Ok, I've been reading too much lately about people saying "such and such manufacturer has poor coverstocks that crack..." "The bridge has cracked on every ____ ball I've owned" "This cover is too brittle...it's cracking around my fingers"
Well here are some reasons.
-Reason #1 & 2: Changing Temperatures + Superglue-
Especially if you live on the East Coast where the humidity is so up and down and you leave your balls in the car or closet/basement. Constant temperature changes, combined with the chemical makeup of the ball(and super glue when you use inserts) can lead to cracking. Especially if YOUR DRILLER uses TOO MUCH GLUE! When you have too much glue in the inserts or slug, rises in heat combine with the chemicals in the coverstock and the glue and the glue literally eats away at the ball causing all sorts of pressure cracks.
-Reason #3: Incorrect Lateral Pitches in finger holes-
When your pitches run too close together in your finger holes, eventually the holes will meet together once you get past about 1 1/2 inches deep and you'll see a hole at the bottom of the fingers, that's due to the holes meeting each other because there isn't enough left lateral in the middle finger and not enough right lateral in the ring finger(opposite for lefties). Therefore the hole where the fingers were drilled will keep cracking and cracking until it gets to the top where the bridge is at, due to the ball constantly hitting the pins, pit, ball returns, floor, etc. Only you cannot see this because you have grips installed in the ball. A safe bet so that your pitches won't run together are 3/8ths left lateral in the middle, 3/8ths right lateral in the ring, holes drilled 1 1/2 inches deep.
-Reason #4: Drilling the ball too fast/shoddy drill presses-
Alot of proshops don't have the latest drill presses where it's impossible to move the ball while it is being drilled and with all old machinery, it breaks down after awhile. Alot of older model presses shift during drilling which causes vibrations between the bit and ball. It creates an earthquake effect, eventually it'll crack around those holes. It can also be attributed to drillers that drill the hole in one fell swoop, or drill the hole too fast. Go slow and easy...even if you have the latest model jayhawk. It's always a safe bet, watch your pro shop guy the next time he drills your ball and listen for odd sounds coming from the press.
Now once in awhile(but it is a rarity) you'll find an air pocket in a ball and when you hit it it blows out and will crack but the odds of that in these new balls are slim and none. It's not the coverstock, just the care taken into drilling the ball. Next time bring these issues up with your ball driller before you accuse a company of shady business and see what your pitches are and if your pro shop guy is using too much glue(you only need 1 drop at the front and back btw). And bowl well!
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-DJ Marshall
You're not Bowling if you're not using "B"runswick
Scratchbowling.com
