Anybody ever have a new ball drilled and for some reason the pro shop guy drills one of the fingers just a bit short? Not dramatic, but you can feel it. Do you still throw it or have the brand new ball plugged (something that I loathe doing)?

Do you use finger inserts or a thumb slug?

You can adjust it without plugging, but if your plugging a finger to move it a 1/8" then your not going to see the plug when it is redrilled.

I wouldn't worry about the cracking.  I've had two balls fixed like that - one because the bridge between the fingers cracked, and another due to a missed span.  I still have both years later and neither has cracked.  I don't use finger inserts, but if your pro shop uses the proper amount of glue and bevel, you shouldn't have a problem.

Missing by 1/8 is unacceptable.  If your driller won't make it right find somewhere else to go.  If they had your specs or were copying a ball there is no excuse except they made an error.  You should not have to eat their error unless you got it done for free.

And before anyone starts on my response, yes I have made plenty of mistakes drilling balls.  You start talking, the span is supposed to be 4 1/4 and you measure 4 1/8.  It happens.  But never has a customer of mine eaten my mistake.  It's the risk of the business.   

Missing by 1/8 is unacceptable.  If your driller won't make it right find somewhere else to go.  If they had your specs or were copying a ball there is no excuse except they made an error.  You should not have to eat their error unless you got it done for free.

I agree 100%. I have been drilling for 15 years and am human and have missed on occasion. Very few misses by me but my employees miss on occasion from less experience or thinking they have to be in a hurry. Either way, I suck up the mistake and make it right for the customer. If it is a new ball and I can not adjust with a thumb slug, I replace with a new ball as I refuse to have a customer get a new ball that has warranty voided from plugging.

+1 to both.  Stuff happens, sometimes you catch it in the middle of drilling and are able to fix it, and sometimes you don't.  However, I ALWAYS check everything before it leaves first, because even if I have to tell them I screwed up and it's going to be a couple more days, that's better than giving the customer a mistake like you're trying to sneak it by them and hope they don't notice. 

The guy that drilled the ball for me is a good guy and will fix it for free if I ask him to. That is not the problem. I can't double slug the thumb because as I stated it's from a mold and I won't just waste it that way. The easy option is plugging the finger, but as I stated, I'm leery of that small amount of plug cracking away at some point, as I have had it happen before. My main question is if any of you had had this happen and just used it the way it is and found you could get used to it?

Do you use grips?  If you do, and use perfect ovals, try putting a power oval (turbo grip) in the fingerhole of the span that is short, it will naturally lengthen it because of the shape of the grip.  Maybe not an eighth, but it might make it liveable, though it will effectively add forward pitch, and I really wouldn't suggest it . .  But sorry, I think he should replace it, and really should have just done it without you asking and without even letting you have it in the first place. 

A mold is 40 cents worth of plug and 1/2 hour to make.  If replacing that is too much I'm not sure what to tell you. 

I've stopped using balls that measured out perfectly in every direction but didn't feel right.  So I guess your answer is no, it is not something I would be able to get used to. 

The ball should still be replaced and not repaired.  If you're willing to take one for the team on a brand new ball, well, lets just say that isn't a route I would take.

I will probably have the finger plugged and re-drilled. I realize the cost of a thumb slug made from a mold isn't much in actual dollars but cost me $13.00. I would never ask for a new ball, I would just have the finger fixed, but in this case I won the ball at our State tournament, so it didn't come from the driller. He's a real good guy, so having him fix it won't be a big problem. I just wondered how many guys have ever just threw it the way it was and got used to it. Thank you for all the input. I may try and shim the hole first and see if I can make that work.

I also just realized I had put the span was off by 1/8 inch. Must have been something subliminal after kidlost2000 mentioned that length. The span is off 1/16.