I don't even know how to do this: How to customize a Magic 8 Ball

Things You'll Need:

Magic 8 Ball (Wal Mart or Target - $6-$8)
At least one heavy duty hobby knife*
Small philips head
Sandpaper (up to at least 400 grit, and down to 220 is fine)
Transparency Film (the kind you can print on)
Computer and printer
Scissors
Gel Craft Glue (NON water based)
Duct tape, or other waterproof tape
Epoxy (the "instant-mix" kind works really well)
Black Paint, preferably gloss
White Paint (optional, but a good idea), also gloss
Polyurethane
Paintbrushes
Energy drink
Combos
A lot of time
A really good reason to do all this work

*You'll need something to cut through the 8 ball with. I went through several hobby knives, but something like a Dremel tool will probably work a lot better. However, you will also need at least one hobby knife for other things.

Before we start:

This will take a long time, and a lot of work, especially if you plan on cutting through the ball by hand. I would suggest setting aside a place to work that won't be disturbed for the days or weeks that you work on this. Also, remember that, the slower and more carefully you go, the less likely you are to make mistakes, and there are plenty of chances to make mistakes here that can ruin things. I actually completely finished this 8 ball once before, but it ended up not working right, so I had to go back and redo it. It's always better to do things right the first time. Ok, enough with that, let's get started.

First, you need to cut open the 8 ball. Cover your work area with newspaper or something, because there will be lots of plastic sawdust. Start cutting at the seam around the middle. I used hobby knives to cut mine open. Final report came to 3 badly wounded, one incapacitated. I would suggest you use something more like a Dremel tool, or a Plexiglas cutter, if you have one. If you do use knives, use the other side of the blade once you've got a groove going. It doesn't cut as far down, but it pulls up plastic, which is what you want. The main thing is just to keep at it. It's pretty thick. Try not to miss and cut the sides of the ball, but don't worry if you do. They'll be covered up after we close the ball back up.

Once you've got the ball open, you should see something like this

Take out the clear plastic dye container, and set aside the two halves of the ball and the rubber washer. Get something to put the dye in. The dye will stain everything it touches, including your hands, so use something that either won't stain (like glass), or that you don't mind staining. It's also best if you get something that you can pour out of without it dripping down the sides. If you don't still have the newspaper, now is a good time to put it back down over your work area. Take a second to look at the "bubble trap" inside the container. Skip to the italicized paragraph if you want to find out how it works. Use the screwdriver to open the "cork" on top. Set the cork and screws aside. Now, carefully pour out as much dye as you can into the cup. You'll have to play with it a little. Next, pry the top off with your hobby knife, and pour the rest of the dye out. Rinse off the cork, dye container, and icosahedron.

Notice the way the bubble trap works.

Some interesting facts:

If you don't like learning, skip the italicized paragraphs. The "bubble trap" is a very simple, yet, in my opinion, very interesting little...thing. It's just an inverse cone separating the dye container into two chambers. When you hold the 8 ball with the opening down, all of the bubbles rise to the top, into the second container. Then, when you turn over the ball to read it, all of the air stays up against the top, and gets trapped inside the second chamber by the cone. It's very convenient for us, since it allows for the ball to still function just fine with some air in the container.

The object that all of the answers are printed on is called an "icosahedron." An icosahedron is a prism with 20 sides, all of which are congruent equilateral triangles. One corner from each triangle is missing on this icosahedron, but we'll pretend they're all actually triangles.

Ok, now, use your knife to pry off all of the letters. Try to leave the surface as smooth as possible. The writing you see on the icosahedron in the picture is from my first attempt at this, when I tried to use a permanent marker to write my answers in. Once you've got all the letters off, sand everything down until it's smooth. Pulling apart the icosahedron helps. Just grab each side and pull apart. Be careful not to break it, but it's tougher than you might think. The best way to sand it is to spread the sandpaper out across something flat and rubbing each side against it. Try to keep the edges. You don't need the surface to be as smooth as possible. In fact, it works better if it's a little rough. I went all the way up to wet 1200 grit sandpaper on mine, so I could write in the answers with a sharpie. When I redid it, I sanded some of the surfaces with 400 grit, but not all of them. The smoother ones didn't work as well.

You can write hidden messages on

the inside with a sharpie.

Now you can set aside the 8 ball and go to the computer. You should have 20 answers, sayings, etc, to put on your 8 ball. Doubling up is ok. No one will notice. Open up a program that you can put words into shapes on. I used OpenOffice Impress (basically a free, not-as-good version of PowerPoint), and fit the words in with text boxes, and manually fit the text into the triangles. The triangles measure 1.9 cm on each side, with one corner missing. Make sure that whatever you put in there can be read from a short distance. I don't really have much else to tell you about that. Do whatever you find works best, just make sure they fit. Once you've got the answers in there, flip everything over, so it reads backwards. If you can do this through the printer when you print it out, do that. It's also a good idea to print out several copies of your answers on the one sheet, so you have extras.

