Making a Chaotic Patterned Segmented Sphere

[@xoxo2008oxox]

Nothing like a Sunday morning coffee and Frank's latest project video!

[@SonofTheMorningStar666]

Or a sunday afternoon with a couple of beers.

[@livinonlimiter]

Moments I look forward to

[@jbratt]

The humor of the giant pencil ✏️ was not lost on me 🤣

[@bigraymie]

Nor me JB... Loved the look in his face too...

[@lesliejohnson2982]

I thought I was the only one who loved it! I immediately went to amazon and purchased a couple for my Dad, who is very into woodworking. He's constantly losing his marking pencils, AND last summer he had an incident with a knot kicking up the table saw guard (he had done everything right, bc I was ready to read him the riot act if he hadn't), and the knot giving way so quickly that unfortunately he lost the tip of his fingers in 2 places. A perfect storm of "this shouldn't happen but if it does its ok if this and this didn't happen" sort of thing.

[@SimplyStuart94]

genuinely laughed out loud XD

[@frankmakes]

I'm glad that was funny

[@steveo1413]

@@frankmakes we all enjoyed it!

[@truthymchurtsalot7188]

You’re like an addiction, Frank. We always WANT MORE. Brilliant and beautiful.

[@StephenBoyd21]

The sphere making technique really seems to be perfected now. Some of the previous ones have had slightly out of alignment joints but this one seems perfect. I love the pattern as well.

[@frankmakes]

yes, this one went together rally well

[@kurt.dresner]

Blacksmithing videos: "Check out this cool Damascus" Frank: "Hold my coffee."

[@Reconbox1001]

When it's a random pattern you have invented wood doodling! Beautiful!

[@lilmisstrixie]

What a gorgeous project! I really love the way you show your whole process, from the concept on. I'm not even a woodworker, but I find your videos both soothing and inspiring.

[@tazanteflight8670]

That has a remarkable texture. The curves in the end grain look like feathers. The colors the colors!

[@W94urndks9urneos]

Frank makes the most out of this world object from the most out of this world piece of home made plywood.

[@lesliejohnson2982]

Also- Doing the sphere on the C&C was a PERFECT example of "work smarter not harder" - I salute you, sir!

[@jeremyedwards5950]

Absolutely stunning Frank!

[@haroldhoffman5689]

Just when I think you can't get any better...you do something like this....AND TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF. You and Diresta are brilliant and brillianter...Don't know if that's a word...but hey...this channel invents new stuff all the time. Thanks for another great project

[@Dysiode]

That is really stunning! The curving of the pine grain really helps camouflage as well, and overall it just creates an object that doesn't let your eye settle in one place for too long, but in a really nice way

[@moonlightsnowfall6734]

Fun to watch Frank, Thanks! You'll have a bespoke bocce set pretty soon!

[@plantpun]

All of your segmented projects are so fun to watch come together, but this is the wildest one yet! Constantly in awe or your ability to both conceptualize your projects and make alterations on the fly as you work.

[@Mr-Squeeky]

The beauty in this project is the chaos within the pattern. I think this is a completely different project than attempting to establish a definite, discernible pattern in the wood. I like this just the way it came out.

[@williamellis8993]

Looks great, Frank. I still can't wrap my head around how you made this one and now you're moving on to something even more complicated. Take care. Bill

[@awildschuetz1]

We always want more! I want to see this combined with the idea behind the resin and wood globe so that random triangles are translucent resin. Then if you do multiple, you can drill a hole in them, insert some LEDs, and hang them as a chandelier. Your process for making spheres is so interesting to watch!

[@NottsKnots]

Seeing this project partially complete, made me think of a D20 Dice. I'd love to see you make a giant D20 nice, give it some kind of sudo marble/epoxy surface look, and put some kind of logo of yours in place of the number 20. (A fairly common thing among custom dice makers.)

[@itsthequenchiest3270]

That would be so cool!

[@frankmakes]

that would be cool, and it has crossed my mind. I would have to get into the custom dice world though

[@nosy-cat]

Beautiful. I'm not a big fan of chaotic patterns usually, but the low contrast and odd angles on this one really work for me.

