How Do Bocce Balls Get Made?
-
What Is a Bocce Ball?
-
Bocce balls are the key component of the sport known as bocce. From the Italian word "boccia," which means "to bowl," bocce is played all over the world. The game of bocce consists of teams assembling on a long outdoor court and attempting to toss colored bocce balls as close as they can to the "jack," a smaller bocce ball. The game is played with one small ball and eight larger balls. The large balls are two different colors--four for each team. The teams with the closest bocce balls get points. There are two kinds of balls used in bocce: the jack (the scoring ball) and the bocce (the points balls).
What Is a Bocce Ball Made Of?
-
Bocce balls come in many materials, some more expensive than others. While cheap bocce balls can be made out of wood, stone or metal, the most popular (and tournament approved) are made of hard plastic, similar to bowling balls or billiard balls. Bocce balls can be painted solid or given unique finishes such as pearlescent, marbelized, opaque or even glow-in-the-dark.
How Is a Bocce Ball Made?
-
Mass-produced tournament-approved bocce balls are made of a durable resin compound. While you will find inexpensive wooden or light plastic bocce balls for sale, the resin compound bocce balls are what serious players use. The two parts of a bocce ball are made in separate ways. The balls have a foam core, often constructed of molded pieces. The core gives the ball its weight. During manufacturing, the core is suspended inside a mold, then liquid resin is poured into the mold. The resin creates the shell, the outside surface of the bocce ball. After cooling, the bocce ball is sanded, painted and polished.
Who Makes Bocce Balls?
-
There are many companies that make bocce balls, generally along with bowling balls, billiard balls and other bowling game gear. EPCO, in Medway, Massachusetts, has been making yard games and bocce balls for 48 years (see Resources). An Italian company, Super Martel, is another major producer of bocce balls in Europe.
-
Related Searches
Resources
Comments
-
I thought I'd correct some of the information in this post. I'll post my credentials first so you know you can trust the information I put here.We have directly imported bocce balls for almost 20 years. My company is the oldest online retailer selling bocce and petanque products. We have traveled to many bocce facilities around the word as well as to the factories of the various bocce manufacturers. We work with the USBF United States Bocce Federation supplying team uniforms, balls etc. and sponsor tournaments around the USA. 1. The word “bocce” is a plural of the word “boccia” meaning ball in Italian. Not to bowl. 2. The jack is the name for the target ball in English Lawn Bowls. In Bocce its called the pallina or pallino. 3. Bocce balls "can" be made from rhinestones, gourds, tin cans and yes, steel, water filled plastic and I guess stone as the author suggests. But if they are then it is NOT a bocce bocce ball. Just as a baseball bat made from steam pipe, or pine, or plastic might look the part but its NOT a baseball bat. Bocce balls just like a base ball, tennis ball, basket ball, etc. is ONLY made from one material. Very hard plastic. If its not and its made from some other material then it should be called wiffle, knurf or something else. 4. If the ball is painted then its NOT a bocce ball. Otherwise that paint would get knocked off the first time a ball hits the court. 5. Yes some "bocce balls" are made that way. Its the same process to make a billiard ball. But the end result is that the material is too soft and is prone to cracking and is the typical method for making balls that come out of China. A true bocce ball is made as a single piece in a mold where it is heated and cured. Top level bocce balls do have an inner core but it is never foam. Its a very hard dense material. That is then molded under very high pressure to thick ABS, melamine etc plastic skin. 6. The number one Bocce Manufacturer in Europe is Perfetta. They have been the official supplier to the International Bocce Championship for more than 20 years. and exclusively imported by Playaboule.
-
i love bocce ball!!!!! so cool... xD
