The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-29
YEAR TO MAKE BILLIARD BALL

Few people who WELD billiard cue
| are aware of the time, trouble and ex-
rense of making the ivory spheres The
| billiard ball in its natural state is the
principal means of defense for an ele-
| phant In time the elephant falls vic
| tim to the venturesome hunter and he
parts with his tusks, which are the most
valuable of all his possessions to COM
! n2erce. Most of the tusks find their way
| to London, which is the greatest sales
| mart for ivory.
In the window of one of the large man
ufactories of billiard balls I'm this city
| lies tusk about two feet long. 1t was
| purchased some years ago, and While
| being sRre ed in two the saw came in con-
| tact with an obstruction. 1t proved to be
a ri:e bullet, which had penetrated thu
| elephants tusk when quite young, for
| the whole inside had a decayed appear
ance s
There are different kinds of ivory, and
| only the finer kinds are suitable for max
! ing billiard balls. The best comes from
| the small tusks. which are from four to
| six inches in diameter at the thickest
| end They are sawed into blocks, each
| section being large enough to allow of
! the turning of a single ball. ~, -
The factories devoted to the billiard
| eeive the ivory in this shape, the sec
| tons being marked so that the turner's
| know from what part or the tusk each
! piece comes, and in this way can caleu-
! late as to its grain and quality. 1t takes
a long time to produce a perfect billiard
| ball, and only skilled labor Is employed.
The exact center of the ball is first dis
covered by means of measurement. The
/ block is then placed in a socket, and
| one-half of the ball is turned by an in
strument made of the finest and sharpest
/ edged Steel The half turned ball is then
hung UP in net for a while, then the
second half is turned and the ball hung
t.up as before in a room the temperature
/ of which is kept from 60 to 70 degrees s
The roughly turned ball is kept in this
position about year. Then comes the
! polishing, whitening, etc. A good deal Of
hard rubbing is also necessary, as the
ball, before being used, should be as near
i "a certain weight as possible and measure
1 two and three-eighths inches in diameter.
| 1T has been found Impossible to get two
] balls exactly the same weight. Very
often they will be heavier on one side
\ than on the other, and frequently they
/ split right through the center. This is
4 due to decay.
The price of ivory for making billiard
4
last few years, and the demand exceeds
| the supply. A prominent billiard COM
| pany in this city has offered $4,000 for
| a perfect substitute for ivory.
Not until after it has been placed on
the table is the real life of the billiard
ball shown. The pores of the ivory may
close and then, if the ball is kept in a
hot room, it is likely to crack, OF it may
crack by reason of conclusion with other
balls. This is one of the greatest diffi-
cufties to contend against. To overcome
this the balls should be kept In as even
a temperature as possible.
When a billiard ball is first used it oc-
cupies the first rank. A crack may soon
| be exposed and then 1t is returned to
| the factory. The nick is shaved off and It
comes back slightly smaller in size. 1t
! may then find its way into some second
rate billiard room. After some more hard
usage it is again returned TO the factory,
| and comes forth again much reduced
| in size, and probably becomes a cue ball
| in pool. -
After it is found to be practically use
less for the purposes for which it was
originally made it is bought by dealers
!, in bone and ivory and the bail is then
| turned into buttons or burned and used
in the making Of ivory black