I have seen this type of post over and over, for years. Yes bowling balls have a tendency to crack,...and sometimes for no apparent reason.
I've had balls, in my "ball room" ,
crack all the way around from just sitting on a ball rack. They were there for months and one day I walk in and there's a big crack. Who's fault is that,,.?
First of all let me say that in over 45 years of bowling I personnaly have never seen a new undrilled ball crack/ed. That being said I think that the majority of cracked balls are owned, drilled, and bowled with.
That gives me three variables to look at:
OWNER: not ever one takes care of there equipment the same way. I think the better you take care of your equipment the longer it will last. The list is as long as you want it to be on how to take care of your stuff, most people do very little to preserve their equipment.
DRILLING: Drilling weakens the structure of your ball. As soon as the first hole is put in the ball it loses strength. The bigger and deeper the holes the worse it becomes. Now add slugs for thumbs that I've seen actually 'hammered' in, and these new switch grips that take a giant hole, and all the super glues chemical reaction. Then finger grips, that also need super glue,..and don't forget our blessed balance holes. Also remember that most all finger grips and slugs use the same drill bits,...over and over. They get realy dull really quick, that means more pressure to drill and more heat on the sides of the holes,..again less strength.
BOWLED WITH: A new bowling ball is built to do one thing, CRASH into almost 40 pounds of stacked wood, usually with as much force as the owner can inflict, not just once,....but hundreds and hundreds of times. All the while being banged and bumped on each throw through a mechanical maze of lane and metal ball returning equipment, where it meets its final destination back on the ball rack, banging into other balls. While all this is happening the surface is being scuffed, scraped, scratched, and covered with cheap gooey lane lubricant (oil) and dirt. Now throw in the ride in the car to and from the center, the week in the trunk, or garage, and you have the average guy and his three ball bag.
Imagine the same abuse for your favorite $200 reel, softball bat, driver, shotgun, or pistol,....they wouldn't last very long.
I agree that some balls crack. And if I had a ball that i honestly thought was a defective ball I would not hesitate to send it back to the manufacture for them to look at. But I don't think that todays bowling balls are built to last as long as the balls of yester-year, nor should we expect them too.
This is my opinion, not that of Global900, or any other ball company. jim
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Jim Ensminger
www.900global.comThere's FIRST, then everyone else.
