custom balloon making

prophet · Post by **prophet** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 7:42 pm

I'd like to learn how to make my own balloons in various unique shapes so that I could fill them with helium and use them for my mutant vehicle project. Can anybody help?

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Feb 05, 2004 10:20 am

Will the balloons provide lift to the vehicle, or just be decorative? You can bind weather balloons (Edmund Scientific Catalog) with rope while inflating to get interesting shapes, or create Freaky Airbags by sewing your unique shape in lightweight cotton fabric and then coating the shape with latex to seal...(spray on, so you get coverage without excess weight)
Or, make a cloth bag with a zipper that you can fill with helium balloons.
You could also mould balloons from latex by making a form in plasticene clay and spraying/brushing latex on- A negative, two-part mould would probably be easiest. Latex isn't as stretchy as some balloon rubbers, but is relatively easy to acquire and somewhat cheaper...You could make sea urchin-like shapes with bundles of helium-filled condoms........

prophet · Post by **prophet** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 12:29 pm

they'll be for decorative purposes, and you've got a lot of great ideas-thanks!!

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Feb 08, 2004 7:56 pm

Hey thanks robot, you just took care of one problem I had.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:25 am

Later in the day after my earlier post I flipped on the tube, and "Advenures of Baron Munchausen" was on.....I forgot to suggest making a balloon out of donated knickers!

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 6:44 am

And these Salem girls have some " large!!" nickers.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue Feb 10, 2004 6:31 am

...and lots of Kalamazoo girls are late "bloomers".....

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Wed Feb 25, 2004 9:42 am

Have a few notes, though not all links are up to date:
http://www.geocities.com/potatotrap/tec ... inflatable

Aside from making a balloon conform to a particular shape, which I suppose would have something in common with sewing stuffed animals, keeping something inflated might be a challenge. Quoting American Science & Surplus (www.sciplus.com): "Great fun, but remember –– this is, indeed, a meteorological balloon. It’s not made to bump into anything sharper than a cloud. Hit concrete, roof shingles or a patch of crabgrass with it when it’s inflated, and that balloon is history!"

Skyhawk · Post by **Skyhawk** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 3:26 am

and remember a helium balloon on a hot day. the sun will heat the latex Severly. if its a dark-ish color (almost anything other then white) it will heat up so much that the expanding helium, or plain air, will pop the balloon in a short time, or at the least cause it to stretch and deform oddly. this would be even more pronounced if the ballon is bound or confined somehow into a shape. and if the balloon Isnt of a dark enough color to explode, there is still a problem. all that sunlight or white or kinda-clear latex makes it very weak and lets the gases under pressure Inside out to the, well, outside.. leaving you with a rather limp and wrinkly little balloon.

consider filling the balloons with somethign other then air.. expanding foam? poly/cotton pillow stuffing? note: if you fill a ballon with expanding foam, you can make some Great ballon animals.. and if you Overfill it.. well.. it can be removed with many solvents or gently scraped off of skin with a pumice stone.

just My lil' 'ol $.02

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 6:20 am

You can create a hot air balloon simply by making a burrito of black plastic and leaving it in the sun.

As a kid I discovered that inflating a 10' weather balloon on a pingpong table is a bad idea. I got that sucker TAUT before a splinter brushed it, leaving me stinging, deaf and dusty.....

Martiansky · Post by **Martiansky** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 10:20 am

robotland wrote:
As a kid I discovered that inflating a 10' weather balloon on a pingpong table is a bad idea. I got that sucker TAUT before a splinter brushed it, leaving me stinging, deaf and dusty.....

Robo, I'm glad you're okay but gawds I was ROTFLMAO after I read this!!