Ball and Hook Swivel

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  • gsanto189
    Speed Bag Trainee
    • Jan 2021
    • 3

    Ball and Hook Swivel

    Hey everybody- this is my first post here so go easy on me.

    I'm getting back into hitting the speed bag after quite a few years away. When I was much younger I sort of taught myself on a platform that had and a ball and hook swivel. Fast forward a few decades and I have an interest in trying bagging again. I built a platform out of several layers of plywood laminated together and a d-ring swivel. The setup works- with practice I'm picking up speed and getting a rhythm down. But... this d-ring swivel is throwing me off, it just doesn't seem to rebound the way my old setup did. That, along with being out of practice is causing a lot of errant hits.

    In reading a little about swivels on this forum it looks like there were some people making custom swivels but it doesn't look like there are any batches actively in production. Does anyone know of what I'll call the new style ball and hook swivels (involving plastic of some sort) available either for resale or in production? Or maybe there are others out there that I'm not aware of- I've read about Deville, Powermill, Arc, etc. Does anyone have ideas of how I can get my hands on a quality ball and hook swivel? Thanks in advance.

    George
  • BagBoy
    Speed Bag Guru
    • Jan 2018
    • 861

    #2
    Welcome, George. You'll find everybody is pretty cool here.

    I must ask, what is a D-Link swivel? The Deville and Powermill are pretty much impossible to get your mitts on.
    Certifiable SBX Attendee 2019

    @SpeedBagaZebo

    Comment

    • dad
      Speed Bag Guru
      • Dec 2018
      • 476

      #3
      First welcome, a lot of good people and great information. Next, ball and swivel, there are a lot of good ball and swivels out there however ( in my opinion) for what it is worth there is the "Arc" and then there are the also-rans. Also, if you want to have a good time, a wonderful experience and a great challenge pick up a copy of "The Speed Bag Bible" by Alan Kahn you will not be disappointed.

      Comment

      • gsanto189
        Speed Bag Trainee
        • Jan 2021
        • 3

        #4
        BagBoy- I might be using the wrong name but this is the style swivel that I currently have- pic attached. It works great all hits keep the bag in the same plane but anything else and the bag gets hard to track.
        If Deville and Powermill are unobtainium are the Arc's still available? I'll take a look at the Speed Bag Bible too. Thanks for the help so far.

        George

        Click image for larger version

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        • pinzpirate
          Senior Member
          • Feb 2020
          • 135

          #5
          Howdy
          Now that you are a member you can message RDSHACKLEFORD he makes the Arcs' Not long ago he made his updated swivels available
          Last I heard he was taking a break from production So you'll have ask him what him and see what he says Another member Jeff Thrasher also
          makes swivels There are a few treads about his stuff and he is easier to find on some other social media if you can find that information
          Good Luck

          Comment

          • gsanto189
            Speed Bag Trainee
            • Jan 2021
            • 3

            #6
            Has anyone tried both the Arc and the Thrasher? I'm wondering how they compare.

            Comment

            • pinzpirate
              Senior Member
              • Feb 2020
              • 135

              #7
              Well since no one chimed in I say this When all the COVID bullshit started speed bag swivels were one the first things to sell out
              I don't have a Thrasher but the people who got them said they worked fine and were glad to get them I don't have a DeVille or
              Evil swivel either But I have read enough about them and a few others like the Forza which I do have The Arcs are as good or better
              than any quality swivels you will find old or new My Arc and Forza are both great swivels The Arc MkII is even better

              Comment

              • Dutchman
                Speed Bag Historian
                • Jun 2006
                • 1903

                #8
                Occasionally you will find an old school Everlast, the non chrome plated ones on eBay. If they are in decent shape, they are well worth looking into. What you have to look out for is the wear on the eye shank, where it makes contact with the base. Also, it you are looking for one that is relatively quiet, this isn't for you. If you have any doubt watch any of Speedbag's videos. The sound of the bag hitting the platform and "clack" of the shank meeting the base is percussive in nature. A lot of us like that.

