BallReviews
General Category => Coverstock Preparation => Topic started by: lefty50 on September 26, 2019, 01:35:41 PM
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I usually know better than to post this type of question, but I am troubled by what I see and interested in ideas.
Reminder, low-rev lefty.
I have a spinner, but any time I sand a ball, any ball, it's toast for 2-3 games (IMHO until it gets back to lane shine). If I use a high grit, it slides past. If I use a low grit, it labors. In all cases, for all pressures, grits and lane conditions (only bowling 2 places though), the results are always negative for the first few games. I know all the variables and their impact, but still......
Possible answers I've come up with are "you're always using too much pressure, so it's always too high until it gets back to lane shine"... things like that.
I don't know how else to express this...
Thoughts?
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I'm assuming you're always using a spinner? I like just touching up surface by hand most of the time now unless I need to do a full resurface.
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I have noticed the same thing some what but goes away much quicker (few shadow balls in practice usually) for me. Advice to touch it up by hand above does generally cause less of an issue now I think about it. Usually do it anyway by hand so less wear on the ball long term.
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I can think of a few times I've touched up by hand at the lanes and will say it seemed to be a better result, but it didn't last more than a few frames, which I attributed to being a less efficient process. I'll go back and try that a few more times, perhaps doing it for a longer period with focus on how long it lasts....
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It's surface vs lane shine and what reaction your ball sees on the lane vs what you can physically see the ball doing.
With surface the ball typically slows down sooner and has a smoother response to friction. Great for when you encounter oil or flying backends.
For most bowlers when the ball doesn't jump down lane they see it as less hook because they can't physically see what the ball is doing in the front half of the lane. The ball can cover more total boards and look like less hook compared to the ball that hooks less and does it all down lane.
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Since lane shine was mentioned:
The Truth WHY Your Bowling Ball Changes Performance | WHAT to do about it
This is Ron Hickland talking about lane shine.
Basically he says the main cause of "lane shine" is not so much the lane (though that does contribute to it some), But everything else the ball is rubbing against after it leaves the lane surface, Such as the ball return system etc..
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Why are you sanding it though? Because it came sanded? If the ball keeps "dying," i.e. burning up when you sand it, why sand it??
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For me at least, as a low rev lefty, I pretty much always see more oil and need to keep a fresh surface. Isn't conventional "science" from the brainiacs telling us that a ball lane shines to 4K within 3-5 games? Even you Luke have mentioned balls needing to be freshened, so for me on the left, it's adifferent world, and not a better one. That's why.
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What grits are you using, how many sides are you doing, using sandpaper or abralon or another surface pad, using water or dry, how much pressure, what is the desired result you are trying to get by using surface?
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Some of this makes sense, and some of it doesn't. If the ball always burns up when you sand it, this is telling you that even if you do need a fresh surface, the surface you're applying is too much. When you sand, you also remove the track as well, the ball DOES wear small flat spots in the track area which will increase surface area in contact with the lane, and that's erased when you freshen the cover if you do much more than a light hit with 3000 or 4000. SOME surface is usually a good idea on the left side of the lane because of how much flatter the left side plays, but I always had a lot of shiny stuff work well too because you still have a decent amount of room on a house shot and you can play closer to the gutter than a righty and keep your angles closed. Don't forget I've got 5ish years under my belt as a lefty too, I understand the left side of the lane. Also, unless the pattern is asymmetric, you'll always see more motion on the left side of the lane than a righty will, backends are quite a bit quicker and you can play straighter. I could always use bigger equipment on the right side of the lane than the left despite having a lower rev rate lefty just because there's more MOTION on the left side of the lane. Righties usually have to use bigger equipment because playing right of 8 isn't really an option, and definitely isn't after the first 6 frames of game 1 . .
If you can't create motion and can't use something shiny on the left side of the lane. . that raises pretty big questions for me. I can understand using a bit of surface to tame down your shapes, and yeah you do need to freshen a cover occasionally, but this still sounds a little off to me.
For me at least, as a low rev lefty, I pretty much always see more oil and need to keep a fresh surface. Isn't conventional "science" from the brainiacs telling us that a ball lane shines to 4K within 3-5 games? Even you Luke have mentioned balls needing to be freshened, so for me on the left, it's adifferent world, and not a better one. That's why.
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I've been throwing on the left side of the lanes for 38 years and for some reason I kind of see things differently I guess..I have been using the ctd surfacing pad this year for league and I hand surface all three balls i bring to league a few hours before hand every week..I dont throw much that is shinny and if the ball is nib at 1500 thats what i hit it with..This is working very well for me,maybe its all in my head..At 15 ish and 300 revs its what my old and tired arm and eyes like to see..
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Lefty, I agree with you mostly. I'll see your 38 years and raise you 25, but it's pretty much the same. I don't throw ANYTHING shiny, and although league conditions could be different. I use 1500 almost exclusively too.
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Right on Lefty50.. ;D ;D
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I’m liking this conversation boys. Might as well join the party. Except my polish will ONLY be 4000 grit only. ;)
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I see a little bit of the same thing when changing the surface in prep for a tournament. Going back to a house shot the balls seem to labor. Has anyone tried throwing some compound on the ball after sanding? Was thinking of trying it out to get a little more snap on the backend
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I see a little bit of the same thing when changing the surface in prep for a tournament. Going back to a house shot the balls seem to labor. Has anyone tried throwing some compound on the ball after sanding? Was thinking of trying it out to get a little more snap on the backend
Not a lefty but am a big fan of compound and does help shape a ball some without the over under of polish. The danger is can be hard to replicate exact surface but not accurate enough for that to matter anyway.
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In my experiences with what I have seen; if you are low on revs, you tend to need more help on the backend of the lane, not up front unless you are speed dominate. If you sand it too low, the ball will have no energy left on the backend and likely that is what you may be seeing. Once the surface smooths itself out a pinch, that is when the ball comes back to life.
I agree 100% on the compound idea. Sand your ball to 2000 or whichever you are happy with and add some compound over the top of it. The compound will help the ball conserve some energy for the backend without the ball wanting to go 45-50 feet in the process. The underlying sanded surface will still do its job and the ball wont seem to be dead for the first few games. Try that and see what happens.
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That's something I have wanted to try but haven't yet. Right now according to my teammates I'm throwing the ball like $%^&, so nothing's going to help until I get my head removed from my posterior. If you do try it, please report back. Would love to know.
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few years north of 50 myself and LH
Ive had some luck with more underlying grit and then polish
Like 500 + polish or 1000 + polish
Even go to this polish at times - powerhouse clean n sheen
its a matte polish, provides some additional midlane traction in my experience
https://www.bowlingball.com/products/accessories/powerhouse/10702/clean-n-sheen-32oz.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyNuQr4_15wIV0MDACh10fwoOEAAYASAAEgK3ZvD_BwE
(I'm sure there are others than provide similar qualities)
But we are all talking about the same thing that we want, matching up to a particular lane surface and oil pattern, even if its a house pattern.
When you have the wrong ball in your hand, you know it.
Definitely takes surface tweaks to fine tune what works for you
the 1500 dull is to much by your description of what happens early in the game play.
Keep trying different finishes until you find what works
good luck
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Try a 4000 abralon for 30 seconds a side...... it starts to shine the ball but leaves some underlying surface. It's instant lane shine.