[@SteveN-dw1uy]

Don't know much about woodwork, but looking at the chaotic pattern chopping boards, I think the key is to make the joints between the slices align with the chaotic pattern, so it sort of hides the fact it's composed of strips. The Chopping boards use a grid to achieve this, so for the sphere you probably need to work off a triangular grid. So I'm picturing gluing together short triangular rods into a larger triangle (imagine a triangular version of making a cube from square dowel rods) and then cutting slices off of this to make the faces of the sphere. You also want a mix of sizes or triangles when you do this glue up to create the chaotic appearance (you might be able to mix in trapezoidal/hexagonal shapes as well?). The chaotic boards sort of work because the initial components are of varying sizes, but they all look like multiples of some smaller grid). To make sure they can all tesselate properly, they should be multiples of some smaller triangular grid size (I guess something like 20% of the sphere face length should be ok, but maybe it needs to be like 10%). Once glued you could cross cut to get multiple faces from one glue up, but they'd be identical up to rotation. Maybe you can make 4 or 5 of these glue ups and get 5 or 4 cuts to make your 20 faces to get some variety. Or you make twenty different glue ups? Maybe that's not so bad either, if you just make chunks of the same length from your triangular/trapezoidal dowels, it's a bit like doing a jigsaw puzzle then.

[@kentowakai1234]

That pencil jab at Jimmy...hilarious.

[@ericpohlman5131]

Beautiful. The pattern looks like a collection of insect wings.

[@frankmakes]

ha, I like it

[@ericpohlman5131]

@@frankmakes ❤thanks.

[@MyLilMule]

The woodworkers version of a blacksmith making Damascus steel! Brilliant.

[@bgpappy30]

I look for all of your videos. I always can’t wait to see the next one. Thank you for sharing Sir.

[@TheNevron33]

I want the Howarth chuckle as my ringtone!

[@AnthonyStabler]

I'd pay for that!

[@AnthonyStabler]

I'd pay for that!

[@naturaIIydifferent]

Dude. That's awesome. Loved how you detail each step in the process! I've got a ton of scrap pine I've been trying to figure out something interesting to make with it and this is very inspiring. I really dig the organized chaos!

[@SethKotta]

I think working with contrasting woods will help you pick up on whatever it is you're looking for.

[@leapinglemurcraftworks6426]

I like to listen to your thought processes. Always interesting

[@tomasjosefvela1]

I love watching you work, your process is a great combination of plans and flying by the seat of your pants. 2:22 NAILED IT!!! i need one of those for sure!

[@roccocalzone5480]

Love seeing the evolution of the processes

[@shannonvans]

Fascinating as always, way beyond my skill level and even understanding, but I just love to watch!

[@SonofTheMorningStar666]

I really like that he's always trying new ideas.

[@kenneththomas3558]

Thanks so much, Frank. You are an inspiration!!

[@chrisromer8014]

I love the look of the pine. Thank you for sharing your ideas with us.

[@zaqqumkitchen]

Beautiful work as always. For an aperiodic pattern, consider making Penrose tiles. This will create your flat tiling with no repetition in pattern. The kite and the dart can be made from just two triangles with interior angles of 36-72-72 and 36-36-108 degrees respectively.

[@holdemNE1]

Really enjoyed the engineering behind this project. Well done.

[@-Deena.]

Wow Frank. How you envisage the plan and the process and then turn that into something solid always amazes me! 🧡

[@thedeloachsdoyoutube8377]

Beautiful Frank beautiful!

[@billziegler1673]

Really like your problem solving narration. That's my favorite part of "unique" woodworking projects.

[@Chipotle661944]

Frank, you have nearly perfected the art of translating creativity and high level craftsmanship into engaging entertainment. I say 'nearly perfected' not because I find fault, but simply because you often say "I think it could better". I'm not likely to attempt many of your projects myself, but I always learn something, am thoroughly entertained, and also inspired to do something creative in the workshop.

[@toddatglencovewoodworks]

Always exceptional and inspirational! Thanks Frank

[@rickcimino743]

when Frank says "I'm not sure I can wrap my head around...." something.....it must be really complex. I can't wrap my head around what he did here and I have watched it. Great work Frank and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that huge pencil.

[@walshjp17]

Wow! I can't wrap my head around where you come up with these genius ideas. First thought when I saw the completed and finished sphere at the end was -- drill three holes and go Nerf bowling😂

[@167curly]

That was a brilliant project, Frank.

