Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-16
IVORY BILLIARD BALLS
CHOICE OF MATERIAL IMPoR-
TANT FACTOR.
Art Of Turning the Elastic Spheres
Few Men Know How to Do
the Work.
From the Chicago Tribune.

experienced operators at the lathe Is near
ly 50 years old. at that, Three other men
are working at the ivory lathe. learning the
business, which at this particular stage Is
exacting more skill than ever before in the
history of ivory turning. for the reason that
never before in the history of the lathe
was 1t so easy for an unskillee workman
to eat up his salary in a wasteful manner
of cutting and turning.
Two vars ago block of ivory of size
and quality for a clear ivory billiard ball
could be bought for $3.50 in the New York
market. Today 1 have to pay S14 for such
a block, and 1t Is not always easy to get a
quotation at that figure A first class
billiard ball must be two and three-eights
inches in diameter, absolutely round to the
5OO0th part of inch. free from ''barky'
outside and sand cracks. Of live ivory.
white and clear.
The making of billiard ball involves
headwork and handwork. There ia no auto
matte lathe combination that ever will turn
out a perfect billiard ball. however 1t may
produce the pool ball In its irregularity OF
form. But before the trained hand can
make ready to turn out the perfect shape
of the billiard ball the trained eye and
judgment Of the turner will have been
taxed to their best effort.
Quality of Ivory.
In the first place, the man will need to
recognize the quality Of ivory. He must
know whether Vt be Of the best quality, as
well as Of the most economical form in the
tusk. And when he has made his purchase
Of the best possible material single drafty
window in his shop when the mercury is 10
degrees above zero may ruin his ivory stock
In five minutes.
Africa produce the best elephant ivory,
while the Siberian ivory from the dead mas
todon is the least valuable. yet requiring
good judgment to distinguish it in many
cases. This dead ivory from Siberia is
less valuable in ball than is TIE compost
ton of celluloid and bone dust.
Cutting tusk for the three ball blocks
Is job in itself In the first place, the
length of the hollow cannot be certain.
Also the outside Of the tusk almost GER
tafnly will have sand cracks in the enamel.
and whether they be deep or shallow will
Do OF much consequence. But, allowing
Tor these minute cracks, which must be
turned out to the last shadow from the
best pail. together with the last microscopic
trace of the enamel, the first block for the
ball Is cut as closely as possible to the point
or the tusk. After this first block Is cut
to the last limit of economy the others may
be cut comparatively easily.
Economy.
When the ball block is in hand ready for
cutting the object of the turner is to save
tiiS last PosSibtt sSi dp ol tlle SuDSlduce. II
is here that the ivory harness ring that
was once popular is saved. Allowing for
the curve of the ball, a more or less tri-
angular cutting Is made from eacn end of
the block. This triangular material is a
rough circle In form, having in it the great
est thickness of material that is possible,
while leaving enough for the ball itself.
In this manner the thickest possible rings
are made
After cutting the ring material from the
no ,ofn i,l f- r. =
lathe The lathe itself has only one bear
ins-a chuck of dogwood turned out at
one end to receive the ball for nearly half
of its diameter-at the other end set of
threads by which 1t screws fast to the shaft
of the lathe. When one end of the bali
block is round enough to wedge fast in this
open end of the chuck speed may be turned
on and cutting tools applied.
Files are used for the greater part of this
turning owing to the necessity of saving
the material. The touch of the point of a
lead pencil to ball shows when 1t Is round
or points spots that need to come away
from 1t. Removing the rounding ball from
the chuck and placing it in new positions
time and again. serves to turn every pos
sible bit of surface to the cutting tool.
Variations in the Ball.
But. however perfect billiard ball may
be, 1t will not remain round. In the winter
the diameter of the ball Is less through
the grain. the core frightening because of
the contraction. But If this ball be turned
down to perfect sphere at winter tenn
perature the coming of moist, warm wealth
er again will make it out Of true because
of the expanding effect of this atmosphere
The one thing devolving upon the owner of
BILLIARD table Is to keep his billiard room
at an even temperature and under condi-
tons of moisture. If possible the whole
yearround. In one billiard hall in Chicago
last winter $500 worth of ivory balls split
In night because Of drop in tempera-
ture in the rooms.
There are several grades of ivory billiard
balls, OF course. There are several ways
OF producing them, too. For instance, not
infrequently second-rate ball can be cut
from tusk after the three f1rst-class ones
have been sawed. This Is done by making
cut just into the tip of the tapering shol-
low, plugging the hollow with an ivory
scrap and then turning the bail. A bar
afford f1rst-class ball of standard size,
this disposition to bark coming from the
leaving of a collar of enamel on the ball
The whole value of elephant ivory in the
making OF billiard balls comes from the
fact that ivory never seasons as wood will
do. For this reason the ball does not re-
main round, while for this reason also the
ball preserves its liveness and elasticity
In cold room In winter a ball may shrink
sixty-fourth of an inch in its diameter
against the grain, leaving the ball COM
paratively that much longer through the
core.
When a billiard ball has ohipped through
use perhaps upon one side only, the turner
finds chance to use his art in preserving
It to the table. He does this by changing
the center of the ball. Ordinarily lathe
worker in wood in remedying such a de-
feet would turn the ball anew cutting from
the whole surface as much depth of ma
ter1al as had broken from one side. The
ivory turner smoothes first the Clipped sur
face till the last shade of roughness is
gone; then, taking that rounded surface
for new ball rim, he cuts away from 1t
until the ball Is again round. If the chip
should be one-sixtieth of an inch Deep for
instance, the ball by this method suffers
only this loss in diameter. whereas to turn
1t by ordinary lathe methods 1t would suffer
one-thirtieth Of an inch loss.