I wanted something new to shoot at and had an old buddy who liked using old soccer balls as kick targets for his recurve. Fortunately (for me) I have family big into soccer who had a ball that wasn't that old but never held air. They were going to toss it, so I decided to make it a project.
First thing I did was slice a couple of small slits in the surface of the ball and thread a piece of 1/4" white nylon rope through. I tied the rope down to the ball and made a large loop on the free end to serve as sort of a handle.
I wanted to make the ball hold its shape a little longer/better, and add a little stopping power to it, and I had a nearly full can of spray foam insulation in the garage. The can sat there for at least two years, so I figured it was worth a shot to fill the ball with it.
I cut a large slit in the ball on the opposite side from the nylon rope and pumped as much of that can in there as I could. My experience with spray foam insulation is that it expands quickly and aggressively, which this did not do. Maybe because the inside of the ball was relatively sealed from the air, even with the big cut? Anyway, I found this out the hard (sticky, messy) way the next day. I assumed it was cured. It wasn't. I shot the ball, pulled the arrow, and it was a goopy, sticky, nasty mess. I used some alcohol on the end of the arrow and cleaned it off. I basically gave up on the ball for several days and forgot about it. Then I checked a few days ago, and the foam had expanded well, filled the chamber of the ball, and hardened. I've shot it since maybe 15 times and it stops arrows pretty well. They pull easier than from a foam 3D target, and have pulled clean so far.
First thing I did was slice a couple of small slits in the surface of the ball and thread a piece of 1/4" white nylon rope through. I tied the rope down to the ball and made a large loop on the free end to serve as sort of a handle.
I wanted to make the ball hold its shape a little longer/better, and add a little stopping power to it, and I had a nearly full can of spray foam insulation in the garage. The can sat there for at least two years, so I figured it was worth a shot to fill the ball with it.
I cut a large slit in the ball on the opposite side from the nylon rope and pumped as much of that can in there as I could. My experience with spray foam insulation is that it expands quickly and aggressively, which this did not do. Maybe because the inside of the ball was relatively sealed from the air, even with the big cut? Anyway, I found this out the hard (sticky, messy) way the next day. I assumed it was cured. It wasn't. I shot the ball, pulled the arrow, and it was a goopy, sticky, nasty mess. I used some alcohol on the end of the arrow and cleaned it off. I basically gave up on the ball for several days and forgot about it. Then I checked a few days ago, and the foam had expanded well, filled the chamber of the ball, and hardened. I've shot it since maybe 15 times and it stops arrows pretty well. They pull easier than from a foam 3D target, and have pulled clean so far.
