(warning long read! get a cuppa first, or an 'echo' (thats south australian for a bottle of beer) sit back and relax or read over a couple of days, thats how i wrote it, in my spare time )
just an update on my, um, perhaps slow progress, slow because i still have to make my platform yet which is on the "list" of things to do , i hope to get around to it as soon as i finish one or two other projects first, and i should be receiving my swivel any day soon i expect, once i have that i will do a little measuring so i know (for sure) just how big, or rather what the minimum diameter i can get away with is and still fit my largest speedball. perhaps i will be able to show my home made platform, assuming it all goes to plan and thats what i do, and if it turns out ok of course
i received my Cleto Reyes recently, the pic below shows the little family with my jim bradley ($83AU). the CR were about $60-$70US depending on size, the guy sent me complimentary boxing glove key chain and funny little packets of lollies, weird little chewing gum type lollies, also a pen...the pen i will get some use out of . the two smallest CR bags came with a spare bladder (in the plastic wrap) which is a nice addition but seems kinda strange why the larger two bags didn't, not sure how they work that out, perhaps the bladders were a gift. you may notice that the size of the bladder is considerbly bigger than XS size, so it must really be crammed in there one way or another.. theres a good chance i will try out some plastic bladders for these CR once i have it all up and going, i dont think a plastic bladder will fit the JB speed ball ( due to shape and valve location on plastic bladders being different) , none that i have seen anyway, but its pretty light so it may be just fine as it is
speaking of the size of the largest speedball (my Jim Bradley) i'm glad i did hold off on making the platform until after i got my SB and such, as the way Jim Bradley measures his (i ordered the large 40cm or 16inch size) seems to be quite different to how some others measure their speedbags
for example the cleto reyes bags seem to measure theirs from the inside top of the loop (close enough to the top inside that it doesnt matter anyhow) , thats the point where the S-hook or or chain link would sit, then down through the centre line of each ball (as if it were cut in half) which is its total length. give or take a bit (the loop) thats kinda how i expected speed bags to be measured and the cleto reyes seem to be pretty spot on to what they advertise them to be, e.g the mini (also known as XS) is 8x5, the small size is 9x6, medium is 10x7 and Large is 11x8.. the Jim Bradley large speed ball is advertised as being 40cm which is 16' from memory. before it arrived i was anticipating it to have an end to end length (through centre) of 40cm, however upon inflating it, it looked smaller to me and using a ruler sure enough it was, approx 2 + inches shorter or about 34cm (13 1/4 inches) in total including the loop. no doubt the way jim bradley are measuring is by following around the outside of the ball, e.g. from the top of the loop running a tape along the outside curve and stopping in the middle of the bottom, where the valve is situated on many speedbags, measures spot on 40cm, no doubt thats the about the length of the leather panels they need before sewing it together. i think it reasonable to assume the Jim Bradley 25cm (10 inch) is probably measured the same way and would actually end up being smaller too (more standard popular size used by folks for 'speed' i guess).
without hitting them yet, so just from feel, fit and look i'm happy with the quality and construction of both brands, they are worlds apart though! the C Reyes feel much heavier leather than the JB, not too heavy though, not as thick as some in the local stores to me or old leather bags made in India (Ringsport), i cant remember what they used specifically but it feels like a thin cow hide or possibly goat (edit, duh, should have read the label it says goat or head leather), it feels nice and i can imagine it will wear in very nicely, its nowhere near as heavy a leather as we get on our aussie rules Sherrin footballs but i wouldn't fancy hitting one of them a thousand times repeatedly with my knuckles anyway
the stitching on the CR look wonderful, not sure if they are hand or machine stitched, almost looks hand stitched to me but i suspect it might be by machine just not a machine with a double needle set up, the folds and piping look very good, perhaps the contrasting piping being edge cut leather doesnt look as pristine (some slightly pale colouring in places) as some advertising pics look but that might be nitpicking, the panels all look perfectly shaped and even giving the ball its correct shape, think i like the black with blue piping the best, it seems to stand out! i considered getting (actually really wanted them) the multicolour ball but my kids wouldn't hear of it, being sports minded kids (there young adults really, i just call em kids still) and with the olympics on atm they said they didnt want 'Italian' colours, i said ah thats a bit unfair, what does it matter, besides its mexico lol , think they just wanted red or black )
I'm not overly confident the lacing will last for too many years, if, one needed to open and relace it vey often, they just seem a tad delicate to me but i might be wrong and only time will tell, they are laced up perfectly from the factory though and its not hard to put a new shoelace in if need be a year or five down the track if ness. solid looking studs hold the very stiff loop in place. the balls have got all manner of warnings on it, i find it kinda funny but no doubt many companies have to cover their derrieres nowadays, it has three tags sewn on, one states the size of the ball, the other has information about the company and its location and the third has quite a long blurb about wearing gloves, wraps or padding for saftey and any injury sustained is your own dam fault from this day forward , on the bottom is some instruction (though it says 'caution') in two languages on how to insert the needle, its only applied with a transfer and should come off after some sessions being whacked about i suspect ...i like em, cant wait to hit em about, untill then they bounce around the floor pretty good, not a bad substitute for indoor aussie rules footy and their like kids, always underfoot
continued next post . . .
