RolleyHoleMan

One thing I'm noting is I have gotten quite a few messages from people on eBay asking for multiple marbles, or specific marbles, or specific colors. No one ever follows up with me. Kinda annoying. Since eBay sales are slow/poor in regards to all my junk on there, I do get excited when I hear a notification. Kinda annoying. I do like how I haven't gotten any lowball offers though. I mean my marbles are priced high to see what will happen, but I haven't gotten the usual online nonsense with these.

Been having some fun today. I got in my new grinding sticks and they really do great. Still takes a while to make a marble but I’m unfortunately starting with some big spheres. Seems I need to do better on that. Anyways the marble I finished is one sneaky marble. The entire time when making it it looked like a normal white/yellow marble. Every time I look at it or move it, it seems to change color. It’s hard to think of letting go of some of the real nice shooting marbles. Mostly because material is tight.

Hiding your marble is why a lot of guys really look for the brown and butterscotch marbles, but it sure makes it hard to find your own marble. Earlier this year a park guest found a dark brown marble out on the yard ( I think my boss let them keep it ). I was all over that yard and never noticed it. I've almost lost a couple marbles on the yard myself and keep finding myself walking all over the yard since I'm a marble short, so I practice with a set number of marbles to make sure I gather them all up. Darker marbles are also more likely to be stepped on or accidentally kicked as well.

Here’s some fun material I made a marble out of. This stuff is super clear and was found in Byrdstown , TN. Byrdstown has a lot of nodules which are very clear, usually with a grey, white, black, or brown color. I’m not the best at explaining it, but this material looks like glass, or like candy. In the area I was looking, I saw a lot of smaller pieces of this stuff all with clear issues like faults and sand, but might as well see what it makes. The other marble I made is from material I found. All that was written in it was the date of 10/23/23, so I guess that’s when it was cut. This is from some of the last material I picked up, and it sure made a nice marble. The marble may get cut down a little since it’s .80, but it’s hard to decide. It’ll be a good teaching marble. Another side note on these, but more clear quartz is pretty cool for being tricky on the yard. It just blends in like it isn’t even there. They say a brown marble is tricky, but this can even fool people when playing British Marbles.

Here are links to the marbles. I'm still working on more and trying to gauge interest. Seems like I'm sure not getting the views. Orangeish marble: https://www.ebay.com/itm/266528611775?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ruxIi_EfR8G&sssrc=2524149&ssuid=ruxIi_EfR8G&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY White marble: https://www.ebay.com/itm/266532476496?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ruxIi_EfR8G&sssrc=2524149&ssuid=ruxIi_EfR8G&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Yellow almost butterscotch. This is a very hard to find material and color: https://www.ebay.com/itm/266532490073?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ruxIi_EfR8G&sssrc=2524149&ssuid=ruxIi_EfR8G&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Brown marble with faults: https://www.ebay.com/itm/266532581383?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ruxIi_EfR8G&sssrc=2524149&ssuid=ruxIi_EfR8G&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY I'll leave them up and see what happens. I have 5 more marbles in various stages. I have 4 which look like they'll be fine shooting marbles, with the 5th having a crack. If my new grinding sticks work well and I can speed up the process I will make cheaper marbles. Currently I'm picking my nicer material.

Also I just ordered some new grinding blocks, though I took a risk with a cheaper website that may be a little sketchy, but reviews seem to be good. I have another site lined up where I also plan to order from. Cost sure does add up quick unfortunately which is the main reason for selling marbles. That plus not having a job is a bit of a pain there, though living with my folks again I don't have the expenses I once had. Sometime in the next few days I have to get back on moving junk out of my apartment so I will be away from marble making for a few days most likely, but before then I want to get some marbles listed to at least have them out there.

Another thing I'm torn on is I really like making marbles to-order so someone gets a marble I chose from a cube from start to finish. With some people I can make them exactly what they want size and finish-wise. It really depends on what their plans are for the marble. A player would want a specific size while a collector may be more interested in just having a cool looking marble with no worries about the size. When I loan marbles, people will often miss a shot and tell me it's because it's not their marble. This can be because of size, finish, or both.

Here's the one marble I have posted. I think I have 3 others to get around to posting. Plus I think 3 more to finish. I have one that's a true shooting marble, and a couple that are more decorative. There's also one that is what I would say "used" to be an acceptable marble. That particular marble is the true white marble players love, but it has crystal "geode" pits, so some players wouldn't want to play with it. Those areas I think are softer, but some swear that the little open pits will cause drag and reduce accuracy. https://www.ebay.com/itm/266528611775?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ruxIi_EfR8G&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=ruxIi_EfR8G&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I'm going to start adding links as I get more into it. I have one link I'll share which has 2 watchers so far. I'm very new to the world of selling marbles and wasn't too sure what to ask. i got advice from someone else who has sold in the past and he said price it high, and if someone buys it, great! If not, you still got a pretty marble. When working Rolley Hole I couldn't gauge the proper price of a marble. One table was filled with $50 marbles and he sold a good bit. Another table had a bunch of $25 marbles which looked and seemed just like the $50 ones. Another guy had a $10.00 section but those I could usually see what was up with them. My marbles were liked by all the makers but I've found some really deseriable materials that had the makers going wild. They say like a true maker, I don't know where my material came from, which was true. When I started out, I was picking up everything. The really nice pieces I sure wish I knew where I got them. The hardness of materials we use is around a 6.5-7 on the Mohs hardness scale, or so I've been told.

