After weeks of turning, a rounded marble was formed. This method, however, was sometimes frustrating. Sometimes he'd never find it, and he'd have to make another one and start all over again. In the late 1940s Bud Garrett, of Free Hill, created his marblemaking machine, based on the same principles as his father's traditional water-powered method. Rolley hole marble players recognize quality in their game pieces, and good marbles often become heirlooms, passed down from older players whose health forces them to quit the game.
Players are equally particular about the quality of the court on which games take place.
The ideal yard is constructed of compacted loam soil. It must be absolutely gravel-free, and players will pull an old automobile tire rim, weighted down with blocks, across the surface of the yard to smooth it before an evening's game. Small imperfections are scraped down with the edge of a board. Some yards have even been sifted to remove all bits of rock and debris. Ultimately, the yard should appear as level and unblemished as the top of a pool table.