Author Topic: Another cracked ball (Read 13547 times)

Artimust · « **on:** October 07, 2011, 03:52:20 AM »

I've had a few balls crack around the finger holes. No big deal, it can be fixed, and the balls are still usable if i didn't have it fixed right away. Some time last year, my S75 cracked from one of the fingers clear around to the thumbhole. First time that ever happened. I heard a few had the same experience.
I just pulled out my Bank from the box (haven't used it in a little while and stored it in the original box) and found the crack. Same thing, from the finger hole clear around to the thumb hole.
I have about 15 ball, not including my kids balls, all different brands, Hammer, Storm, AMF, 900 Global, Ebonite, Roto Grip. The only 2 that cracked like this were 900 balls. Switch grip and inserts could be partially to blame, but my other balls are fine.
So what's the problem? Quality? Ball driller? Storage? All of the above?
I like 900 products, but I cant be throwing out $200 in the trash.

I know it sounds like I'm in denial, but I'm not.

sps300 · « **Reply #1 on:** October 07, 2011, 12:18:03 PM »

I have had a few do this to me. But only ones with one certain layout and it will do it every time. I won't mention any names but someone within the business (works for one of the bowling ball manufacturers) came to the conclusion because of my finger pitches and where I was placing the pin it caused an extreme amount of pressure between the fingers, pin, and core. It has cracked when using grips and not. So that did not matter.

goodbrothers · « **Reply #2 on:** October 07, 2011, 05:41:21 PM »

I've had two Lane #1 Blue Deaths crack on me (Lane #1 replaced both) I believe their stuff is poured by 900 Global. I've also had a Seismic pearl & Brunswick Avalanche crack as well.....It's hard to pin point what's causing this issue.

Tex · « **Reply #3 on:** October 07, 2011, 08:37:11 PM »

Ive had one 900 crack, but several Columbia and Ebonites as well. One was real old so might have been just storing so long. A couple were actauly stored for a little bit, but one of the Columbia's I used on a Wednesday and it was cracked in half on Friday. One thing all of mine but the one old ball had in common was an extremely aggresive cover stock and talking strong reaction compared to the exact same type ball that I had or friends were using. There has to be some variance in resin's and I figure the more of the chemical that creates the reaction may also cause the cracking, but that is my guess not facts.

Roll with 900 Global.

Made in Texas!

Artimust · « **Reply #4 on:** October 08, 2011, 09:57:19 AM »

That's what I was thinking in regards to the aggressive overstock. I wonder if it would last longer if I don't give it a hot water bath and let the oil sit in the ball? Could pulling the oil out of this type of coverstock cause the ball to crack?

I know it sounds like I'm in denial, but I'm not.

PLM · « **Reply #5 on:** October 08, 2011, 10:35:46 AM »

I seem to remember a thread a while back related to this topic on the Bank or Bank Pearl. The specific concern raised was the thickness of the coverstock compared to other brands. My current arsenal contains 2 Storms, 1 Brunswick, 1 Ebonite, and 1 Bank Pearl and, sure enough, the cover thickness as judged by looking down the thumb hole is probably at least 1/4 inch thinner on my Bank Pearl than any of the others.

I do not know if this is true across all of 900 Global's lineup or not, but on this ball it is. I have not had it long enough to offer an opinion on overall durability and I hope it lasts because I do really like the ball. On the other hand, though I am certainly not well-studied in physics, I would guess that the amount of force necessary to crack a coverstock that is thinner would almost certainly be lower (of course, some allowance would also have to be made for specific formulations of the coverstock as any particular manufacturer's resins might be inherently stronger due to chemical properties even at the same thickness).

There are other variables that might be of concern. I would think it would probably be more of an issue for a higher speed player. That might explain why some people have problems with cracking overall whereas others do not. As for me, with my 16 mph speed off the hand, I might never have any problem with this, but the bowler who throws 20 mph will since it represents a 25% increase in overall speed once the ball strikes the pins.

charlest · « **Reply #6 on:** October 08, 2011, 04:19:51 PM »

FWIW, back before Ebonite bought the rights to the Columbia300 family, their (Columbia's) balls were all made in the San Antonio, TX plant,which is just barely this side of the US/Mexico border. That implies/means lots of heat all year round.

Back then, some one here, with much more knowledge of resin (& bowling ball) chemistry than I have, told all of us here on Balleviews.com that due to this heat problem, Columbia (Track, Dyno-Thane & AMF and MoRich, at that time) had to be very careful how balls were cured or aged after they were poured.

Based on that information, I assume the curing situation has remained the same and is very dependent on not only the time of the year, but also on the curing process itself.