Seems my mobile browser is freaking out. Everything is bouncing around so I’m having a hard time keeping up. Steph I’m glad you got your marbles! I forgot to tell you but sometimes I put oil or furniture polish on rough cut cubes to make them good for display. I haven’t found something that lasts very long though.

Did you go to the Buffalo river area to find the chert? Also did you ever cut those pieces from me? I bet some of them would be good. It’s always a pain to tell.

Man that’s awesome! Did you head that way and go rock hunting? I’ve really considered going out there but have been looking around here first. locally, no luck. It seems down in the valley the material is soft, layered, or both. So it explodes. Im about to head to Crossville and poke around there for some rocks.

I also seem to have hit a roadblock getting material cut which is an issue. I sure have some nice material to try, and some more questionable material. I have a decent amount of material to go through still. I think I may focus on using the diamond wheel to grind some rough spheres for spinning, then go from there. Currently my only grinding cups are made from an old grinding wheel that doesn't do all that well. I have considered cannibalizing a wheel I have on my grinder to use for this.

For those interested, I did list a single marble on eBay, and I made another today. Seems I don't have enough posts to have access to the "for sale" section on here. Kinda surprising with all the talk I do about Rolley Hole. Unfortunately I don't have any Rolley Hole news or new info to share with me not working there anymore plus it being the cold off-season. Regardless I sure can't wait for the next Rolley Hole. I used the last of my main grinding cups and need to order replacements so marble making may be slow or not at all for a while.

Forgot to get back to you on this. I actually don't have any rules for Tennessee Square and have found no info on how to play. Do you have anything? I have been a bit caught up with making marbles lately and haven't played any marbles in a long time. Sometimes I get down and shoot some but not often. "Schoolyard" is a general term we use around these parts to vaguely describe games commonly played by kids back in the day. Usually when we play this, it is an overflow from too many people showing up for ringer, or we have people who are frustrated by not having any luck in ringer. Basically all we do is have a small dirt circle with marbles tossed in the center, and we let people try to shoot those out of the circle. Usually people respond pretty well to it and if they get their confidence up, they'll move on over to ringer again.

Another thing to note, but everyone needs to come out to Rolley Hole to really see the beauty of a marble. My camera on my phone can only do so much. It just can’t capture the intricate faults and layers a marble has. There’s some marbles I send a photo of and the photo just doesn’t do it. You can’t see the layers and the glass looking shell that seems to hold everything inside. it’s a lot like resin art. You really have to get in there and look deeply into it. At the same time I make marbles with little transparency so you can’t see much. Lots of white marbles are like this. You may see some interesting changes in coloration but you sure can’t look into it like these more transparent materials.

Here’s some more marbles. I have some coming up that may be a bit better for play, but these sure are pretty. Most makers won’t carry on unless a marble is a sure thing, but since I’m limited on material and don’t have a saw, I work with what I have. what I really need is a better way to spin a marble. I need to check out the local hardware store for some ideas for this, like rubber lawnmower wheels which are a little hard to find. Hard plastic you can find all day long.

Still working on lots of marbles! I will be taking a little break soon as I work on moving out plus trying to find a job. My setup for marble making sure is wild and breaks down a bit, so I need to start looking at a redesign for reliability. Let's just say if anyone wants to get into marble making but wants less headaches, just get an electric bench grinder and mount your wheels to that. Doing it my way is a bit wild and rough so it's not for the faint of heart. On average my setup breaks down and needs shut off at least 2 times a session. I get a little lost when making a marble so a session sometimes is a few hours. Another issue is noise. My little motor sure is loud. I know of some ways to quiet it down but there's always the mechanical noise. This has me planning better ways to power the setup but still keep the gas engine for fun.

Been working on some marbles today. A lot of them ended up a bit smaller than I’d like. Another issue is how the material is always unpredictable. I have some classic faults like mineral deposits and fissures, which is unfortunate. If I get around to making an Etsy shop for selling marbles, I may divide them up as art and playing marbles. Marbles free of cracks will be playing marbles. If anyone is interested in a marble send me a message and let me know your thoughts. I don’t have the assortment of colors some are after, especially when it comes to butter scotch/ brown. But there’s going to be some good shooting marbles if my setup behaves. My setup is, well, interesting to say the least. It’s a lot like driving an old car. It may get you where you need to go, but it’ll be sketchy and wild.

