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Author Topic: Black widow death  (Read 3433 times)

Barbarian2990

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Black widow death
« on: February 03, 2008, 06:42:21 AM »
I've been hearing a lot about people having original black widows and after about 100 games they say they just die.how many of u have had this happen to u cause i was planning on getting either a BW or a BWB and i don't want to pay $100 for a ball that will stop hooking in about 6 months .I only bowl once maybe twice a week and i clean my balls after every use. so should i be worried about this happening to me?
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Uncle Crusty

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Re: Black widow death
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2008, 03:00:44 PM »
I've had an original Black Widow for about 14 months and I've thrown hundreds of games with it, and it's still really strong. I clean it regularly, and I'll give it a hot water bath when I see it starting to lose a little reaction. As long as you maintain it well, you shouldn't run into any issues.
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mikesxrs

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Re: Black widow death
« Reply #2 on: February 03, 2008, 11:11:48 PM »
as long as you clean your ball after every use you will be fine. its the people that dont clean their equipment that complain of ball dying syndrome
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chitown

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Re: Black widow death
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2008, 08:09:26 AM »
Most of the really strong reactive solids on the market need consistent maintenance.  If you keep up with the maintenance the ball should last a long time.
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Gene J Kanak

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Re: Black widow death
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2008, 09:28:39 AM »
I've had my Widow more than a year and have seen no signs of ball death. Every ball loses a little bit of juice over time, but the little bit of mellowing that I've seen is not significant in the least.

On a side note, however, I'd tell you to lean toward the Bite. Both balls are good, but I find the bite to be a bit cleaner and more continuous. If you're choosing one or the other, I'd go with the Bite.
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mugrad

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Re: Black widow death
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2008, 09:48:55 AM »
I appreciate what everyone here has said so far and am glad you haven't had any issues.  But I have.  First let me say that I clean each ball after use before I leave the lanes that night.  Had a BW solid for a year and it lost it's hook to the point I gave it away.  I gave it a hot water bath on a regular basis (probably every 30-40 games).  I took it to my pro shop and had them resurface it.  They also bled the oil out of it in their oven.  Would still only move a board or two.  Even my pro shop guy said it was just done.

I'm really put off on Hammer right now.  That ball used to be my go-to piece.  I guess I'm going to look elsewhere.  Good luck with your decision.

-mugrad
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chitown

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Re: Black widow death
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2008, 10:44:24 AM »
Most bowling balls on the market are designed to absorb oil which makes them lose a bit of there reaction after a certain number of games.  I've had some good luck with giving equipment a hot water bath and resurface.

I think the lower end equipment tends to last a little bit longer.  They don't seem to soak oil as fast.  My Blue Vibes have a ton of games on them and still react as good as new!  I have yet to give either of them a hot water bath or resurface.
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JShiff

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Re: Black widow death
« Reply #7 on: February 06, 2008, 02:15:37 PM »
I got my BW from a buddy after he used it for about 3 months. Ive been using it for almost another 10 months now and its still a reallly strong ball. If u think its dead, keep it in a rejuvinater for 30 minutes at a time, take it out, clean oil off and put it back in there for another 30 minutes. Repeat this until theres no more oil coming out. I took it out and it was reacting just fine. I clean mine with acetone + water. It gives a nice sheen to it and keeps it very clean.
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XXXXXXMEN

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Re: Black widow death
« Reply #8 on: February 07, 2008, 04:46:39 PM »
It is most unfortunate that I must be the one to say this, but this ball is a VERY high maintanence ball. In order to keep your area huge (and trust me, you really can get HUGE area with this ball) you have to soak/bake/thoroughly clean this ball at least once a week. Failure to do so will result in the ball sliding so long to the point that the ball never truly flips. So if you feel like your ball has lost it's carrying power, you know what to do. (It takes about 300 games or so to see it happen, but happen it will) (I'm not accusing you of doing it but..) *Don't, FOR ANY REASON, use acetone on this coverstock. For some reason doing so will cause this ball to never hook again*
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SKC

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Re: Black widow death
« Reply #9 on: February 07, 2008, 05:55:58 PM »

My Black Widow literally lasted about 50 games.. Gradually it started to hook less and from one day to another it just didn't hook.. No matter what i did.. No resurfacing or whatever would help... And I clean my balls everytime after bowling..
My Black Widow Bite has over 50 games and still hooks as much as the first day i threw it..
Have tried this before.. Just happens sometimes.. Some just die out faster..
Even when drilling multiples of the same ball, some have died out faster than others..


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