This implies, that even if your driller still follows all the proper procedures with respect to drilling and beveling and use of super-glue and the proper temperature and humidity of the ball and the environment, balls can still crack if their batch, made in the San Antonio plant, are not cured properly.

"None are so blind as those who will not see."

"A comedian says funny things. A comic says things funny."

BowlingChat.net

MI 2 AZ · « **Reply #7 on:** October 09, 2011, 01:24:12 AM »

I've had about half a dozen balls crack over the years, many different brands. None since I started storing the ones I am not currently using in the plastic bags the balls NIB come in. Could just be coincidence, but knock on wood, or as the guy who fell off a high-rise said as he passed each floor, so far so good.

_________________________________________

Need bowling information? - Please check this: BR FAQ

Tex · « **Reply #8 on:** October 09, 2011, 10:38:11 AM »

On one of the othere threads there is a guy commenting his buddy has had 3 Storm balls crack this summer. Those are made in nice cool Utah. In this case they are storing them in a bad enviroment, his garage. Brunswick are poured in Mexico I believe these days and not sure how many of those I have heard about cracking but sure they are out there. I think it is just reactive balls are going to crack for a variety of reasons and if there was a solution the companies would put an additive in the balls and stop it or reduce it at least.

Roll with 900 Global.

Made in Texas!

Dave_in_Rio_Rancho · « **Reply #9 on:** May 25, 2012, 10:48:16 AM »

Storing a bowling ball in the same closed area as ball polish is a sure way to have a ball crack - speaking from experience - it does say on most cans/bottles of polish: "store away from bowling balls" - duh:)

Strider · « **Reply #10 on:** May 25, 2012, 03:17:28 PM »

Quote from: Dave_in_Rio_Rancho on May 25, 2012, 10:48:16 AM

Storing a bowling ball in the same closed area as ball polish is a sure way to have a ball crack - speaking from experience - it does say on most cans/bottles of polish: "store away from bowling balls" - duh:)

Never heard that one before. I'll have to check the bottles I have and see what they say. It's hard to imagine something made to put directly on the cover would be bad to store bowling balls.

MI 2 AZ · « **Reply #11 on:** May 25, 2012, 06:29:02 PM »

Quote from: Dave_in_Rio_Rancho on May 25, 2012, 10:48:16 AM

Storing a bowling ball in the same closed area as ball polish is a sure way to have a ball crack - speaking from experience - it does say on most cans/bottles of polish: "store away from bowling balls" - duh:)

Which ones do you use? I checked the labels on Snake Oil, U.F.O., Bean's Secret Sauce, and Ebonite Reaction Control System 2000 and saw no mention of that.

charlest · « **Reply #12 on:** May 26, 2012, 07:45:25 AM »

Quote from: Dave_in_Rio_Rancho on May 25, 2012, 10:48:16 AM

Storing a bowling ball in the same closed area as ball polish is a sure way to have a ball crack - speaking from experience - it does say on most cans/bottles of polish: "store away from bowling balls" - duh:)

Do you mean to imply that storing a closed bottle of polish in the same general area of a bowling ball can cause that ball to crack?

Dave_in_Rio_Rancho · « **Reply #13 on:** May 26, 2012, 01:40:37 PM »

It will if you didn't put the cap on tight - LOL The loose cap actually ended up killing several plastic items in the cabinet including a plastic container that looked like a Salvador Dali work of art.

All the containers were the old Track lineup of ball surface products; actually the entire lineup.

These are no longer made so perhaps this is no longer and issue - in any case I sent them all to chemical disposal - just in case.

I had three balls with cracked bridges - one of the balls had a plug and the crack ran from plug to pin to finger hole.

raiderh20boy · « **Reply #14 on:** May 26, 2012, 02:22:26 PM »

So the evaporation of the chemicals? causes the balls to crack?

Sorry, but I don't agree! I have had display ball crack

Author Topic: Another cracked ball (Read 13547 times)

Artimust

Another cracked ball

sps300

Re: Another cracked ball

goodbrothers

Re: Another cracked ball

Tex

Re: Another cracked ball

Artimust

Re: Another cracked ball

PLM

Re: Another cracked ball

charlest

Re: Another cracked ball

MI 2 AZ

Re: Another cracked ball

Tex

Re: Another cracked ball

Dave_in_Rio_Rancho

Re: Another cracked ball

Strider

Re: Another cracked ball

MI 2 AZ

Re: Another cracked ball

charlest

Re: Another cracked ball

Dave_in_Rio_Rancho

Re: Another cracked ball

raiderh20boy

Re: Another cracked ball