The Hoopball…A DIY Project

Here’s a few pictures of the original Hoopball that my son’s and I made a few years ago. It has seen a lot of wear and tear from the brats over the years but it's still holding up well.
Sunrise and TAz are in this first picture...



Boo and Indy...



Sunrise and TAz again...



Boo, Indy and TAz...


There are commercial versions of it (called an Atom) for sale out there at several places…however, they will be quite different than the Hoopball that son’s and I made.

What follows here is the Do-It-Yourself info needed to make one for your fids. There are many ways to build this and many varied versions of this ball…from simple vet wrapped ones to the smaller ring version wrapped in sisal or whatever covering one chooses.

This particular version was geared toward macaws and their destructive nature to tear things apart. It is also a super large one compared to the ones that are out there for sale.

OK, let’s get started…
There are many places to get supplies…Dollar stores, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. You will end up going to two different stores to obtain the needed parts. The stores listed are where we got ours out of convenience.

This project starts out with four hula hoops that we got at the super Walmart...just the plain ordinary ones like these pictured here...

Then we went back to their boat and marine section and got some poly rope in different colors…
Each pack of rope is 3/8 diameter, 25 foot long and it takes two of them (50 foot total) to cover each hula hoop...the hula hoops were 28 inches in diameter. So you will need 8 packs of 25 foot long rope to cover the hoops. 2 packs of each color is what we used.
This pic is of one of the hoops done in the yellow...

The rope has to be wound really tight on the hoop, my son was going round and round with the rope ahead of me while I pulled the rope up tight. I found that if I turned the rope with a tight twisting grip I could force it even tighter and make the rope go further. You wrap a ways and then go back a little and grip and twist it even tighter while pushing it together to make everything as tight as possible...this is important…you will have some sore hands before it's over.

Here's the pic of the poly rope with the bar code numbers...as you know, the bar code has a smaller printed number one in front and one at the end of the main number so I'm giving you the "entire" number set.
This is 3/8 inch poly rope in a 25 foot lenght. You will need two 25 foot lenghts of each color to cover the 28 inch diameter hoops.

The same style poly rope can be bought in 100 foot lengths at Home Depot for 12.00 if you want to go that route.

Bar codes:
All the colors have the same bar code 030213000085
The next picture is of some hardware you will need which you will also find at Wal-Mart...

Some of the hardware
Left to right: first is the 1/4 inch diameter 2&1/2 inch long eyebolts. Get two packs, even though you only need one the extras will come in handy to hang toy's off off.(Red package)B/Code#03506152050
Update...We started using stainless steel eyebolts that can be found at Lowes...(Home Depot may or may not have stainless steel...mine didn't but other people say theirs does)
The stainless steel eyebolts from Lowes are listed as ¼…20 thread X 2 inches long. You will find them in the hardware section in the drawers. (I think the drawers are colored blue? where they keep all the stainless hardware.)
The 4 way crosses are for 1 inch PVC...they can be found at Lowes or Home Depot.
Second or middle: is the 1/4 inch lock nuts. Get one pack containing 4 nuts.(Blue package)B/code#03506190255
Third and last is the 3/4 inch long #8 stainless steel screws. Get three packs. (Green package)B/Code#3506149525
Also get a pack of 1/4 inch washers.

This picture is of the four hoola hoops covered with the poly rope. You will notice that the rope didn't quite cover all of the hoop. No worry, just cut the excess hoop off. If you notice at the bottom of the hoops is where I ran out of the first 25 foot of rope at the halfway point and started in again with the second 25 foot rope. The tape is there to hold it in place.


Here's another pic showing how the two 25 foot lenghts of rope didn't cover the whole hoop. You can also see where I was using clear packing tape to hold the ends of the rope while wrapping it and to keep it in place. You can also use some of the SS screws to hold it in place and I would suggest doing that.. The two inside hoops need to be a little smaller than the outside hoops, so usually the two hoops that you cut the most off of will be used as the inside ones. You can make any of the hoops work that way though by simply making sure that the two inside hoops are a little smaller in diameter than the outer ones by cutting them smaller even if it means cutting some of the rope off too.



