Need help fast with vintage fish float question

Hello everyone. I'm taking a break from the daily grind of life this weekend. Right now I'm in northern Michigan on Grand Traverse Bay. I saw a vintage amber colored fish float with the netting yesterday at an antique store. I didn't take any pics. It has an opening cut in the top and the float is about 18" to 20" in diameter. Perfect to put a puffer fish inside and light it up. The kicker is they are asking $125. Is this a crazy high price for a vintage piece with a hole in the top or reasonable? Finds like this in Michigan are rare. Was just wanting some input on what others think about this and thanks.

On 2015-08-30 05:29, uncle trav wrote:
Hello everyone. I'm taking a break from the daily grind of life this weekend. Right now I'm in northern Michigan on Grand Traverse Bay. I saw a vintage amber colored fish float with the netting yesterday at an antique store. I didn't take any pics. It has an opening cut in the top and the float is about 18" to 20" in diameter. Perfect to put a puffer fish inside and light it up. The kicker is they are asking $125. Is this a crazy high price for a vintage piece with a hole in the top or reasonable? Finds like this in Michigan are rare. Was just wanting some input on what others think about this and thanks.

Are you sure it is vintage? Do you think the hole was cut by someone after finding the float? I ask because I have never seen a vintage float originally made with a hole. Kinda defeats the purpose of being a float as the float would fill with water and sink. In all of my searching both in the wild and in some books I have I have never seen one with a hole either. Can you find any marks on the float? The vintage ones often have a mark like a number, symbol or character on them somewhere. That's a pretty big float you found and if vintage might not be a bad price. Maybe a little high but not bad. There is a nautical antique store near me that sells the greenish blue ones about the size of a basket ball for $40.00 I think. You would have to cut your own hole. Here are a few sites that might help.

http://www.theglassmuseum.com/fishingfloats.htm

http://www.glassfloatjunkie.com

My dad said it best, something is worth what somebody is willing to pay.

But if you like it go for it, I would walk in there with $100.00 cash and try to get it for less.
Maybe your wife could have that extra $25.00 if they say no.

So lets say you get a float and cut your own hole.
The float is $40.00 the hole saw say 3 or 4 inch is around 40 to 60 bucks.
Now that brings you to $90.00 and you have not cut the hole, I have broke floats
cutting them with a hole saw of this size.

Look closely at the one with a hole in it.
Look for small cracks at the hole area.
When you cut these floats the small air bubbles create small cracks as they heat up
from cutting.
This can crack these floats, in time could get bigger.
Use these cracks to get price down if there are cracks.

Good luck!!

Sounds like a deal to me.. I paid $75 for my old one that had a hole cut in for a light already, they said it was from an ol'tiki bar from the 60's.. I paid almost the same to have it safely shipped over. There hard to find with the hole and if you get a newer cheap float and cut into it there's the chance of it breaking.. Out here old floats in the larger size go for $300 and up lately..

Thanks for the input guys. I drove forty mile out of my way back to the little town of Beulah and pulled the trigger for the float. Now that I have it back home the fun begins. I got a discount from the asking price which was nice. The float is a very light green now that I have it out in the light. The netting is old and tied correctly but is thinner than I have seen on many floats. The glass does have many tiny air bubbles and imperfections on the surface and is quite heavy. The hole is just over 6" wide and the float measures 14" in diameter. It is smaller than I thought but still impressive in my book. I'm glad I went back and rescued it from the back of and old grain elevator turned antique shop. Wish I had some history on it but it was just there. Thanks again for the help.

Well looks good.
That looks like a Jute type cordage.
So this was made for decoration as that cord would not last in any ocean.
Nothing wrong with that as this is what we would see in tiki bars of old.

The hole looks like a good cut made with a glass band saw and not a hole saw I would guess.

Take care when you hang this as Jute over time can get weak and rot or break.
Can take some time depending on how it was cared for and stored.

Show us it again after you get it lit up.

Congrats!

I see a lot of glass balls wrapped in volleyball net and sold as floats. I usually stay away from buying those decorative ones.

Heres one I picked up for a steal at the swap meet a while back. 11" diameter with a cool rope job:

Buzzy Out!

Thanks for the advice guys. Skip, I will check out the cordage good before I hang it. It needs a very good cleaning. Now I have to decide if I want to use one of my two puffer lamps for it or order another fish and make another light. I've made a puffer into a lamp in the past and it's not a fun way to spend a hot summer day

if you need to tie a new net, here are the instructions. The bigger the float the easier it is....well that was my experience anyway. I hate tying the small ones.

http://batjakltd.com/id82.html

Buzzy, I like those floats with the heavier rope-yours is too cool!
Eric, tanks for posting that “How To” The finished product is awesome.
I’ve tied a couple and I was satisfied with the results on both. I first studied and examined some of the vintage floats that I’ve picked up over the years.
The start is the hardest part. I do a lot of staring and comparing while I’m tying. I use a 2-3 inch ring to make the start easier. The ring is unseen in my finished floats.
Cheers
Btw, I throw my completed and also my purchased Repo’s in the family pool for a few months to “age em.

Spend the time to re-string it.. This was last months fail, it either exploded from the heat or from the fall.. The cheap rope was ready to give for the last year.... :(