                Comment

                • Speedbag
                  Author of the Speed Bag Bible, founder of speedbagcentral.com

                  • Feb 2006
                  • 7109

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Dutchman View Post
                  Occasionally you will find an old school Everlast, the non chrome plated ones on eBay. If they are in decent shape, they are well worth looking into. What you have to look out for is the wear on the eye shank, where it makes contact with the base. Also, it you are looking for one that is relatively quiet, this isn't for you. If you have any doubt watch any of Speedbag's videos. The sound of the bag hitting the platform and "clack" of the shank meeting the base is percussive in nature. A lot of us like that.
                  Hey Dutchman, my use of the "metal ball hook" is true for my earlier video's, however when Everlast came out with that first Plastic housing, Plastic ball - Hook, (which was crap), I changed.... I took out the plastic ball and dropped in a metal ball-hook. I had "a bunch" of older two piece metal ballhooks and for those that I could get the set screw in the ball to screw out, I took them apart and dropped the metal ball into a plastic housing, creating a "custom" ball hook of metal ball-hook inside the plastic housing. The eliminated the "chank" sound but more specifically eliminated the fear of "metal flakes" coming of the swivel into the eye. At that point, and 28-29 years of speed bagging, I had twice gone to an eye-doctor for that issue, so I knew it was real and when I could eliminate the source (the metal housing) I did. I had to get use to the sound of the bag without the "chank" but that was going down anyway with the more common use of the U-bolt. (but I don't use them).

                  So, a lot of my earlier videos feature the "old school" ball hook, but you can notice the evolution of swivels in some of my video's.


                  old economy board - Jungle Bill (* features my absolute favorite 8x5 ever, by ringside. I beat it until it fell apart... yeah it did)

                  Punch Drumming (TM) on a speed bag to "Jungle Bill" by Yello. All there music is awesome for this!



                  Economy Board: William Tell (Very "chanky" because it's smoking fast....) (same bag as "Jungle Bill" song)

                  Punch drumming (TM) with a speed bag to the last half of the William Tell overture, Sept 2001.



                  Newer (2004) Primefighter Wall unit. - metal ball chank clearly auditable

                  Primefighter Model 400 speed bag wall unit Demo. A rock Solid wall unit made in Noel Missouri, USA.




                  In 2007 I was contacted by the owners of the company making the "Boxing Gear" ball hookto review and offer advice. Of course I did and here is a video with that swivel

                  August 2007

                  A evaluation and Demo of a new Ball-hook speed bag swivel, ending with a Punch Drumming(TM) demo to Fast Music.



                  Sept 2007: Same swivel as above. For the "V Show" which featured a shout out to me on punch drumming (not sure why but a listening turned Jimmy V on to that) That bag in this clip was a custom made 8x5 for me by Ringside. They had just changed their "Ringside" bag line to the longer, leaner Banana style" and I sort of complained about that because their older shape was just about perfect IMO. Anyway, a few weeks later 5 of these showed up. This 8x5 black tear was never sold in their product line, for they had gone to all red, lean bags.

                  this really sounds "noisy" by todays standards.

                  hitting the speed bag for some radio fans of Bob Valvano




                  In November 2007 I hit to a song using that swivel.

                  Fasten your seatbelts - Primefighter Wall unit with metal ball by Boxing Gear, Long-S hook.





                  I abandoned the Metal Housing when the plastic housing came out. At the time I bought 20 or so of them, took the plastic ball and hook out, traded them for a brush pile and burned the brush pile. ...Then I got a bunch of my old metal Everast ball hooks (...that was "a few" ) and for those I could de-construct made "custom" ball hooks with the everast steel ball inside the plastic housing.


                  Zoomed in version where you can clearly see the plastic housing and metal eye hook. Notice it's a bit harder to hear the "bag beat" without the "chank".(again, note the Black 8x5 tear drop ringside bag.)

