Alright there folks,
I've been thinking about getting a joining/capentry place to make about 20 Tamas and asking some of my artsy friends to customise them with one off paint jobs, and giving them as gifts and maybe ebay some of them.
What do you guys think?
Has anyone tried this themselves? How much should I be looking to pay for 20 wooden balls?
Types of paint? Novelties?
Any advice or critique is appreciated.
Ta lid.
Hi Vagabond,
Welcome to the forum.
I once went into a woodwork shop to ask about getting some kendamas made. It never came about in the end, as they weren't up to making the cross pieces, and I never got a quote out of them, but I'm sure that some balls wouldn't be too complex a job. They might be quite expensive per ball on a short run though. But it's always worth asking!
You could perhaps also ask a manufacturer if they would be up for selling you some unpainted balls loose.
I've no idea about the paint, I'm afraid.
Let us know how you get on.
Alright, so I've been in your situation. I own and run Terra Kendamas (http://www.facebook.com/terrakendamas), a small company specializing in handmade and customized kendamas, usually using exotic woods.
When we first started up we explored a couple different ways of making/buying balls. In the interest of quality (a perfect sphere is one of the hardest things to make on a lathe) we opted to buy machine made balls. We contacted the owners of Sunrise Kendamas and they were super helpful. They also offer the option of selling pre-primed balls for slightly more. We didn't opt for this option but it is available. Check out www.thekendamacompany.com (http://www.thekendamacompany.com) for more info