How to Cut Tennis Balls to Go on Chair Legs

Quiet noisy chairs and protect the floor by upcycling tennis balls into homemade chair sliders. An X-cut into each ball allows it to slip easily onto each chair leg, but extra care is required when cutting the balls, as they can be quite difficult to slice by hand.

Safety First

Cutting a tennis ball by hand can be a bit difficult -- not to mention dangerous -- because the latex is thick and hard to puncture. Protect yourself from injury by wrapping a rolled hand towel around the sides of a clean tennis ball, placing it in a vise, and squeezing the vise around the towel so the ball cannot slide, turn or roll as you cut it.

Slicing the Ball

Slice through the ball with a utility knife, puncturing the ball first with the tip of the knife. A sharp blade makes the cutting a bit easier. Cut a slice approximately 1-inch long, and then cut another slit perpendicular to the first to create an X-shaped slice. Push the ball onto the bottom of a chair leg through the X-cut to finish the chair slider.

Alternate Solutions

If you need an abundance of sliced tennis balls, either purchase them precut or opt for a dedicated tennis ball cutter, which creates the perfect slice each time with almost no effort. This style cutter works similar to a drill press and has a cup at the bottom for holding the ball. Moving the handle downward pushes a sharp blade through the ball; the blade is surrounded by a protective shield to prevent potential injury.