ManofKent

How big a crime is it to open unopened packages of marbles (obviously retaining the packaging)?

Interesting. Was Thorium ever used in marble production? I've got old camera lenses from the 1960's which are slightly radioactive and now quite deep yellow in colour.

Much appreciated. It's probably 70's or 80's then I can't think of a way it would have got into the garden more recently and I would guess the latter - most marbles over here in the early 70's were the greenish glass catseyes from Hong Kong. The embedded frits generally being modern is useful to know (are there other styles that tend to be modern to watch out for?). The links to pontils photos are very useful. Is there a 'complete beginners' thread or recommended reading? At least being born in '71 I can now describe myself as modern rather than middle-aged

Dug out of the garden by my wife... I'm completely new to this so any information is gratefully appreciated. The house (England) dates from the 1890's and there haven't been any children living in the property for at least 25yrs so I've narrowed it's age down a little! The marble is about 20mm (sorry no calipers). Very dark grey glass - almost black and barely translucent when held next to a strong light. The coloured flecks are very unevenly distributed but don't appear to be purely on the surface. No seams. Is this a pontil or just a chip? It seems a slightly odd shape for just impact damage, but any help on telling the difference is appreciated.: Any information appreciated!

I think the winners deserve a podium shot close up.

Thanks - I can't see me getting down there (I don't drive so it's a good day's travel (and exorbitantly expensive with our rail service)) but good luck with event. Hoody - thanks for those links. Very impressive. I was a lego builder as a kid, but the Fischer-Technik stuff is wonderful.

I think my wife has beaten me to it with the marble collection. She'd dug up what I think is an old German handmade from the garden last year - it's been sitting in a pot outside the back door for months and I hadn't spotted it... I'll try and get a photo tomorrow so that someone can tell me that what I think is a pontil mark is just a chip and I'm looking at something from the 1970's The house is 1890's so it could be reasonably old (alternatively of course it could be much more recent).

--- and there was me thinking I was odd cheering on a marble

Hi. Richard from a small town in Kent, over in the UK. I principally joined for the marble run forum, but have spent a few hours reading the other threads and can see me getting sucked in to the collecting side of things at some point! I shall definitely be keeping my eyes open in vintage shops and charity/thrift shops. The knowledge on here is amazing. My childhood marble were very much the greenish glass catseyes - presumably imported from Hong Kong. I don't think the UK had any real factories of it's own producing marbles, but I'd love to be pointed in the right direction if I'm wrong.

Salesman cases sounds like a good idea. I've got a few ideas on how to slow the descent down enough to hopefully make the runs interesting but I keep daydreaming ideas that aren't practical when I go back to the box and it's small size! Making the release ramp removable does give me the option of stacking a second self contained box on top with a switchable exit that could be a hole in the floor to this one allowing the combination of two models. The runs will be a mixture of wood, brass sheeting, copper rails etc. which should add visual interest. I'll add a few more photos once I've done more work. It tends to be 15 minutes here and there so it will take a while.

Interior: Hopefully the pen shows the small scale. The downpipe needs to be fixed and will form the core of a a coil for one of the three paths. Plenty to do...

It was an article on Jelle's marble races on the BBC web site that led to several hours looking at YouTube videos of some marvelous creations by Jelle and others of marble runs. I thought I'd love to have a go at that, then went through the negatives: Limited time Limited space Limited tools Limited engineering skills Inquisitive cats who will wreck anything Not wanting to give up I decided that the best solution was to keep it small and keep it contained in a box... A box does limit the size of the run, but scaling down the balls helps. I found a source of 8mm marbles (probably Czech glass designed for crafts rather than games) ordered those and also picked up some steel and brass ball-bearings. I found some reasonably priced birch ply boxes on Amazon and decided to go ahead... The box: I gave the box (smaller than visualized...) a quick coat of stain and thought about design. My engineering and woodworking skills aren't the greatest, but I used to make models as a kid and decided that maintaining an aesthetic would be the best option for a small space. With a bit of spare copper pipe and a few fittings left over from a boiler replacement I decided an industrial feel would work - hopefully the finished project will have a slight 'steampunk'/'mad scientist' feel. Two holes drilled (one for the inlet pipe and one for the outlet), I'll use the lid to store a removable release gate and capture/finish line piece (having a hinged bridge and using the lid as part of the run was an initial idea). The interior has been painted black to increase the illusion of depth and set off the metalwork. The outlet pipe and inlet pipe have now been roughly positioned. To be continued...

Great fun Jelle.

Thanks - It's still very much a work in progress, but I'm having fun. I'll take some pictures and start another thread. Jelle's videos were inspirational.

I blame Jelle and this video for sleepless nights trying to design my first marble run in 35 years