I got my ball back from driller and the thumb hole was snug. I use magic carpet and the hole was too small. Normally I use magic carpet (back side) and 0 to 1 white tapes (pad side) to get that snug fit. Also, my thumb has grown in size since I returned to bowling frequently - and I gained weight.

Anyway, I took out the sander and I thought I had an old disc. Well, in a few seconds the new disc opened up the hole real good real quick. So now I'm using 2 white tapes with the magic carpet and it's semi snug. I could probably use another white tape to get that feel I want.....

And here's the thing I need advise on........I'll be heading to Reno to bowl 4 squads at the stadium in two weeks. My thumb swells up a size or two bigger during this time of year. My experience bowling in the summer in Reno requires me to remove the magic carpet. I'm so used to the feel and fit with the MC on that when I remove it, it affects my game mentally and/or my release.

Should I make the hole wider?  Or wait and work the hole when I get there....?

With all those times I bowled there over the years, coming from NorCal, I've always had thumb swelling issues....

Bowling in Vegas is even worse for me when it comes to thumb swelling.

Keep in mind that there is no answer that is perfect for everyone, but if in doubt you can open it up a little more and use more tape if needed.  Thumb tape is our best friend.  I purposely open mine up so I can have at least 3 or 4 pieces of white tape, that way if my thumb swells I can remove tape til I'm happy.

I remember in Baton Rouge my thumb swelled a lot so having some tape to remove made it easy.  My friend who bowls lots of tournaments always has room for 5-6 pieces of tape for the same reason.

Sounds like interchangeable thumb inserts maybe the way to go

As much these are popular, I prefere slugs or molds.. I have a tendency to track over the thumb holes.

I just spent part of the day in the garage working the thumb holes on each ball I'll be taking up. The other thing too that I need to watch out for, to avoid over swelling, is my diet. The rib cook off is that weekend lol...

Tracking over the thumb hole shouldn't be an excuse to avoid interchangeables. I partially track over my thumb on my spare ball, and I've never had an issue with interchangeable damage.
 
If you swell as much as you're suggesting, interchangeables are the only way to go.

I just prefer slugs. It's not just tracking over thumb, but I also go through thumb hole repairs and spare balls more often than most ppl. My black ice just cracked around the hole again the other day after a game of low ball during practice. Budweiser ball and roto tire suffered thumb damages but held up better than my black ice.

Quote from: Steven on August 23, 2014, 01:52:33 PM

Tracking over the thumb hole shouldn't be an excuse to avoid interchangeables. I partially track over my thumb on my spare ball, and I've never had an issue with interchangeable damage.
 
If you swell as much as you're suggesting, interchangeables are the only way to go.

I just prefer slugs. It's not just tracking over thumb, but I also go through thumb hole repairs and spare balls more often than most ppl. My black ice just cracked around the hole again the other day after a game of low ball during practice. Budweiser ball and roto tire suffered thumb damages but held up better than my black ice.

If you're having that much trouble with holes on polyester balls cracking, you might want to consider using a pearl urethane with a pancake core, like the Storm Mix. They seem to be considerably more durable than many polyester balls. (Luckily my T-Zone has been durable for the last 3 years or so; only recently have I noted some chips taken out around the finger holes. Previous plastics have cracked around the fingers for me, ever since Blue Dots stopped being made in the USA.)

If you're worried about the amount of hook, you can always use a bunch of negative side weight in a pancake core to reduce its hook.