How are snooker balls made? What makes them so hard? What are they made of?
Let’s take a look into the answer.
What are snooker balls made of?
Once upon a time, a perfect shot could lead the ball to explode; back when they were made of celluloid.
However, we don’t have to worry about that in the modern era (we don’t think).
Leo Baekeland was born on November 14, 1863 and was a chemist and inventor, including photographic printing paper he called Velox which he sold in 1899 for approximately $1 million. Baekeland was also the inventor of plastic-like substance called bakelite; the type of phenolic resin with which most of billiard balls are manufactured today.
Billiard balls are, to some surprise, solid throughout. These modern balls are durable, easy to make and most importantly, very unlikely to explode.
How are the shape of balls made?
The desired shape of the ball is achieved by pouring the heated liquid into latex moulds. After the casting is done the molds are either peeled off or broken apart. The raw balls are then further smoothed by lathe machines.
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Snooker Jim
Gone from a 6ft table in my dad's garage as a kid to a 9ft table at the office, with the full-size snooker club visits in between. Hoping one day to get the playing technique right.
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