Author Topic: Thumb Bevel Question (Read 3410 times)

Brickguy221 · « **on:** January 22, 2009, 01:06:25 PM »

I've been playing with my span a bit. I have two balls, both with the exact same thumb size and finger pitches, but different spans. The span on ball "A"is 4 3/8 x 4 7/16 and the span on ball "B" is 4 1/2 x 4 9/16 or 1/8" longer.

Ball "A" has just enough bevel to knock off the sharp edge.

Ball "B" has a lot of bevel on the front side as well as rounded deeper than ball "A".

Ball "A" is so easy to hold onto and release at the proper time with out squeezing.

Ball "B" wants to fall off my thumb too fast causing me to get very little leverage on it plus hindering my ability to get any lift with my fingers at the proper time. I even taped the hole a lot tighter than ball "A" and I still lose the ball too fast.

Is this "more bevel" the cause of my problem on ball "B"? Remember it also has a 1/8" longer span.
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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick

bluerrpilot · « **Reply #1 on:** January 22, 2009, 10:11:49 PM »

Yes, you will clear faster with more bevel.
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"USBC is concerned that technology has overtaken player skill in determining success in the sport of bowling"

Brickguy221 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 24, 2009, 11:00:29 AM »

Anyone else care to add anything???
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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick

charlest · « **Reply #3 on:** January 24, 2009, 02:23:39 PM »

Depending on where and how much the bevel is, it can make the span feel AND BE shorter. Less or not enough bevel for comfort (depending on the "design" of your thumb and its webbing, attachment to the hand) can make the span feel too long.

My main bevel is on the inside of the thumb, where it bends towards the hand. So I have/use about a 45 degree bevel in this area. This I do, by hand, at home, after my driller is finished. I use a small secondary bevel where the right side on my thumb rubs the insert. This one is about 60 degrees, much less than the first one.

I think you need to experiment with your own sandpaper, with a complete unbeveled thumb hole, WHEN your thumb is close to normal bowling size. This cna vary widely during the day and night for some people. Most beveling requires very little effort. I'd suggest using a 60 grit, 100 grit and 220 grit pieces of sandpaper. 60 grit to do the real work and 100 and 220 to smooth it out.
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"None are so blind as those who will not see."

Brickguy221 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 25, 2009, 11:09:01 AM »

quote:
Depending on where and how much the bevel is, it can make the span feel AND BE shorter. Less or not enough bevel for comfort (depending on the "design" of your thumb and its webbing, attachment to the hand) can make the span feel too long.

Charlest is correct here....I had another ball plugged and drilled yesterday to match the ball "A" span. I beveled it ever so slightly so that the edge wasn't sharp like a knife. Then when I put my hand in the ball, it felt like a longer span with less reverse pitch than ball "B". I will go ahead and bevel it a wee bit more to match the bevel on ball "A" as that span and bevel seems to work best.

In all my years of bowling, I never realized how critical bevel is in terms of changing the feel of the span and pitches until now. I guess a person is never too old to learn.

I now wonder if all of the span changes and pitch changes I've made now and then in the past trying to get the right feel and release were not always the right thing to do and that I should have been paying more attention to thumb bevel before making changes???

quote:
I think you need to experiment with your own sandpaper, with a complete unbeveled thumb hole, WHEN your thumb is close to normal bowling size.

I totally agree Charlest. I'm working on that now since learning that thumb bevel is what may have been giving me the biggest percent of my problems. Surprised my driller didn't recognize this, but then again after all, he was making money every time I made a change....lol...I did go to a different driller this time and this driller put me onto this thumb pitch thing which was the reason I posted a topic on this here.

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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick

Edited on 1/25/2009 9:46 PM

tenpinspro · « **Reply #5 on:** January 25, 2009, 05:15:33 PM »

Hey Unc,

I agree with Charlest. Bevel can make a ball feel shorter in span because we are no longer having to clear our thumb in the same manner as a ball without bevel. If you can picture placing your thumb on an edge of a sharp cornered table, you will notice that your thumb has to go "up" and then around that sharp edge. With the presence of a fair amount of bevel, the thumb can then slide over that corner without having to go upwards first, thus allowing for a smoother or cleaner release.

