a search on ebay. That's where I bought mine. They come in bags of like 10 though. Just search for steel ball bearings. They have them in all sizes. The really big ones for your final loads can be really expensive.

Go to a junk yard or mahine shope, they will give them to you for free

If you know anyone that works in a large maufacturing plant with rotating machinery (paper mill, printing plant, diaper manufacturing, power plant, natural gas compressor station, etc.), you will be able to get all that you would ever need.

For the final load balls, some Chinese relaxation can be found that don't have the bells-real metal, nice chrome, and won't weigh a ton to carry!

Steel ball bearings can really dent your cups!!!

I agree - eBay is the place to look. You can get some bargains even with the large balls.

Richard

The hard ones to find are the really large ones. That's where RnT II comes in.

Not all junkyards are as generous as they used to be, though. Too many magicians are sponging off of them!

I found some large steel balls to use in this routine as final loads that I think would be suitable and won't totally break the bank. These are chrome steel balls used for juggling. They are hollow, but still have a nice weight to them. They are sized as 2.17", 2.5" and 2.875" and weight 7.7oz, 9.2oz, and 14oz. Prices range from $12-18 for each ball. I would recommend using real solid ball bearings for the small balls that aren't the final loads They are at http://www.dube.com/ in the balls section.

Stevie D

McMaster-Carr Supply carries large ball bearings.
Up to 2" I think in stainless for about 30.00 I believe.

Regular steel bearings go up to 4.5" but a 4.5 incher costs almost $300.00!!!
They go up in 1/8" intervals from 2 to 3 inches. The price goes up significantly with each larger size too. They also have a large assortment of smaller balls.

http://www.mcmaster.com

Best,
Bill

Once in a while, you will find bocce sets that have steel balls that are around 3 1/2" in diameter. These will cost you about $20 a set. It beats paying 10 times that much for just one ball.

Metal bocce balls are for the similar French game called Petanque. Here's one of many places online that they can be found.

http://www.natashascafe.com/html/bocceball.html?OVP

I picked up an 8 ball set at Marshall's a couple of years ago for $9.95!

Ok, I may be a bit off here, but you know, MARBLES make a nice substitute. Aesthetically they are pleasing and for really large loads just go to a Michaels or similar craft store.

Just a thought,

Vlad

If you buy bearings, make sure they are Chromed! If not you will have a rusty ball after just handling it after a few performances.