Table Tennis Balls: Celluloid Halves Blown in an Out-of-Round Mould (Jaques 1935)

A celluloid table tennis ball is two stamped halves sealed with acetone, then blown out round by its own air in a hot mould. The overlapped seam shrinks a little as it cools, so the ball ends slightly narrower across the seam. John Jaques made the mould wider across the seam by just that amount, so the ball cools truly round. Source: J. M. Jaques, US 2,025,455 (1935). The patent gives no sheet thickness, ball size or temperatures. The press, pot and micrometer are ours. Picture: the patent drawing.