Natural materials are mainly goose feathers or duck feathers. Bleached and screened fine wool is used as the competition ball, and impure or inferior wool is used as the practice ball. It is generally believed that the balls made of waterfowl feathers are of the best quality. But a bird hair (goose hair) can only make a hemisphere, so the source of raw materials is very short. Everyone hopes to make badminton with low value and good quality as soon as possible.
Badminton's basic structure: Feather: Generally, a badminton uses 14 or 16 feathers to form an equal circle, and the length of the feathers varies according to the full hair and the half hair. Its weight should be between 4.74 grams and 5.5 grams. (Figure 3-2).
Ball head: made of cork, which is divided into competition level and practice level according to the level of cork. The international standard weight of the whole badminton is between 4.74 and 5.50 grams, and the quality of cork also affects the elasticity of the ball.
Stability of badminton: According to international standards, the arrangement diameter of feathers is between 58-68mm. The ball will fly if the diameter is smaller and the resistance is relatively small. The same can happen when the ball head is heavy. For example, Victor's ball has a large diameter, so Kirk has a screw to gain weight. In addition, the arrangement of structure and the brittleness of feather handle are also factors that affect whether badminton can withstand hitting. The glue between the feather handle and the cork is not firm, or the thread glue between the feathers is not thick enough, which will soon collapse after impact. If the center of gravity of the ball head is uneven, it will shake when flying. If the feather is too brittle (winter wool is brittle), it will break after a few blows. You can open the cover of the bulb and fumigate it with steam to make the feathers contain water and be softer.
Check the ball: When checking the ball, stand on the baseline and hit the ball forward and upward with both hands. The flying direction of the ball must be parallel to the sideline, and it should fall in the area between 530 and 900 mm from the opponent's baseline.