How Marbles are Made: The History and Art of Marble Making

Game marbles were once rolled by hand out of clay. During 1902, a metalworker developed a machine to uniformly shape marbles, similar to making ball bearings. The machine was patented, thus partially automating marble making. Glass marbles rolled straighter due to the modernized processing, and could be better directed by "shooters" during a game of marbles.

Marble making remained a word in progress for many years, improving on the shaping and smoothness of the little glass balls. A tong like tool was patented by maker, James Leighton that aided in the time necessary for production. During the late 1920's and 1930's the game of glass marbles caught on with both children and adults. Playing marbles was as popular during the early part of the last century as the Wii video games are today. Tournaments for marble shooting could be found around the country.

Today, the making of glass marbles is fully automated full sets of marbles completed in just a fraction of the time it once took to make a single marble. Large amounts of glass are melted during a single step in an immense furnace. The glass is heated to a temperature of 1,500 degrees, creating a flowing stream of molten glass. Once melted, the glass slides down a flat opening nicknamed "Gob-Feeder". Once the glass had passed through the feeder, it moves into a grooved machine mechanism

Once inside the machine, the glass is colored. A wheeled edge moves the glass in a semi-circular motion into a groove machine part. The heated glass orbs are then separated and enter the rolling process before the glass hardens.

After being rolled into round shapes, they are culled to allow the shape to cure. This is the final step before the packaging and shipment of a bag of marbles. Marbles are still made in the United States.

Marble making is still completed by hand, and is considered a work of artistic expression. Individual artists still practice the art of glass blowing, and sell intricately detailed marbles of all sizes to both collectors and marble fans around the world. The process of glass blowing a single marble takes much longer to complete than the professionally manufactured marbles found at discount stores. Artisans use the old-fashioned tongs to mold the hot glass and place the creation into a kiln for curing. The glass blown marbles are often adorned with objects or animal displays suspended into the marble's center.

Sources used for this articles include: personal experience, Madehow.com, and Akronmarbles.com