Print out a trial run of your answers onto a piece of paper. just hold it up to the light and see if one side of the icosahedron covers an answer. Once you've got it fit properly, put the transparency sheet into your printer. The kind I used had a rough side and a smooth side. Make sure it prints on the rough side. The ink wipes right off the smooth side. When it's printed out, check again to make sure it fits, and then cut all of the triangles out. It's personal preference, but I cut out the black outlines of the triangles, so the words were the only things on there.

Get out your craft glue. If you've never used this stuff before, try it out on something, because it's really strong. You don't need very much at all to get a good hold. Less is better here. Carefully, glue all of the answers down onto the icosahedron. Make sure that the side with ink doesn't get wet, or else the ink will run. This is why you have to flip the words before you print. If the ink is exposed to the water, it'll run. Let the glue dry once you're done.

This craft glue worked really well for me.

About now is where the energy drink and Combos come in. I had a Rockstar Roasted Latte, and Pizzeria Pretzel Combos, but whatever keeps you going is fine.

How stained are your hands?

After the glue is dry, which shouldn't take more than a few minutes, snap the icosahedron back together. Pour a little dye into the container and look at the icosahedron through it, to make sure you'll be able to see the answers through the plastic. Put the icosahedron into the container, and replace the bubble trap and lid, making sure it goes on the right way. The bubble trap goes with the funnel pointing up, and the lid goes with the four little pillar looking things down, against the bubble trap, and the three holes for the screws pointing up.

The blue rings in the back were my replacements for

the black rubber washer, because it didn't fit

the first time I did it. Don't lose that thing.

It's best to tape/glue it up before you

fill it back up with dye.

Now, use the duct tape to seal the edge of the lid, where you pried it off earlier, or, if you're confident that you won't need to go back and reopen the container, simply glue it shut. If you glue it, wait for the glue to dry, then carefully pour the rest of the dye into the container. While there's still some room below the top of the container, gently tap and shake the container to get all the air bubbles you can out of it. Though it will still work with air in the container, it's best if you get all of the bubbles you can out of it. Get the last bit of dye back in with a straw or an eye dropper. If you need to, add a little water to get it all the way to the top. Screw the cork back in as tight as possible, and put a small piece of tape on top of the cork, but NOT on the rim of the lid, for safe measure.

I haven't put the tape on the cork yet.

It'll only cover the cork.

Make sure everything works by flipping over the container a few times and reading your answers. Pretty neat, huh? Make sure the container doesn't leak. If you're looking for a place to take a break, now is a good time. Set the container cork-side down for a while, to make sure there are no slow leaks (a problem I had the first time).

When you're confident you're ready to put the ball back together, because you won't want to take it apart again, get out your epoxy. Put the 8 ball back together, and try to find the best fit. Don't forget the rubber washer. Once you've got the best fit decided (or you know how it was originally lined up), clear away your work area a little. The epoxy we're about to use makes that craft glue look like Elmer's. The kind I used had a nozzle that mixed the two substances as you squirted it out, and it set within one minute. Read over the epoxy instructions several times, and I would suggest even practicing going over the ball, without actually using the epoxy, a few times.

This stuff works really well, but you only get two

chances, because each nozzle is trash after

you use it once.

Once you're ready, spread the epoxy across one side of the ball, and place the other side on it. It's kinda tough to get the rubber washer to stay when you do it, so make sure you either practice or glue it down. You need to get the sides together quick, and make sure they're aligned right, because if they aren't, they're staying that way. If the epoxy doesn't come all the way to the edge, put more in until it does. Try not to get too much on the sides, because you'll have to sand or scrape it all off. Let the epoxy set; it should probably only be a few minutes.

See the indention in high-resolution?

Check the edge. If it's indented, you can add more epoxy, or use craft glue if it isn't too bad. Sand the edge smooth. You should be able to peel any drops of epoxy off with your fingernail. After you let it dry for a while, use the black paint on the edge, to cover the epoxy, and then anywhere else that you think it needs it. Let that dry, and, if you want to give it a better shine, use the polyurethane. Since it's made for wood, not plastic, you'll have to treat it different than the instructions say. The way I applied it was by dipping a paper towel into the polyurethane, then rubbing it onto the 8 ball in circles. You may need to do more than one coat. This will take a long time. Be careful not to get anything on the white part, or you'll have to catch it with some white paint, too. You can coat that part with polyurethane, though. Overall, the smoother you get the 8 ball before you coat it, the better it will look.