| Fabric cover |
 | | Cloth dumbell |
There are two types of cloth used in making tennis balls. The two types are Melton cloth, which has high wool content, and Needle cloth, which is cheaper to produce and can have a greater content of synthetic fibres.
The cloth arrives in rolls containing pieces of cloth 60 inches wide and 150 feet long. The cloth is coated on its reverse side with a vulcanising solution by means of one or more spreading operations. ‘Dumb-bell’ shaped blanks are cut from several layers of cloth at once by an automated stamping machine. Two blanks are then used to cover each ball.
The edges of the blanks are coated with vulcanising solution, which ultimately forms the seam of the ball. When the solution is dry the covers are ready to place on the core of the ball.
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