Another method for making rough spheres on the wood lathe. A simple sanding jig is then used to smooth them a bit. The entire process takes minutes once the jigs have been made.
There are many, many ways to make wooden spheres. Perfection is an impossible goal, so it's a nice project to play around with. I am not asking your advice on how to do it in this video. I've already made more than my share, and I've watched countless videos on the subject. In case you're looking, here are a few KZread presenters that have made some interesting attempts: Noho91, Izzy Swan, Pask Makes.
Remember though: videos are heavily edited, and so they are misleading. They make things look easy. But there are two woodworking subjects that look WAY easier than they actually are: sphere making and dowel making. Both subjects are usually delivered with the promise of some new, simplified contraption that will somehow ensure a perfect, easy result. Not the case with either. It is no coincidence that both of these projects are round. Round things require precision while spinning, which means that it's tough to produce any respectable result without tons of troubleshooting. Strap in, because there aren't really any simple AND perfect ways to produce perfect dowels or spheres. Perfection with these is found at the price of attention paid to the individual-that is, you can have one only after you've given it enough of your time. And even then, it could still be improved upon.
Remember that guy in 'Jurassic Park 2,' who was complaining: “I'll love it when it works!”?
The other guy then responds (perfectly), “It'll work when you love it.”
Making round things is like that. Perfection may only be approached, and not obtained. The relationship is asymptotic.
If you want to see perfection pr0n, take note that you are indulging your biases by watching a fantasy. You may want to see crisp corners and smooth edges where 'appropriate,' but those expectations are the want of your preference for order in a constantly changing world. Hold a handful of snow as hard as you can, but the more powerful the clench, the more apparent the futility. Even the most exquisitely crafted precision pays its tax to the universe in which it temporarily resides. The nature of this reality is to be impartial and deconstructive over time, and thus, any shiny gems of finely sculpted order will eventually erode and then decompose to be used for other latticed states of new creation. That's just how it works. So there's really no point in telling me how I could do it better, unless you can show me how to do it in such a way that I can no longer tell you how you might do that better. And since that is necessarily not possible, shut your presumptuous hole. Hope you liked the video.
Oh, one more thing: the mathematical term for 'eggish' is 'ellipsoid.' We could make one intentionally by simply angling the holesaw away from the center of the lathe's axis of rotation. Technically (even though it's more round than a billiards ball), the Earth is an ellipsoid, since the spin causes a mild outward bulge. Let's back up for a moment. The circle is an ideal. It is not possible in the physical world. The sphere is a circle that is projected into an additional dimension, so it is therefore just as impossible. No more, no less; both the circle and the sphere require an infinite number of points to define. But as far as real-world approximations go, tweaking any one of its little variables will cause the circle to deform. This is why the universe is so full of ellipses. Orbits are just one case. A round swimming pool viewed from eye level is another. As is a coffee cup, or a penny-from every perspective but one, these circles are ellipses. But you view through eyes, and thus, through perspective, an aberration. You have never seen a circle. Nor will you, ever.
It's easier to make an ellipse or an ellipsoid, than a circle or a sphere, because it's easier to not be perfectly round from every possible perspective. One little variable off, and there goes the ideal! Have no fear: you may love the idea of perfection, but ideally, imperfection can still work for you, once you come 'round to loving it.