I want to build a fruit cage.

Are build a balls any good for use with bamboo canes ?.

Can anyone recommend a cheap place to buy them ?.

TIA,

woodglass...

They could be used with bamboo canes, but it's a bit difficult finding
exactly the right diameter canes for a snug fit, otherwise they won't hold
together properly.

There are a lot for sale on ebay at various prices. Before I bought mine
about five years ago, I scoured every garden centre and nobody sold them so
I had to pay full price from Harrod Horticultural by mail order. I have to
say I only used them one season, I'm not overly impressed, but each to his
own of course!

Ros

I want to build a fruit cage.

Are build a balls any good for use with bamboo canes ?.

Can anyone recommend a cheap place to buy them ?.

TIA,

woodglass...

Thanks for the swift replies folks !.

I guess I wont be buying any - you've saved me money !

Colin...

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:32:13 +0100, "Colin Gibbins"
wrote:

I want to build a fruit cage.

Are build a balls any good for use with bamboo canes ?.

Can anyone recommend a cheap place to buy them ?.

TIA,

woodglass...

Absolutely effing bloody useless!! The holes are never the right size
for the canes; they pop out at the slightest provocation; I wouldn't
give them away to my worst enemy!

(You can see I made the mistake of buying some. Don't you do the
same!)

--

Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales

On 15/04/2012 16:55, Colin Gibbins wrote:
Thanks for the swift replies folks !.

I guess I wont be buying any - you've saved me money !

Colin...

"Chris wrote in message
...
On Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:32:13 +0100, "Colin Gibbins"
wrote:

I want to build a fruit cage.

Are build a balls any good for use with bamboo canes ?.

Can anyone recommend a cheap place to buy them ?.

TIA,

woodglass...

Absolutely effing bloody useless!! The holes are never the right size
for the canes; they pop out at the slightest provocation; I wouldn't
give them away to my worst enemy!

(You can see I made the mistake of buying some. Don't you do the
same!)

--

And I'll second everything they said!

"Colin Gibbins" wrote in message
...
I want to build a fruit cage.

Are build a balls any good for use with bamboo canes ?.

Can anyone recommend a cheap place to buy them ?.

TIA,

woodglass...


Bamboo canes wont be strong enough the windage on the netting will just
flatten the whole thing.

2x1 roof battens are the smallest I would go and they need bracing at the
corners as I discovered, I have ended up with masonry and telegraph poles
but at least its now solid!


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:32:13 +0100, "Colin Gibbins"
wrote:

I want to build a fruit cage.

Are build a balls any good for use with bamboo canes ?.

Can anyone recommend a cheap place to buy them ?.

TIA,

woodglass...

Absolutely effing bloody useless!! The holes are never the right size
for the canes; they pop out at the slightest provocation; I wouldn't
give them away to my worst enemy!

(You can see I made the mistake of buying some. Don't you do the
same!)

Thanks for that from me too, I was thinking of getting some and now I won't
waste the money.
It just occurred to me - would drilling the appropriate sized holes for the
canes we have in old tennis balls work?
You'd have to hold them firmly in a vice, of course.

On 16/04/2012 17:05, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:44:03 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:


"Chris wrote in message
...
On Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:32:13 +0100, "Colin Gibbins"
wrote:

I want to build a fruit cage.

Are build a balls any good for use with bamboo canes ?.

Can anyone recommend a cheap place to buy them ?.

TIA,

woodglass...

Absolutely effing bloody useless!! The holes are never the right size
for the canes; they pop out at the slightest provocation; I wouldn't
give them away to my worst enemy!

(You can see I made the mistake of buying some. Don't you do the
same!)

Thanks for that from me too, I was thinking of getting some and now I won't
waste the money.
It just occurred to me - would drilling the appropriate sized holes for the
canes we have in old tennis balls work?
You'd have to hold them firmly in a vice, of course.

The trouble with canes is that they vary in diameter, one from the
next, as well as from one end to the other. The B-a-B things have
slightly tapered holes in an attempt to accommodate this, but it
doesn't work. I doubt if tennis balls would either, but if you drill
the holes a bit undersize and individually for the size of cane, the
elasticity in a tennis ball might allow them to be forced in and
gripped. But I think they wouldn't be rigid, and the whole structure
would wobble about all over the place. More trouble than it's worth,
IMO. Better to use some decent twine and lash them together.

The ones I tried had different sized holes to accommodate different
sized canes - but they were still useless!

I want to build a fruit cage.

Are build a balls any good for use with bamboo canes ?.

Can anyone recommend a cheap place to buy them ?.


I uses plastic waste pipe for mine
The fittings are sloted over tile batton shaved down to fit and
fastened to fencing posts which I had.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...fittings01.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...fittings02.jpg

On Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:05:26 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

I doubt if tennis balls would either, but if you drill the holes a bit
undersize and individually for the size of cane, the elasticity in a
tennis ball might allow them to be forced in and gripped.

Drilling holes in something soft an elastic would be fun. I think
you'd be better off just making a slit or perhaps a slit cross and
poking the cane in. Self adjusting to the cane diameter.

But I think they wouldn't be rigid, and the whole structure would wobble
about all over the place.

Triangles don't wobble, at least no where near as much as rectangular
shapes do. Simply putting a diagonal across a rectangle will greatly
increase the rigidity.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 16-Apr-12 22:58, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:05:26 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

I doubt if tennis balls would either, but if you drill the holes a bit
undersize and individually for the size of cane, the elasticity in a
tennis ball might allow them to be forced in and gripped.

Drilling holes in something soft an elastic would be fun. I think
you'd be better off just making a slit or perhaps a slit cross and
poking the cane in. Self adjusting to the cane diameter.

But I think they wouldn't be rigid, and the whole structure would wobble
about all over the place.

Triangles don't wobble, at least no where near as much as rectangular
shapes do. Simply putting a diagonal across a rectangle will greatly
increase the rigidity.

This sounds like a job for Buckminster Fuller.

I think, however, that you will struggle to achieve sufficient rigidity
with tennis balls. Lashing, as suggested earlier in the thread, would
be a better bet. I have also made some pretty rigid joints in cane
based structures by drilling ~1/8" holes through the ends and fixing
them with galvanised fencing wire passed through and twisted round.

--
Dona F

On Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:27:48 +0100, Dona Ferentes wrote:

I think, however, that you will struggle to achieve sufficient rigidity
with tennis balls.

Possibly. An additional thought I had after posting would be to make
slits/crosses on opposite sides of the ball and have the cane ends
pass right through. Might need so careful plotting of where to put
the slits so the canes can cross inside the ball.

--
Cheers
Dave.

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.co.uk...
On Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:27:48 +0100, Dona Ferentes wrote:

I think, however, that you will struggle to achieve sufficient rigidity
with tennis balls.

Possibly. An additional thought I had after posting would be to make
slits/crosses on opposite sides of the ball and have the cane ends
pass right through. Might need so careful plotting of where to put
the slits so the canes can cross inside the ball.

--
Cheers
Dave.




Might be better to use cable ties. When the birds shredded the fibre string
we used one year, we re-inforced the junctions and crosses with cable ties.
Since then we have used a waxed string left over from cable loom lacing

Mike

--

....................................

I'm an Angel, honest ! The horns are there just to keep the halo straight.

....................................

In article , Ros Butt
writes
They could be used with bamboo canes, but it's a bit difficult finding
exactly the right diameter canes for a snug fit, otherwise they won't hold
together properly.


A little bit of blue tac on end of cane would fit them in securely
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk