Jointing Joint woes - need advice

With two body constructions in the making, I am at a loss now...
Somehow I just don't succeed in finding the right materials to construct the ball joints. Not quite sure if it's my lack of experience/skill or lack of the right tools...
(I have read some tutorials and I've also done a forum search, but couldn't find any suitable info)

I usually work with "Plastiform" as a modelling clay and Milliput Superfine for the details (after trying a variety of other products). Plastiform is a fine papermaché-like clay which I find nice to handle. It sticks to most materials, can be sanded to a very fine texture, and is inexpensive, too.

What I've tried for joints:

Wooden balls: They come in many different sizes and are durable enough to be actually strung - but I just don't have the tools to drill holes and or saw gaps into such a hard material. I don't think that most of you doll making people have a fully equipped carpenter's workshop, or have you?

Styrofoam/Paper balls with layers of sculpting material: This method doesn't work if the prototype is actually meant to be strung.

Hand-sculpted balls from modelling clay: Material-wise this worked pretty well, although it's still quite hard making the holes and gaps. But the balls are just not perfectly round... Does anybody make their ball joints by hand or is it just way off? (some of the artist dolls in this forum looked like everything was made from the same material, but the joints looked so PERFECT...)

I even thought about casting the balls first, but somehow this makes things quite intricate...

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated...
Thanks,
Evie

 

Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences with me. It's good to know that other people have come across the same problems and that I haven't missed out on some relevant info...

saibrrmen: I think Plastiform is very similar to LaDoll, only that you have to add the right amount of water yourself. It is made from cellulose fibres, if I remember correctly. I have tried forming the balls around a short piece of straw, so at least I didn't have to drill the holes.

obesekittens: The bead method works quite well, but so far I haven't come across any larger beads. And yes, those beads are extremely resistant against any kind of destructible work...

patl: I will have a go at that method. It seems complicated at first, but is probably quite easy in the long run - the molds can be used again and again.

I'll let you know how it all worked out.

 

*g* Thanks for the advice, obesekittens. I've cut my hands ever so often being an artist...

I've started using a combination of making hand sculpted balls and then squeezing them in the molds I've made to make their shape more perfect. It worked out very well! They still need a little smoothing out.
Actually it was pretty easy making the molds. Somehow I thought it would take much more effort. I even found some objects that could be used as makeshift molds such as a coffee scoop which was perfectly sized for the hip joints...
(Strange thing is I've even used that method before some time ago for making little teacups from Fimo - and I forgot about it completely...)
Thank you so much for your tips!

 

@FenrirWolf I don't even remember actually sculpting joints back in 2008 - or posting my woes on DoA … Gained a bit of experience since then, but still looking for perfection …

 

@FenrirWolf I'm sure that someone in this forum can make good use of the info, thanks for sharing the links.