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Author Topic: True dry lane ball  (Read 15069 times)

lilpossum1

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True dry lane ball
« on: August 11, 2017, 11:10:44 AM »
I bowl on old wood lanes and in trying to find a solution for late tournaments when the lanes are torched. I fight above ground ball returns so moving deeper than center arrow is impossible on the right lane and this house is known for having dry zones where you can sometimes see The ball check up in the heads. I have tried the urethane route and, although it does tame flying back ends, urethane reads the lane early and does not solve the problem. Not to mention it had a hard time carrying corner pins when I have to open angles up even a little bit. I am considering a really weak resin drilled weak and polishing the dog piss out of it to try to get it through the heads, or plastic with a strong core. Thoughts?

 

SVstar34

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2017, 11:16:44 AM »
If it's old wood lanes and they get torched, I'd look at the Track Spare+. I've had some times where my Storm Mix was almost playable and if it had a core it probably would have worked pretty well
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 11:43:30 AM by SVstar34 »

leftybowler70

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2017, 11:37:38 AM »
I've had success with my old black widow spare for these conditions with success; super clean with just enough motion to make it back ( the famous black widow core, along with playing tighter angles in front of me).


HackJandy

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2017, 11:45:16 AM »
Maybe try a pearl urethane like the new or old Purple Hammer?  New Blue Hammer is also basically a very weak resin that goes very long.  Doesn't hit as well as the purple though.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 11:53:20 AM by HackJandy »
Kind of noob when made this account so take advice with grain of salt.

Juggernaut

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2017, 11:58:55 AM »
PLASTIC WITH A DECENT CORE:

 1. Taboo spare (If you can find one)
 2. True Blood
 3. Black Widow spare ( Be careful. There exists a version that only has a pancake core in it too)
 4. Track Spare + (Old one was orange/white/black. New one looks like a Mako to me)


 There are a couple of urethanes floating around out there that are special. They are the old Pink Hammers, and the Visionary Ogre urethane. Both very hard and shiny, built specifically for dry lanes, but both can be very hard to find anymore.
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Brandon Riley

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2017, 12:20:10 PM »
Plastic or pearl urethane will be able to keep you safely around the 1-3 but you will potentially be sacrificing carry.  With that being said, there are times when 190 is a good score.

Myself, I'd rather gamble by giving myself a chance to make up some ground on the field.  I would be looking at a ball with a High RG & Low Diff core, weaker Pearl cover and pin 5"+ from PAP to allow me to lean on what little remaining oil there is towards the middle of the lane but still kick out the corners.  For me this ball would be an Alley Cat, Rhino or Slingshot. 
Brandon Riley
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BallReviews-Removed0385

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2017, 12:40:51 PM »

The Fanatic BTU Pearl might be a great option.  It reacts like a pearl urethane, with a little more kick, but hits like resin.  I bowl a second shift scratch league every year and this one might save me...


charlest

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #7 on: August 11, 2017, 12:52:03 PM »
lilpossum,

Most current urethanes on the market are of the older, very early rolling variety. If you have enough ball speed to use them, you probably wouldn't be posting this question.
BUT
Have you tried the Blue Hammer?
It is claimed to be urethane, but it is really, in my opinion, a resin-urethane blend. For me it  handles less oil than the current weakest resin on the market, the Tropical Breeze Pearl, and that's with the stock 4000 grit surface. Polished, I have yet to find enough dry to use and I have low speed and am rev dominant.

One other suggestion:
Have you tried any of the slip agent polishes, the ones that reduce the backends and the hook of balls? They're hard to find these days with every one looking for bigger hooking balls but they're still there.
2 of them are Valentino's UFO and Neo-Tac's Control-it.

Rapid oil absorption is one of the major factors that allow resin ball to hook so much. These polishes not only polish the ball they also contain slip agents that partially clog the pores of the resin reducing the ball's ability to hook.
So they go longer from the polish, but they hook less and they have less backend.
They do work.

