How Is A Skee Ball Made? April 2024

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Skee-Ball is an arcade game and one of the first redemption games. It is sometimes referred to as “Skeeter’s Ball,” particularly in England and Australia. It is played by rolling a ball up an inclined lane and over a “ball-hop” hump that jumps the ball into bullseye rings. The object of the game is to collect as many points as possible by having the ball fall into holes in the rings which have progressively increasing point values.

So how is a skee ball made?

A skee ball can be made using different materials and either be machine made or hand made. The most popular materials to use are wood and plastic. Those materials seem to hold up the best when tested by time and players.

If you would like to know more about how a skee ball is made, you will want to keep reading this article.

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Skee Ball Overview

There are different versions of the way the balls used in the skee ball game can be made. If for any reason, someone happens to be curious on how a skee ball is made, then the answer or solution to that curiosity about the making of a skee ball is not far away and that answer is provided right here.

A skee ball is made in two ways, that is to say, it can either be machine made or manual made. In regard to the former, or, in other words, the machine making of a skee ball, using different techniques depending on the technical know-how and the style being used to make it. That is because the skee balls are made by different makers and naturally do have different brands.

Due to the fact that skee balls are made by different manufacturers, they therefore vary enormously based on their components. Which means that there is no clear cut or a single way of making skee balls, but there are numerous modes of making them as much as there are many different makers. Nevertheless, there are some popular modes and methods of making the skee ball.

The skee ball can be made using various methods, in accordance with the maker’s capability or experience in manufacturing. Making a skee ball requires laying out and planning. Despite that it is somehow technical and it can be challenging, it’s still a project that can be done.

In this article, we will explain the methods in which the balls can be made. Skee balls can be made from plastic materials and it can also be made from compressed sawdust which are also called wooden skee balls. Note that when you are making a skee ball, you have to make it round or circular so as to enable it to be tossed freely.

The Plastic Skee Ball

Technology advancements have made it easier to make skee balls. The skee ball is designed to have a symmetrical circular shape. The skee ball is made by molding polyester. The skee ball is made from polyester resin with a mixture of silica powder, limestone and barytes.

The three substances are mixed together with the resin in a container. The mixture is mixed in a way that can enable it to flow freely out of the container because it must not be too thick. After mixing, the mixture looks like a brownish substance and is poured into the molding machine. Before pouring into the molds, there is a catalyst that triggers a chemical reaction and heats the mixture up. After pouring the mixture into the molds, it solidifies immediately within a few minutes.

The solidified substance is then placed into a second mold. The second mold has a round or circular shape and a chemical substance that has a plastic nature is then poured into the mold which then cools and becomes hard slowly. When the mold is opened after the material has become hard, it will then be sealed in a symmetrical machine. The machine is also like a mold which gives the ball its outer skin.

The outer skin of a skee ball is made of a mixture of colorants, plasticizers and urethane (which helps to seal the ball and protect it from heat, excessive cold and moisture). The mixture produces high performance polyurethane and a chemical reaction takes place as the mixture flows into the molds which makes it heat up and become hard within a minute.

It is then put into an oven to boost the chemical reaction. Bumps made as a result of excessive flow from the molds are shaved off. More work is done on the ball by placing it in a sanding machine. The sanding machine helps to remove the powder residue and smooth out any rough spots. After that has been done, the surface is then polished to create a reflecting surface and enhance the ball`s appearance. After polishing, the ball is ready for use.

The Wooden Skee Ball

The wooden skee balls are made from compressed sawdust. The sawdust cannot be used ordinarily which is why it must be added to something else that can bind them together. They are made by mixing sawdust with glue and compressing them in a mold. The mold can be a container that has a shape like that of a cube and has an open end. The inner part of the container is laid with plywood material.

After the mold has been made ready, you will need to get the sawdust that has been mixed with glue and pour into the container. After that, you will press them together with a machine. You can also compress them by putting a small cover plate on the open part of the container and applying some pressure. The cover plate should be loosely fit and not tight to enable it to be pressed easily.

After you have compressed the mold, you will need to leave the substance in the mold for about 2 weeks for it to become hard and dry. After 2 weeks, you can then remove it from the mold. One thing to take note of is that the wood must be well dried and hard. The sawdust can be made hard by placing it in an oven but there is risk of it getting burnt before the inner parts get dry, so it is better to leave it to dry on its own.

After the sawdust has become hard and dry, it is placed in between a holding machine for scraping. The machine has two protruding parts that holds on to and rolls the formed sawdust. While the machine rolls it, a tool is used to scrape the outer parts in such a way that it will give it a round form.

When scraping to give it the shape of a skee ball, you have to take note of the size because the scraping starts from the middle part of the mold. When you have gotten the desired size, the sides where the machine holds are cut off.

After cutting the sides off, you turn the sawdust so that you will be able to scrape the edges of the side that was held against the machine to give it a uniform shape. After scraping, the next step is to use sandpaper to sand the skee ball to give it a smooth surface. The sanding can be done by using sandpaper or with the help of a sanding machine. Using a sanding machine will definitely go faster than sanding by hand. After sanding the ball, the next thing to do is to apply some polish of any color that suits what you would like your skee ball to look like. After all these steps mentioned above have been done, your skee ball should be ready for use.