                  Black & White https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRpBYQ06hyA


                  For me, When you're just punching the bag "without music" the sound of the speed bag swivel is not that big of an issue, but I do not miss the metal "chank" of the old style ball hooks. It was fine but as I've aged I've grown accustomed to not hearing it. When Punch Drumming to music ... I admit it was useful "at times". There is an interplay between the "Pitch" of the sounds of the music and the sound of the "bag beat" Certain songs have instruments, mostly drum but not always... that are very similar in "Pitch and Tone" to the bag hitting the board. At the moment is very hard for me to "hear" the bag versus the music, especially if the music is too loud. when that happens it is also very hard for the audience (watching video) to hear the bag beat against the music also. All the sounds run together. The metal chank did help in that instance because the high pitch of the chank was almost always audible under the board. Interestingly enough, that bag size, brand and inflation also has an effect on pitch range of the rebound. Oh well, that is a discussion for another day.
                  Last edited by Speedbag; 01-24-2021, 02:13 PM.
                  Speed Bag

                  Put a little Rhythm in YOUR workout!
                  *attendee: Every SB gathering so far!
                  The Quest Continues...
                  Hoping for another Gathering...


                  sigpic

                  The Art of the Bag

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                  • pinzpirate
                    Senior Member
                    • Feb 2020
                    • 135

                    #10
                    All that and 3 or 5 bucks will buy you a beer at the bar If you can score an Arc you win!
                    The plastic Everlast swivels are definitely around if you want a project or use it as is
                    And the old used stuff is what is Great History Lesson you guys are definitely the authorities

                    Comment

                    • Speedbag
                      Author of the Speed Bag Bible, founder of speedbagcentral.com

                      • Feb 2006
                      • 7109

                      #11
                      Originally posted by pinzpirate View Post
                      All that and 3 or 5 bucks will buy you a beer at the bar If you can score an Arc you win!
                      The plastic Everlast swivels are definitely around if you want a project or use it as is
                      And the old used stuff is what is Great History Lesson you guys are definitely the authoritie
                      That is true. You can call Everlast and order that product part. I got five of them a in late 2019 because you never know when you want to use a plastic housing.


                      Speed Bag

                      Put a little Rhythm in YOUR workout!
                      *attendee: Every SB gathering so far!
                      The Quest Continues...
                      Hoping for another Gathering...


                      sigpic

                      The Art of the Bag

                      Comment

                      • BagBoy
                        Speed Bag Guru
                        • Jan 2018
                        • 861

                        #12
                        Originally posted by gsanto189 View Post
                        Has anyone tried both the Arc and the Thrasher? I'm wondering how they compare.
                        I have every ARC from every stage of development leading up to the latest PRO model and that thing is literally the Cadillac of swivels IMO. The Deville's are awesome, smooth, stable, and fast. I have a Forza on my outdoor setup and it's a great swivel too but there are a few things I would change about it. I find that the Arc is the least forgiving of any I've tried thus forcing you to be a better, more accurate bagger. AGAIN IMO.
                        Certifiable SBX Attendee 2019

                        @SpeedBagaZebo

                        Comment

                        • Christine
                          Speed Bag Trainee
                          • Jan 2020
                          • 7

                          #13
                          Oh please. Sounds to me like you're bragging about your swivel collection. Have you considered sharing the wealth and selling some off? Not like you can use them all at the same time!

                          Comment

                          • BagBoy
                            Speed Bag Guru
                            • Jan 2018
                            • 861

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Christine View Post
                            Oh please. Sounds to me like you're bragging about your swivel collection. Have you considered sharing the wealth and selling some off? Not like you can use them all at the same time!
                            Classy as always, Christine.

                            I just sent one (older arc) out to a fellow bagger. No charge, Just helping a bag-brother out. Happy? I plan to keep the the rest of my swivel arsenal as I am intent on having my nephews and nieces speed bag hooked by the time I assume room temperature.

                            Peace, cheers, and happy new year.
                            Certifiable SBX Attendee 2019

                            @SpeedBagaZebo

                            Comment

                            • pinzpirate
                              Senior Member
                              • Feb 2020
                              • 135

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Christine View Post
                              Oh please. Sounds to me like you're bragging about your swivel collection. Have you considered sharing the wealth and selling some off? Not like you can use them all at the same time!
                              Too many negative waves Everyone knows Bagboy has heart of gold He's a collector maybe a hoarder but he is not a boaster and he would surely be missed if he didn't contribute this forum One of my best friends used to say "It would be a boring Zoo if their were'nt any cool or weird animals"

                              Comment

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