Hobby Thread - November 7, 2026 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. For this week, the Wheel of Hobbies (TM) is feeling round and decided on a marble theme for this Hobby Thread.

Marbles? Read on, fellow hobbyists...

[Top photo: Moon Marble Company]

Your host is a dinosaur with a small brain and short arms. That means it is difficult to get low to the ground and reach to shoot marbles. But I understand that others are into marbles. Some still shoot marbles or play other games. It seems like many others are enamored of collecting marbles because of the visual interest and variations inherent in the glass making process.

Marbles are also useful for other crafting and hobbying pursuits.

Other than losing them, what hobbying experience do you have with marbles?

Give the content a chance before you judge and bail out. There's gotta be something that resonates with you. More importantly, what are you hobbying? Jump in with your hobbying, interests, stories and questions.

Anything (legal) you are hobbying is welcome. If not, offer something else relating to hobbying or just check in and say hello.

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Leave politics and religion to threads elsewhere (unless your hobby is building or restoring churches). Pants? Nope. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.

Play nice and do not be rude. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls.

Are you wise in the ways of marble history?

The earliest marbles were made of flint and stone and baked clay. Examples have been found in archaeological sites around the world and some of these, from Rome and ancient Egypt, can be found at the British Museum.

There are frequent references to marbles in Roman literature and it is probably fair to assume that the Romans took this popular form of entertainment with them to all parts of their empire.

For centuries thereafter the marbles were made of common stone or in some cases, real marble. China and crockery marbles were introduced around the year 1800 and before that glass marbles had been made in Venice. However, it was only when a German glassblower invented a tool called the marble scissors in 1846 that production became quick enough to make the sale of glass marbles to the public an economic proposition.

These marbles became increasingly popular throughout Europe and America. An enormous variety of colours were used and intricate patterns were created within the glass.

Clay marbles began to be produced in bulk from about 1870 onwards on both sides of the Atlantic. In the 1890's the first machines for the manufacture of glass marbles were introduced. However, machine production remained low until the 1914-18 war in Europe cut off supplies of marbles to North America. This stimulated the machine production of glass marbles in the U.S.A. This production technique and the machines themselves are now found in many countries, east and west.

Does anyone still shoot marbles? Do kids still learn?

How it's made: marbles

Some people are serious marble collectors based on the colors and patterns:

The world's largest Marble King (one specific marble maker) collection:

Marble music:

Anyone make cracked glass for crafting? Want to learn how?

How to Make Cracked Glass Marbles for Crafting

Cracked glass marbles can go by several different names. I've seen them called fractured glass, fried marbles, or shattered marbles.

So these marbles are pretty and all, but what can you do with them?

The answer is pretty much anything you can do with regular marbles! Which means there are plenty of options.

You can turn them into jewelry, embellish an art project, add them to an outdoor decor project, or use them as a vase filler. The list goes on and on.

Marbles come in different sizes:

PeeWees - approx. 12mm or 1/2" and smaller
Decor Marbles - approx. 14mm or 9/16"
Target Marbles - approx. 16mm or 5/8" (most standard size)
Shooters - approx. 18 - 19mm or just under 3/4"
Cobbles - approx. 22mm or 7/8"
Boulders - approx. 25mm or 1"
Jumbos - approx. 35mm or 1 3/8"
Super Jumbos - approx. 41mm or 1 5/8"
Toebreakers - approx. 48mm or 2"

How much do marbles cost? Like anything else, fancier gets more expensive. They are sold in bulk quantities. I fancy found target marbles for sale on line sold by the pound. There are approximately 80 to 90 in a 1 pound bag ($13) and approx. 250 in a 3 pound bag ($32.50).

A 50 pack of bumblebee jumbos costs $52.

Anyone play marble games called Ringer, Plums, and Dropsies in scouts?

Marble jargon is fun. Here are some marble words that came up during the research for this content - can anyone vouch for these? Any others come to mind?

Types of Marbles:
Aggie - Marble made of agate (or glass imitating agate)
Alley - Originally from alabaster or real marble. Sometimes alley taw for a high-quality shooter.
Bennington - Glazed clay or stoneware marble (named after pottery style, though not made in Bennington, VT).
Cat's eye - Clear glass marble with a colored, eye or vane-shaped insert inside.
Clearie / Peerie / Purie / Crystal - Transparent clear glass marble.
Commonie - Cheap, plain clay or common marble.
Onionskin - Glass marble with layered, swirling color bands that run the length of it.
Steelie - Steel ball-bearing marble (heavy and effective as a shooter).
Sulphide - Clear or semi-opaque glass marble with a small clay or porcelain figure (animal, person, etc.) inside.
Bumblebee - Yellow-and-black striped marble.
Joseph's Coat Specific pattern with many straight color bands.

Size-Related Names:
Peewee / Pewee / Mini - Small marble
Mib / Target / Tolley / Duck / Kimmie - Standard target/player marble
Shooter / Taw / Dobber - Larger marble used to knock others out
Boulder / Giant / Bumboozer / Bowler / Tom Bowler - Very large marble
Other size nicknames include bonker, masher, popper, thumper, and godfather.

Making a marble track:

Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did a crystals and gem cutting theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

Notable comments from last week:

Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

Reminder: if you put links in the comments, use a URL shortener and describe what you're linking to. Failing to do either or both makes you barrel-eligible. Don't make people click to find out what you're linking.

Boo! Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Or just email to say hello. Do mighty things.