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Author Topic: Questions...what went wrong...and what will be the difference...if anything?  (Read 1335 times)

10_the_hard_way

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OK, I recently bought a couple of balls with assymetric cores.  All my other balls have been symmetrical cores, so I was pretty excited about trying something new

Prior to getting the balls, I contacted the equipment companies, told them what I wanted out of the balls and asked for drilling recommendations, which they happily gave me.

I go to my longtime driller (and good friend, BTW) who ordered the balls for me and tell him how I want them drilled.  Ball #1 was to be 4" pin to PAP with 4" MB to PAP.  Ball #2 was to be 3" pin to PAP and 4 3/4" MB to PAP.  

I have the balls drilled and roll a few games with them and then notice that the MB on both balls looks to be extremely far away from the PAP in regards to the measurements I gave my driller.  So I get out the measuring tape, Ball #1 the pin is 4" from PAP but the MB is 5 1/2" from PAP.  The CG, however, is 4" from my PAP.  On Ball #2, the pin was 3 1/2" from PAP and the MB was 5 3/4" from my PAP, with the CG 4 1/2" from my PAP.

I know for a fact I wrote down the measurements that I gave to my driller as Pin to PAP and MB to PAP, not CG to PAP.  I didn't even mention CG.  

Now my questions are:  What went wrong, if anything?  Did I make the mistake or did my driller make a mistake, he said the drillings would be close but not exact due to pin length?  Could it be he is not familiar with drilling assymetrical core balls, even though he's been in the business for as long as I've known him?  How significant of a difference will this make in the ball reactions, I figured the 4X4 drilling would be strong but it seems fairly tame the few times I've rolled it?  Should I confront my driller if this is in fact his mistake, I don't want to come off as telling him how to do his job even though I not sure if he did it right or not?  Or should I just forget about it, use the balls as drilled and move on?

 

JohnP

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10_the_hard_way -- If you did specify MB to PAP distances, your driller made a mistake.  Now if you just said or wrote 4x4 with no specific reference to MB, it's your mistake (although on an assymetrical ball he really should have asked you).  Since the MB or cg distance is a "tweaker" to the ball reaction, I don't think you will see a significant differenct.  I would let your ball driller know you are not satisfied.  I think he will offer to plug and redrill the balls at no charge (I would).  If you are not happy with the reaction you have, I would pick the one you are most unhappy with and let him plug and redrill it.  In addition to the PAP to pin and MB distances, specify where you want the pin in relation to the finger holes.  If the ball's reaction is significantly better, have him do the same to the second ball, if not leave it as is.  I really like to have the customer present when I lay the ball out.  I set the ball up and roughly draw in the thumb and finger holes, then ask the customer if this is what he wants.  I do ask the customer to leave while I punch the holes, because it is easy to get distracted and make a mistake if someone is watching over your shoulder or talking to you.  Then when the ball is drilled, we go to the lanes and enjoy that first thunder strike.  --  JohnP

Added on edit:  After thinking about this a little more, before you get into plugging the balls, why don't you let your driller adjust the surface as he thinks appropriate to get the reaction you want.  He can do a lot more with the surface to affect the reaction than he can with a minor layout change.  And he should do it at no charge since he made a mistake on the layout.

Edited on 5/24/2004 5:56 PM