Reply to Jim -

[MD]

Hi Jim,
Hope your rocks turned out. I got my bowls at dollarama too - only $1
each, but I used the smaller size. I've got more photos of the
building process, but you probably did alright on that front. The
small paint roller was great for the handle, though you have to be
careful anchoring it into the ready-mix concrete. I wanted fairly
hard
bumpers so rather than foam wrap I cut strips of hard rubber mat -
like you would find on dressing room floors in a hockey rink - also
sold as cattle mats for barns. It's tricky to cut the groove on one
side for fitting around the equater of the rock. Now that I think of
it, it was also a bit of work to drill and bolt the two bowls solidly
together. I cut the centre out of the top bowl with a hole saw - be
careful there too.
The best fun of course was watching those little guys curl. I didn't
get a real good study on them to really understand the variables -
sometimes they would curl a ton, and other times just a little. One
night my buddies and I were out late, having a great time - with the
rocks curling 3-4 feet. We had been on the ice 1-2 hours and needed a
break to go in to warm up; it was about -15. I decided to lay a very
light fresh pebble - one quick pass up and back. It looked fantastic,
but after that the rocks ran straight as an arrow. Other times I've
pebbled and the rocks continued to curl - though about 2-3 rock
widths
would be about the usual.
Anyway hope you are having fun. And Merry Christmas to you and to Mr
Fitz.
MD