[@NathanNostaw]

That came out looking way better than I expected. So much work and saw dust to get there though. :)

[@WHATAGIRLWANTS2009]

Really interesting concept and prototype. Looking forward to more exotic species and contrast. Thanks

[@willierants5880]

This bowl looks amazing. It really invokes a sense of leaves. This is a great piece for spring, summer or fall.

[@alanbarrington733]

Thank you for this. Watching you use the rotary axis and realizing that ultimately it was a time saver was a great watch. Although the CNC takes a lot time to cut you can walk away and do other things. Plus you can speed it up now.

[@frankmakes]

Thinking about it now. I could sand the points off and just do a single quick finishing pass on the cnc. 30 min on the cnc to save a day at the lathe.

[@alanbarrington733]

@@frankmakes You were running it slowly. Just increased IPM would cut a pile of time off.

[@daveditcher4059]

This video showed up randomly on my KZbin home page. Fascinating stuff my friend. Great skill and workmanship. Getting a little philosophical here, I see less and less interest in skilled trades among younger generations. Thanks for not only honing your skills but for putting them out there for us to admire.

[@Arborensis]

I'm not sure there is less interest. If anything, channels doing woodworking, and even hand-tool only wood working are more common now than they have ever been. same with many other similar trades.

[@gregahitchcock1982]

Eating breakfast and watching frank! Excellent work!

[@devanbrowne8706]

Next time you do this I'd enjoy getting to see the evolution of the grain pattern at each stage as you cut and reglue all the segments together.

[@frankmakes]

I was thinking I needed to show that more in the video.

[@tjacksonwoodworker3726]

Awesome Frank...

[@AlishaN-yh5nf]

That looked amasing and bearly noticed the triangel lines... your geting so good at thows globs

[@Rsama60]

What a nice sphere. I also like the tiny red pencil 😎

[@moldings_etc]

Very cool project!!! Love how you combined tons of skills and ended with a beautiful little piece.

[@chriscardwell3495]

The new design is very beautiful

[@eatenkate]

You are so calming, and it is so much fun to join you in figuring out things (:

[@lesliejohnson2982]

I think, if you want a truly chaotic pattern- You're going to have to involve the C&C machine and have a LOT more waste. You'd have to cut out of random pieces, and potentially try to avoid straight lines in your pattern/re-glue passes. Would that be do-able on the C&C? Perhaps cutting mirror images on opposite ends of the board and working your way centerward so you don't have straight lines? (like puzzle pieces, but less detailed, with waves/inverse waves so they fit together and can be reglued and then cut up. I think even if you did one "wave" pass where you did that, with different hardwood colors (including purple heart (pretty please!!!) only bc its my favorite, but that's just personal preference) - you would get a stunning result. "Nature abhors a straight line." :) It would give it a very organic look, and you might even be able to do something cool like work your initials into it in the first glue in in a color, and then cut it up and you'll have even more of a conversation piece than you normally do. Either way. hats off to your talent!

[@lesliejohnson2982]

This also might give way, with some of the scraps from that "more waste" I mentioned.. to doing 20 solid light colored triangles for a sphere, with an interesting shaped inlay in the center of the triangles. (I'd personally recommend either all hearts or the clubs/hearts/spades/diamonds from cards. That could be PHENOMENAL looking. I wish I had the equipment/knowledge/talent.. I'd do it myself. :) Or better yet, do it in a box format and it would make an AMAZING box for holding playing cards/poker chips.

[@naberville3305]

I love it. It seems so chaotic but you can see order and patterns if you look for them

[@jayhamm34]

Looks a lot like osb with all the end grain showing. Looks really cool.

[@danaowen9014]

Has such a wounderfull and easy on the eye pattern.

[@nemo4907]

Another brilliant job. Even your "Let's just see prototypes" are works of art!

[@metalslingr]

Very cool, Frank. ☕️

[@thomassanders81]

Frank, I wrote an essay on your work for one of my classes at NYU this semester. Great stuff!

[@michaelm077]

Very cool, perhaps a mixture of various types of wood would give you a unique look.

[@alanbutler1657]

Amazing, you have a great deal of patience.

[@rewdymeyer]

Really nice. The endgrain almost looks like leaves. 🍃

[@58Kym]

I thought my head was going to explode at the beginning! Thanks for the explanation but I think it was wasted on me.

[@nitreug87]

Paul Jackman made some of these interesting patterns in the past. Might be worth checking these videos.

[@ManOfTrades]

Love the sphere series, I think this is the best one yet and its only a test! Cant wait for your hardwood variant!