What kind of marble are you looking for (size, finish, material)? I have a lot of cubes but many are a bit odd compared to the plain solid white many people play with. All my material is at home so I don't know what all I have at the moment. When it comes to making marbles, I have not sold one yet. I made a few as gifts for locals who have done a lot for the game. I made one for Bobby Fulcher, the father of the tournament (for his retirement) for example, but have not had a marble used for the tournament yet. I don't have the standard white material most marbles are, but have found material that was used to make marbles that were used in the tournament this year. Selling marbles is a new territory for me and I would like to do the craft justice, so I always have worries there. I was refusing to sell them local since I'm not local and didn't think it was right for some guy from East TN to pop into the area and suddenly become competition, but online it's a new territory, especially since now I'm off finding my own material away from the park. If you're interested send me a message and when I get back home I'll wet up some materials and send some photos. I have a decent mix of materials but some I will have to look at. Without a proper saw I have some odd cuts that may need some extra love. If anyone else is after a marble let me know and I'll see what I can do. Time is a bit limited but if my rig holds up, I would like to make a couple of marbles a day.

Here's another update. I have been working on making my own setup for marble making, and have built a very chaotic setup that makes rocks tremble in fear. The setup is not complete and has its quirks and bugs. I have two bench grinder arbors on this setup, one has a 60 grit diamond wheel which eats rocks (hopefully it holds up since it is a cheap wheel), and the other grinder has a rubber wheel, ping pong table wheel (both for spinning marbles), and a stone wheel I don't know much about, but due to its low rate of cutting it does just fine for the nice little touchup work needed on some marbles while spinning them. Now where things get fun... This is a belt drive setup. I could have gotten an electric bench grinder and called it good, but what's the fun in that? When poking around one of my favorite junk shops I've gone to since I was a kid, I noticed a funky little engine sitting on the floor under a shelf, covered in dust. I picked it up as the elderly owner watched me, and he said "Son do you know what that is?". I told him I thought it was a washing machine engine (which it was). Because I knew what it was, I got it for $20.00. So what use is an engine if you have nothing to do with it? I see these online all the times and the demo videos are basically "here is my engine, it is mounted to a board. Here it is running. Thanks for watching!". That won't do. So I got to planning and building. This engine spins my grinders at around 2000 RPM, and I can speed it up to 2800 or so. Whatever RPM the motor was set at was not full throttle, but way too fast. So using this setup I made a marble in around 30 minutes. Usually this takes me many hours. So here is a video of the chaotic setup. The electric motor in the setup is an old washing machine motor (as is tradition), and it is mostly used as an axle. It can spin the one grinder but not very fast. The gas engine is a 1948 Briggs and Stratton WMB, cast iron grinder is a "CS" grinder (maybe craftsman sears?), the smaller grinder is a Millers Falls (I think), and the belts are a combo of Volvo alternator belts and lawn mower belts. I need to get these belts to flop less but overall it's a fun setup. Enjoy!

For those who may have missed it, I make marbles for the game of "Rolley Hole" . I have a few threads floating around here about me going on and on about Rolley Hole that may be found by searching the forum.

Hey all, I had a thread about making my first marble a few months ago. My seasonal job ends here October 31st so it’ll be the end of the line for me making marbles until I get my own setup going. I have some belt driven bench grinders ready (need wheels) , a couple electric motors, and a Brigs and Stratton WMB washing machine gas engine for this setup. I have made around 40 marbles now, though it’s hard to keep up. It’s taken a lot of trial and error plus time cutting material to really get into it, but here’s some photos. Many marbles I kept on making even though they really aren’t the best for game play, which includes materials with cracks, sand pits, etc. When learning and also finding/cutting your own material it can be difficult to always get and use the best. In my collection of material I do have a quite a few very good looking cubes though it’ll be a long time until I can get to them, and that’s if I keep up with marble making. Back home the geology is also not the best for this however I have a property full of Tennessee Agate, but that’s an awful material for Rolley Hole. It makes a pretty (but soft) marble though. Enjoy!

I do find myself guilty of talking a bit much about Rolley Hole, though very few people play that game and even fewer find it relatable to what they play/ have played. I go around middle and east Tennessee doing a lot of talk about marbles, but very few people really want to play. They do very much like seeing my handmade marbles and they always like the stories and folklore aspects of the game, but it usually ends there. Here we have to focus on the cultural and historic significance of the game, and those coming to learn about it are city folks who saw it on CBS. There's nothing wrong with that, but that demographic would rather enjoy demonstration over participation. So often times I will be on the yard talking to a very interactive audience, but when it comes to the point in the program where it's time to play, they usually clear out. When it comes to kids, if they do show up their parents made them, and they aren't happy about it. They try to quickly get the program over with so they can go back to the more fun stuff like cabins, campgrounds, playground, or the pool. All that being said, if you know where to go around here, there isn't a shortage of people to play with. I am awful at marbles so typically I stay at the park and make marbles instead of going around trying to play marbles. I do know of 2 indoor yards that have heat for the winter and fans for the summer, but that's about it. The marble players I have talked to about this forum really don't have an interest in it. Kinda a lengthy thing I know, so I will say what I play. I play Rolley Hole, Georgia Rolley Hole, ringer, schoolyard, and once played "British". I do not play Tennessee Square (would like to learn), or anything else. I probably haven't played any marble game in over a month since it just isn't enjoyable without the community, and that's what marbles in most areas will and always will lack.