Here's a picture of why I cut the eyebots short....So I could get both of them in the 4way on each side without running into each other. Update...we have started using stainless steel hardware since then. You can get the eyebolts in stainless that are the right length already at Lowes...no more cutting them off like before. They are called 2 inch but the shaft is only one inch of that length which makes them work out great. They are also 1/4 inch in diameter.
Use the self locking nuts on the eyebolts so they can't come loose. I had to use "washers' on them to make them tighten up on the 4way. So add 1/4 inch washers to your list of supplies. If you want the eyebolts to "swivel" then don't tighten the "self locking" nuts all the way down. I like to have eyebolts on "both sides" of the 4ways so I can hang a toy in the center and also the very bottom eyebolt will allow me to hang a droppings catcher underneath later on when I make one. (Note) We have been installing eyebolts on both sides of the upper and lower 4 way connectors, that way you can add something in the middle to help hold the H/ball in shape so it won't start slumping down into an egg shape after it gets older. You can either use a toy with connectors on both ends or else a piece of stainless chain hooked at both ends with quick links.


Here's a picture of the holes you need to drill in the 4way to install the eyebolts. Drill a 1/8 inch diameter hole as a guide(as shown on the left) "before" drilling the 1/4 inch one.

Here's a picture of the 1/8 inch holes you need to drill for the #8 stainless steel screws to go into. There is holes drilled top and bottom and staggered so the screws don't run into one another. The holes on one side of the 4way were drilled 3/8 of a inch from the end and the other side was drilled 5/8 of an inch from the end just to give ya an idea of distance. Two of the 4ways need the 1/4 inch hole in the middle for the eyebolts while the other two don't.


Here's what the end of the hoop should look like after you cut off any excess hoop as you want the end to go up into the 4way far enough to make sure the screws go through the rope to hold it in place…or better still, if you already have some of the SS screws in place to hold the rope from coming loose. Recheck the rope to make sure it is still twisted up tight before putting it into the 4way to install the screws.




Here's a picture of what I did to the ends to make "sure" they would not untwist or loosen back up. I installed a screw close to the end. It's the same #8 SS screw, 3/4 inch long, that is used in the 4ways. You'll need to buy an extra pack of screws to do it this way.

Here's a picture of how the ends are all the way into the 4way before installing the screws to hold them in.
Just "pay attention" that the 4way is in the right position to the curvature of the hoop before installing the screws. Put the screws on the outside of the 4way first and then put the ones in that are facing to the inside of the hoop. When the screw pulls up tight, then stop screwing it in or the screw will strip out in the plastic hoop.

Here's a pic of the two hoops that will make up the two inside hoops.


Here's the two inside hoops put together, with the red one in the background waiting to go on next.


This is a picture of the two outer hoops. They will also be the ones with the eyebolts in the 4ways.

After you put the red one around the two inside hoops, you can install the yellow one also.

You need to position the two sets of hoops in relation to one another like this. Note in the picture where the 4ways are located....top and bottom on the outside red and yellow hoops and on each side for the inner two hoops. Just keep working with it until everything looks like it should and is in place before tying it at the eight intersections where the 4ways are not there.


Then where they intersect with each other, you can take the two foot long pieces of 1/8 inch cotton rope and tie it around those spots to hold it together in that spot. Tie it around the intersections in a X pattern. You can also put some beads on the ends of the strings for them to play with also.

Here's the small cotton rope, I already colored the cotton rope with food coloring. Just a side note when using liquid food coloring or Vitacritter to color rope or wood…use common alcohol instead of water to mix it with.)


Here's a picture of the heavy larger beads that was used that you will find in the craft section at Wal-mart, I think they were almost five dollars for a bag.

You can make different toys of your choosing to hang on the inside…


Here's a pic with the ceiling protector attached so they can’t climb up to the ceiling. The ceiling protector is made from from a short length of PVC pipe and a couple of caps with the eyebolts in them.
You can attach it right next to the H/ball or else put the chain between the h/ball and the ceiling protector. Here's the example.

Another...


The eyebolts are supposed to swivel in the ends of the protector so don't worry about them coming loose, they have the self locking nuts on them. They swivel so if the bird is flapping their wings, the H/ball will spin around.

Again…we have started using stainless eyebolts and stainless quik links since this picture was taken.

That’s about it folks…have fun making one and if ya got any questions, just ask.

Some more pics…
Here's Sunrise supervising the boy's while we were making it...

Two rings make a orbit...

Four rings, or two orbits make a atom...

Here it is hanging with a toy on the inside...


Another angle showing the open space in the middle...


Once you have the Hoopball made and in the shape it should be, it will help to hold it's shape if you have something that hooks to the top eyebolt and goes to the bottom eyebolt on the inside portion of the H/ball to prevent it from slumping down over time into an eggshape. We started using a piece of stainless steel chain in ours with a quick link on both ends to attach the chain to the eyebolts.