[@loucinci3922]

Looks cool. Turned out nice. Thanks for sharing

[@rickbacon9150]

Impressive as always ❤

[@fausta9839]

it could be really cool to make more of these w different shapes, both for a challenge and to see how they all compare visually. different angles for the triangles, squares, retangles, octagons, some made up shape. might get tedious super fast tho

[@Kate_Fyria]

This looks amazing! And doing the sphere on the cnc looked fun.

[@robhassett8119]

It always blows my mind watching your videos and how good they are.

[@FiniteChaos]

I sure hope you do more of these! It never gets old

[@RogiervanReekum]

Very nice experiment! The pattern and finish give the impression of a depth effect. As if there are ribbons of wood all bound up toegether.

[@Mike__B]

Seeing you do a very clean "rough cut" of the sphere on the CNC with the rotation axis my first thought going through my mind "Frank's cheating!"

[@AcraftyErin]

These spheres are absolutely gorgeous!

[@deanwellerassociates]

what a beautiful project

[@texasermd1]

Very nice! Suffice it to say you are a man of varied and interesting balls.

[@kevinhoppenworth6708]

I like it. Nice job Frank.

[@ShamWerks]

You've got balls, man!! And by that I mean that Frank has now build quite a few of these wooden spheres.

[@urwholefamilydied]

Wow.... that's really cool. It was objects like these (never seen anything quite like this until just now) that would so confuse me as a kid and into my teens and 20's. Just being so confused how something like that would be made. Probably thinking it all had to be individually cut and placed and would still have no clue how it became round, or what's inside it. Etc etc. I was a curious kid, so stuff like this would be so fascinating to me.

[@shadowscribe]

Very nice, it really is hard to make out the triangles since the pieces lead into strips that stop abruptly.

[@swittman9123]

I think the key to hiding the triangles lies in the difference between flat mapping and sphere mapping. Each triangle is 60 degrees, but only 5 of them come to a point in the glue up. I bet if your strips were cut to 72 degrees (360/5) your triangles would disappear a little more cleanly.

[@curtismeskus504]

There is a math genius out there that can figure out the angles in a second

[@TheKopakah]

beautiful man, really got the process down!

[@yorgle]

The finished product reminds me of an MC Escher woodcut (ha!)

[@TheDevnul]

Brilliant as always

[@bolderbomsidewayshedgehog]

Watching the cnc cut the sphere made me think you could always make a wooden bowling ball, using the cnc to cut the finger holes

[@lauraw3117]

That’s really beautiful! 👏🗜

[@kenc2257]

What a lovely sphere. [not sure I completely understood all the math-geometry; probably have to watch this video again]

[@barnabyjones8333]

Really cool random pattern- great effect! Beautiful! And, as always, love the techniques used to get there. If I may digress: This one made me wonder about the whole concept of "the sphere," from our fascination with it to how it works in nature, etc (Maybe it was the pattern, maybe this beautiful Sunday morning, Idk....). Thank you Frank!

[@chaserwilliams1]

Very cool Frank!

[@RobMods]

Thanks Frank. Wonderful content as always.

[@BrailsfordWoodworks]

Beautiful work as usual!

[@vfxsoup]

This will sound insane but once you had glued up the sphere, you needed to cut it again in to pieces, 6 cuts, 90 deg apart on the x,y,z, going through any side of the triangle. Then glue it back together and either repeat, or proceed as you did. Smaller sphere here you come… I thought the end result was beautiful, but can see the larger triangles still. Arm chair opinion over. Back to making this movie. Mark Breakspear.

[@Prophes0r]

Every time I see you get to the icosahedron stage I immediately jump to a 20-sided die in my head. Then I imagine you leaving some surfaces un-glued so you could add a hinge and turn the giant die into a dice box. Maybe a new project idea for you? You would have to figure out a way to keep the inside more neat., and which joints left un-glued would make the best lid. Maybe play with staining the faces colors? Or CNC cutting the numbers? Got any table-top gamers you wanted to make a present for? [EDIT] OH! Or maybe get SUPER complicated, keeping with the "random" idea, and build the numbers into the pattern of each face? In my head I'm seeing something like one of those color-blind tests where different colored dots make up the numbers. Except the dots can be any shape/size, and this time it is the numbers of the die face.

[@CammiesGarage]

Wonderful!