Indestructoballs?

Good bocces are a lot of money for the treatment they get when used "properly." Cheap ones are a solution (you can find them for $40) but they're smaller and lighter, not as satisfying when they strike the side door of your mom's minivan. You can find some made from steel, brass, or chrome, I don't know how they hold up. Charlie told me they have some that look like polyurethane (clear with designs inside) at Galyans, but I've never been in to check them out.

The lightups (see Spilsbury.com, search "bocce") are plastic, not very heavy, and use a sort of screw-in screw-out on-off switch that's problematic. They work very well when rolled, even when they get wet, but don't deal too well when lobbed high onto a cement pool deck--don't ask me how I know. They're fucking awesome in the snow (and for "apartment bocce") which is worth the $30 right there. We played a game last Xmas on a melted hockey rink, completely ice with about 1/2 inch of water on top. We were soaked both literally and figuratively by about 2 a.m. (We fell down a lot.) Because we've nearly destroyed my brother's set, now we use one of the light-up bocces as a pallino and regular bocces to play in the dark. If you're not too drunk, you can play by ear.

I really, REALLY like the idea of a homemade set. The industrial-size or locomotive-use ball bearings are a great idea. I've considered using a tennis ball or raquet ball injected with caulk or silicone or something to make it heavy. Heavy softballs would be cool as hell (I'm thinking spin capabilities) and could be dyed colors with a baseball as a pallino, plus the softballs are just a hair less likely to break shit. Mini footballs would be a hoot if you could find a cheap way to make them heavy. Sand? Salt? Glue? Mixture? Is there such a thing as little kids' bowling balls?

Take a trip to PIA Sports and buy a bunch of used shit and have a crafts/beer workshop day! If you start early in the morning, you can have plenty of time in the p.m. for testing.