Both these products have recently been discontinued so they're harder to find but they may be able to help you. FYI for a short while Brunswick marketed Control-It under its own name, so a pro shop may still carry Control-It under the Brunswick label rather than the Neo-Tac label.
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HackJandy

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #8 on: August 11, 2017, 01:30:00 PM »
I currently use Vise 8000 Slip Agent (hydrocarbon based) on my 6yo son's ball which due to his low ball speed will hook even plastic off the lane sometimes (in either direction lol).  The stuff is awesome (amazing how much straighter his ball goes) and readily available but its one strength and weakness is it wears off fairly rapidly so you may need to apply after each session.  Then again retarding a ball's hook until the next time you can resurface it like some of the older silicon slip agents has its pro cons as well.  Would actually prefer it for his ball but not mine.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 01:34:15 PM by HackJandy »
Kind of noob when made this account so take advice with grain of salt.

charlest

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #9 on: August 11, 2017, 01:46:46 PM »
I currently use Vise 8000 Slip Agent (hydrocarbon based) on my 6yo son's ball which due to his low ball speed will hook even plastic off the lane sometimes (in either direction lol).  The stuff is awesome (amazing how much straighter his ball goes) and readily available but its one strength and weakness is it wears off fairly rapidly so you may need to apply after each session.  Then again retarding a ball's hook until the next time you can resurface it like some of the older silicon slip agents has its pro cons as well.  Would actually prefer it for his ball but not mine.

Thanks, HackJandy, for pointing out that Vise makes a slip agent polish. I didn't realize it.

If it wears off rather quickly, it probably does not use silicon as the slip agent.
UFO uses an organic slip agent and it lasts about 20 -25 games and is easily removed by a light sanding with a 4000 grit pad.
On the other hand, Control-it does use silicon and it does not wear off quickly. In fact to remove it you need to use a very dull sanding pad, like 360 or 5000 grit.

I have not yet tried Vise's slip agent polish yet. Their cleaner is very good and highly recommended. I just ordered a bottle.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 03:42:17 PM by charlest »
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bcw1969

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #10 on: August 11, 2017, 07:24:35 PM »
Go with the Lane #1 bullet....the weakest resin ball I've seen, I actually use it as my spare ball...and it does hit very hard. Someone is currently selling a 15 pounder on ebay, check it out..extremely weak with good hit and carry.

Brad

charlest

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #11 on: August 11, 2017, 08:04:39 PM »
Go with the Lane #1 bullet....the weakest resin ball I've seen, I actually use it as my spare ball...and it does hit very hard. Someone is currently selling a 15 pounder on ebay, check it out..extremely weak with good hit and carry.

Brad

Hyper-mild ball; good choice if you use 15s.
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DP3

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #12 on: August 12, 2017, 01:06:39 AM »
Don't discount a Purple Hammer. A ton of titles in the past year have been won with that ball. Some really good balls for the truly torched stuff are the Track Spare +, Tropical Breeze, and BTU Pearl. They will get down the lane like you need and still dig enough to carry on the dry.

squirrelywrath1

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #13 on: August 12, 2017, 06:47:47 AM »
Could also try the Teen Masters PBA Skill 3.02 urethane ball.   Minimal flare but more roll than a typical 3-piece.

I use the plastic version of this and love it.

I'd say the ball is weaker than a polished Blue Hammer, but stronger than the 3-piece Storm Mix.

http://www.teenmastersbowling.com/pbaskillballs.html

charlest

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Re: True dry lane ball
« Reply #14 on: August 12, 2017, 07:15:56 AM »
Don't discount a Purple Hammer. A ton of titles in the past year have been won with that ball. Some really good balls for the truly torched stuff are the Track Spare +, Tropical Breeze, and BTU Pearl. They will get down the lane like you need and still dig enough to carry on the dry.

I am suspicious of the new Purple Pearl Hammer because a friend has tried it several times and for him it's super early and a large hooking ball. His ball speed is in the 15 - 16 mph range; so he's not slow.  It is still an old world urethane with a pretty grabby coverstock, besides being a pearl.
The new Blue Hammer gets significantly greater length and requires much less oil.
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