Now for a different project.

I've have a Faball Blue Hammer in my bag for the past 32 years, since I had it originally punched up. In fact, I have a Fab Blue Pearl Hammer sitting in that same bag, both of which I still use to this day (mainly the Blue and not the Pearl, as the Pearl is 16lbs and I dropped to 15lbs). Both have the same layout on them.

However, since technology has changed between 1989/1990 and now, I am not sure as to what the layout is on the ball. Back then as we know, we were dealing with finger weight, leverage weight, thumb weight, and side weight. Both of those balls were drilled with 3/8" side weight, and the layout flipped 90 degrees so the top of the core would be on the side rolling with the ball instead of rolling end over end. That layout basically became the blueprint for what I wanted to do for the next 6 years, as I just kept going on with more side weight until the introduction of the mass bias.

But now that tech has changed (and changed again and again), and I'm looking at getting another urethane piece, I'm wondering if I can figure out the dual angle layout on those Hammers. That leaves me with a couple of questions:

• Those were 2-piece balls, but I don't know if their cores are symmetric or asymmetric, as there would be no mass bias marking on them. Looking at how the core is designed, because of how the top looks, I would assume that it is symmetric, especially in how that same core was used in the Pure Hammer. If it is symmetric,
• And since we're talking about the original release of the Blue Hammer (not the 1999/2000 re-release of it that had the pin marked; it had red lettering compared to the original's white), where exactly would the pin be?

Or yet, an even bigger question: Am I running down a fool's road? Should I just forget about it, leave the layout of the Fab Blue where it is in the past, and go off of one of the other layouts I'm using? Or is there some cheat sheet of converting late 80s/early 90s layouts into something that would be recognizable today?

What I am trying to figure out is what a 3/8" sideweight layout would be today, with my current specs/PAP. That way, I can see what I would be comparing a new urethane piece to since my only benchmark in a urethane piece would be that Blue Hammer.

Again, all answers here are appreciated, including a "shut up and bowl, Brad!"

BL.