BallReviews
Equipment Boards => Columbia 300 => Topic started by: PJM300 on November 27, 2004, 02:08:53 AM
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My brother has a big bully, threw 9 games and theres a big crack going in an arc shape under the fingers to the pin . The pin is under the bridge about an inch. Its sad because he throws grips theres nothing that can be done.. Why do grips void the warranty..... any ideas, I would think as long as the bridge is 1/4 inch and the pin is an inch from the holes, what difference does it make? Its just odd he had a messenger (his last columbia ball) that did the same thing.
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Same problem with my Icons and my WOWs. That's why I'm throwing Big B now. A ton of balls drilled and used and nothing has cracked yet. Let the flame wars begin...
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I know someone that had 2 Brunswick balls crack like that on them, so it makse no difference that its a Columbia. I have drilled up at least 5 Columbia balls the past year and never had a problem. Most of the time, the cracks happen when people leave the balls in their car or garage where its too hot or too cold.. Just my 2 cents..
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If they only made a ball that would carry that da_n 7 pin (and I am right handed!!)
jkiser01
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I know about the weather thing, he has a locker at the alley so its not a cold weather deal. I myself have thrown columbia once, and that was years ago with a Blue surge. I have never had any problems with my equipment, just seems odd that the Columbias seem to crack more. Actually a guy I bowled against in league last night had a Detour and that was cracked through the pin....
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PJM300,
having a ball in a locker at the bowling alley is not what I am talking about. I know alot of people leave their balls in the bed of thier trucks, in their trunks, etc all the time. This is what causes the balls to crack..
It might be Columbia and it might not but I am betting more of them get damaged by neglect or ball drillers that drill the finger grip holes to close together, thus causing the bridge to crack..
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If they only made a ball that would carry that da_n 7 pin (and I am right handed!!)
jkiser01
Edited on 11/27/2004 1:56 PM
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This ball didnt crack in he bridge it was like
0 0 <----- fingers
\./ <------ Dot = pin , slashes = cracks
more of an arc from the fingers to the pin, like a half moon shape.
Hes going to take it back to the pro shop and see what he says.......
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I had 2 Icons crack around the fingers with VERY LITTLE glue used on the grips. I used only 3 little dots of super-glue. The cracks weren't near the glue dots. I had a WOW with about 5 games on it crack with a circular crack under the fingers and through the pin - and the pin was at least 1/2" or longer under the bridge. I had an Icon2 crack the bridge (1/4" bridge) while it was sitting in the pro shop - never saw glue. NONE of my balls get wild temperature swings. My garage stays between 50 & 90 depending on the season. I don't leave them in the trunk. In my experience (and I'm not the only one) the Muscle derivative coverstocks are more prone to cracking than most other Columbia (and other Mfg.) covers.
I have had ZERO Brunswick balls crack. Powerkoil 18 both solids and pearls. Powerkoil 17 pearls. Various particle balls. All versions of Activator coverstock. I had no BIAS against C300, at the time I was throwing mostly their products, with a few Faballs. Once I started seeing a lot of cracking on the new stuff, that was it for me. The darned things cost too much money to put up with cracking.
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I Just won a big bully on e-bay for $86.95.I am a 209 avg. bowler down from 222 last season.Seller ask about about pin location.I really dont understand the lingo.Its a 14# ball. I throw medium speed and ball hooks about 8 boards.Does the pin location make a difference if this ball will crack.I am making the move from 15# to 14#
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bowlers forever
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Where did you get the ball from? If you bought it from a pro shop, even
though grips suppossedly voids the warranty, your shop guy should at least
give it a shot to get you another. If you got it somewhere else, you should
at least call Columbia customer service. You never know what could happen.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. That's just my 2 cents worth also.
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Tracy
GO COWBOYS / NEXT YEAR
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I had lots of Columbia balls that didn't crack. Great stuff. My cracking problems only started with the introduction of the Muscle coverstock, and the derivatives of this coverstock. That's when I made the switch. I still have my 15# Spirit - I will not get rid of that ball.
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I had two brunswick balls crack. Both were out of warranty. But one was within a year of the warranty. Both with slugs and grips. Big B replaced one ball.
That worked out well for me.
BTW - BOTH balls cracked sitting in bags on the floor - inside.
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Bowlers are like puppies. The only difference is that someday the puppy will quit whining.
-- Found at Sam's Town Pro Shop 
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#1, This looks like a crack that came from the combo of a weak cover/dull drill bit. In my experience, its the heat caused from the dull drill bit, not the vibrations, that causes the cover to weaken, hence become more susceptible to cracking. Either way, the guy was right about dull bits causing alot of this.
#2, I've replaced many balls, especially if they're that new, that have cracked out even though they have finger inserts. That is generally a cop-out the ball company's take, but rarely have I seen them be a stickler on that. So long as your bridge is 1/4 of an inch, and the pin isnt drilled into/out, it should'nt be a problem to get a ball replaced, and the ball companies are generally cool about it. I mean, 9 games, there's no way they wont warranty that. :0
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I actually made the switch from grips to without, because i want to keep throwing columbia products. I see alot of the time it is caused by dull drill bits, and insert glue.
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Timothy @Juniors Pro-Shop
Montreal, Quebec.
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Friend of mine on Tuesday night had the same thing happen to his Big Bully.
Cracked right across the bridge between the finger holes.
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Lets see here... What would the chances be that the 31/32" drill bit is the dullest bit in the shop where you guys work? Pretty darn good I'd say, so it makes sense that more cracks are seen around inserts than balls without inserts. The same can be said of your 1 1/4" bit too.
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It's kind of hard to read the lanes if you don't know their language...
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Didnt read all of the replies, but the reason grips void warranty is that you use glue to put grips in. MOST of the time, the glue really has no effect on the ball, but its the fact of the matter that it COULD. Its pretty lame, but stuff happens. I dont use grips so I dont have to worry about it. I wonder if thumb slugs void warranty, since they use glue also?
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"How small is too small?"
"Well, if you can masturbate with a Barbie hand, your in trouble."
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Contact the manufacturer. I recently had a ball with low games plugged and redrilled, grips and slug. Bridge cracked, pro shop said the ball was out of warranty because it was plugged. On my own, contacted the manf. ask if they would consider looking at the ball, no promises just consideration, they accepted. took ball to pro shop, to sells rep, to manf. Ball was replaced. Never know what may happen, take it upon yourself and ask.
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At my drillers shop yesterday getting a Depth Charge with a hairline crack in the bridge worked on. While discussing this, he mentioned that he sees a lot of Columbia balls that crack. I told him of the posts I've read here about the Bully and Big Bully having cracking problems. He started chuckling and and told me to look at his display Bully that was now back in the box. Never been drilled, on the shelf since around August, and a couple of days ago a customer was looking at it and asked about the big crack that was in it. Needless to say, my driller was shocked when he looked and found about a 4" long crack in it. Bad resin? Who knows, but it's gotta be a hard sale when the display ball is cracked.