What I have also found with customers and myself is that when a bowler is able to hold a firm to cupped wrist (ala Jeff Mattingly or most no thumbers) at the point of release, bevel is not necessarily that crucial. It is mainly when our wrist breaks enough to where gravity is pulling ball weight which then pulls the ball onto our hand that we feel edges of a thumbhole and pitches more.

I have a couple of pieces that when I stay firm I can clear with no problem but when I try to break my wrist and fluff it, they'll hang. I'm wondering if you may be experiencing the same thing by chance.
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Rick Leong - Ten Pins Pro Shop
Tag Team Coaching - Co-Founder
"El" Presidente of the Legion

bluerrpilot · « **Reply #6 on:** January 25, 2009, 07:58:03 PM »

Thumb bevel can be very difficult to duplicate. Yes, the amount of bevel you use can make a span feel short or long. But it usually requires a significant difference in bevel.

If the amount of bevel you use is that critical, then I would suggest using a thumb mold.
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"USBC is concerned that technology has overtaken player skill in determining success in the sport of bowling"

Brickguy221 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 26, 2009, 08:38:35 AM »

quote:
If the amount of bevel you use is that critical, then I would suggest using a thumb mold.

The ball "B" with the longer span which I had a problem with had a thumb mold in it and ball "A" which worked good had a 1 1/4" Turbo Urethane Slug. Here is the odd thing .... I've been using that thumb mold for a bit over a year with no problems on a shorter span, but when I tried it on a longer span as ball "B" was, I had the problem described in my initial post.

This now has me to thinking that "maybe" on the shorter span, my thumb was coming more straight up out of the thumb hole and on the longer span it was dragging over the edge as tenpinspro described in his example above. Could this be the difference?

The reason I am experimenting with a longer span is because I was squeezing the ball too much on a shorter span, so I tried a 1/8" longer span described in ball "A" and it helped a lot so I decided to try 1/8" more and see what happens but used the thumb slug this time.
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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick

JohnP · « **Reply #8 on:** January 26, 2009, 09:35:09 AM »

quote:
This now has me to thinking that "maybe" on the shorter span, my thumb was coming more straight up out of the thumb hole and on the longer span it was dragging over the edge as tenpinspro described in his example above. Could this be the difference?

Could be. Or it could also be that with the longer span you need a little more reverse pitch with the same amount of bevel, whichever works. -- JohnP

bluerrpilot · « **Reply #9 on:** January 26, 2009, 12:34:25 PM »

maybe you should have the span checked to see if its correct in the first place.
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"USBC is concerned that technology has overtaken player skill in determining success in the sport of bowling"

tenpinspro · « **Reply #10 on:** January 27, 2009, 11:20:28 AM »

quote:
quote:
This now has me to thinking that "maybe" on the shorter span, my thumb was coming more straight up out of the thumb hole and on the longer span it was dragging over the edge as tenpinspro described in his example above. Could this be the difference?

Could be. Or it could also be that with the longer span you need a little more reverse pitch with the same amount of bevel, whichever works. -- JohnP

Tough part here in regards to the "correct" amount of bevel needed varies so much from bowler to bowler. It is also important in regards to the span and pitches that are used just like JohnP states. I have customers who like minimal bevel and have some who like a ton so I've seen the variances that can exist. There isn't necessarily a true right or wrong when it comes to an individual's "feel".

Only thing I can recommend Unc is to keep playing with the span/pitches and bevel until you can get your desired feel. I do however suggest when making changes to change only one thing at a time so you can isolate the problem and thus minimize your variables as you are trying to find what works and what doesn't. Hope this helps some...
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Rick Leong - Ten Pins Pro Shop
Tag Team Coaching - Co-Founder
"El" Presidente of the Legion

Author Topic: Thumb Bevel Question (Read 3410 times)

Brickguy221

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