just an update on my, um, perhaps slow progress, slow because i still have to make my platform yet which is on the "list" of things to do , i hope to get around to it as soon as i finish one or two other projects first, and i should be receiving my swivel any day soon i expect, once i have that i will do a little measuring so i know (for sure) just how big, or rather what the minimum diameter i can get away with is and still fit my largest speedball. perhaps i will be able to show my home made platform, assuming it all goes to plan and thats what i do, and if it turns out ok of course
i received my Cleto Reyes recently, the pic below shows the little family with my jim bradley ($83AU). the CR were about $60-$70US depending on size, the guy sent me complimentary boxing glove key chain and funny little packets of lollies, weird little chewing gum type lollies, also a pen...the pen i will get some use out of . the two smallest CR bags came with a spare bladder (in the plastic wrap) which is a nice addition but seems kinda strange why the larger two bags didn't, not sure how they work that out, perhaps the bladders were a gift. you may notice that the size of the bladder is considerbly bigger than XS size, so it must really be crammed in there one way or another.. theres a good chance i will try out some plastic bladders for these CR once i have it all up and going, i dont think a plastic bladder will fit the JB speed ball ( due to shape and valve location on plastic bladders being different) , none that i have seen anyway, but its pretty light so it may be just fine as it is
speaking of the size of the largest speedball (my Jim Bradley) i'm glad i did hold off on making the platform until after i got my SB and such, as the way Jim Bradley measures his (i ordered the large 40cm or 16inch size) seems to be quite different to how some others measure their speedbags
for example the cleto reyes bags seem to measure theirs from the inside top of the loop (close enough to the top inside that it doesnt matter anyhow) , thats the point where the S-hook or or chain link would sit, then down through the centre line of each ball (as if it were cut in half) which is its total length. give or take a bit (the loop) thats kinda how i expected speed bags to be measured and the cleto reyes seem to be pretty spot on to what they advertise them to be, e.g the mini (also known as XS) is 8x5, the small size is 9x6, medium is 10x7 and Large is 11x8.. the Jim Bradley large speed ball is advertised as being 40cm which is 16' from memory. before it arrived i was anticipating it to have an end to end length (through centre) of 40cm, however upon inflating it, it looked smaller to me and using a ruler sure enough it was, approx 2 + inches shorter or about 34cm (13 1/4 inches) in total including the loop. no doubt the way jim bradley are measuring is by following around the outside of the ball, e.g. from the top of the loop running a tape along the outside curve and stopping in the middle of the bottom, where the valve is situated on many speedbags, measures spot on 40cm, no doubt thats the about the length of the leather panels they need before sewing it together. i think it reasonable to assume the Jim Bradley 25cm (10 inch) is probably measured the same way and would actually end up being smaller too (more standard popular size used by folks for 'speed' i guess).
without hitting them yet, so just from feel, fit and look i'm happy with the quality and construction of both brands, they are worlds apart though! the C Reyes feel much heavier leather than the JB, not too heavy though, not as thick as some in the local stores to me or old leather bags made in India (Ringsport), i cant remember what they used specifically but it feels like a thin cow hide or possibly goat (edit, duh, should have read the label it says goat or head leather), it feels nice and i can imagine it will wear in very nicely, its nowhere near as heavy a leather as we get on our aussie rules Sherrin footballs but i wouldn't fancy hitting one of them a thousand times repeatedly with my knuckles anyway
the stitching on the CR look wonderful, not sure if they are hand or machine stitched, almost looks hand stitched to me but i suspect it might be by machine just not a machine with a double needle set up, the folds and piping look very good, perhaps the contrasting piping being edge cut leather doesnt look as pristine (some slightly pale colouring in places) as some advertising pics look but that might be nitpicking, the panels all look perfectly shaped and even giving the ball its correct shape, think i like the black with blue piping the best, it seems to stand out! i considered getting (actually really wanted them) the multicolour ball but my kids wouldn't hear of it, being sports minded kids (there young adults really, i just call em kids still) and with the olympics on atm they said they didnt want 'Italian' colours, i said ah thats a bit unfair, what does it matter, besides its mexico lol , think they just wanted red or black )
I'm not overly confident the lacing will last for too many years, if, one needed to open and relace it vey often, they just seem a tad delicate to me but i might be wrong and only time will tell, they are laced up perfectly from the factory though and its not hard to put a new shoelace in if need be a year or five down the track if ness. solid looking studs hold the very stiff loop in place. the balls have got all manner of warnings on it, i find it kinda funny but no doubt many companies have to cover their derrieres nowadays, it has three tags sewn on, one states the size of the ball, the other has information about the company and its location and the third has quite a long blurb about wearing gloves, wraps or padding for saftey and any injury sustained is your own dam fault from this day forward , on the bottom is some instruction (though it says 'caution') in two languages on how to insert the needle, its only applied with a transfer and should come off after some sessions being whacked about i suspect ...i like em, cant wait to hit em about, untill then they bounce around the floor pretty good, not a bad substitute for indoor aussie rules footy and their like kids, always underfoot
continued next post . . .
Comment