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Author Topic: Are Factory Surfaces The Same For Every Ball Off The Line?  (Read 2190 times)

MI 2 AZ

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Are Factory Surfaces The Same For Every Ball Off The Line?
« on: November 05, 2017, 03:05:35 PM »
A discussion about bowlers reluctant to change the surface of a new ball got me to thinking and I am hoping someone can answer these questions.

Are balls NIB from the factory at the surface grit stated on the box or manufacturer spec sheets?  Are they using a fresh grit pad for each new ball?  If not, how long do they use a pad or for how many balls before changing to a new one?  If they are using the same pad for multiple balls, what would be the range of surface grit coming off that pad and/or the range of balls' surfaces coming off the factory line?



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SVstar34

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Re: Are Factory Surfaces The Same For Every Ball Off The Line?
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2017, 03:47:20 PM »
No they're not the same. Used pads aren't the same as fresh ones. Motiv changed to the surface scan but for whatever reason they seem to have a larger variance
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Dave81644

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Re: Are Factory Surfaces The Same For Every Ball Off The Line?
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2017, 06:36:57 PM »
Take that factory info and tuck it away. It doesn't mean what you think.
I believe I read an article in BTM a while back where they took factory pieces from random manufacturers.
They used a surface scanner and measured actual, they were off by alot in most cases.
However, they took a dry pad and sanded a ball to 1000 I believe.
measured at 1800-2000 or something like that.
After 3 games of league and lane-shine - they measured it at 5000 or something close

they also sanded with pads using water and it was double the dry method

It doesn't matter what the factories say it is, they are meant to be changed.
Surface adjustments are necessary in today's game.

Think about it like this, you don't ride your 10 speed in the same gear all the time, you adjust as needed.
Bowling ball surfaces are the same way, tweak them until you find something that works.
And then you have to maintain the surface if you want them to last

I did a factory tour of EBI a few months ago, They use the pads with water and pretty slow RPM, I think about 20-25 balls per pad
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charlest

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Re: Are Factory Surfaces The Same For Every Ball Off The Line?
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2017, 07:15:03 PM »
Gary,

Like the previous repliers, I have seen balls that were supposed to be finished at 4000 grit, come in surfaces from 1500/2000 (not sure but they looked a LOT duller than 4000) to a polished finish (which is what happens when you use a 4000 grit too long; it becomes 5000 - 6000 grit and results in a polished appearance.)
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MI 2 AZ

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Re: Are Factory Surfaces The Same For Every Ball Off The Line?
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2017, 01:28:54 AM »
Thanks for the replies.  That confirms what I was thinking and that I will start putting a surface I know on NIB balls.  That way I know what I am starting with and can duplicate it more easily.


I was also thinking that balls that come with multiple surfaces (500/2000) would have an even greater variance between balls from the line because of each pad varying.
« Last Edit: November 06, 2017, 01:32:30 AM by MI 2 AZ »
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charlest

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Re: Are Factory Surfaces The Same For Every Ball Off The Line?
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2017, 08:03:39 AM »
Quote from: MI 2 AZ on November 06, 2017, 01:28:54 AM
Thanks for the replies.  That confirms what I was thinking and that I will start putting a surface I know on NIB balls.  That way I know what I am starting with and can duplicate it more easily.


That's been the safest course for along time now.

As for balls with multiple surfaces, 500/200 was your example, all sanded balls have multiple surfaces. A ball whose OOB surface is 4000 grit does not get a 4000 grit surface over the finish that comes out of the pour; it usually gets a 100-180-240-360-500-1000-2000-4000 or something similar. So, in actuality all balls get multiple surfaces, in a sense.

Problem is most large production lines (Storm, for sure, maybe Ebonite, and Brunswick) can't or don't have each ball individually quality checked. I don't believe their production costs can justify such expenses. I suspect  that smaller production lines, like Visionary and Lane Masters, do such quality checks on individual balls. I have seen some Visionary Blem balls which, I and some pretty knowledgeable bowling people, have checked thoroughly and none of us could tell why they were marked as a Blem.
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Impending Doom

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Re: Are Factory Surfaces The Same For Every Ball Off The Line?
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2017, 02:10:13 PM »
Yeah, if you're concerned, do your own surface. I had a Darkness that was supposed to be 4000, and I'd bet one of my kidneys that it was 1000. I expected my Incinerate to feel furry, but not that ball.
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tkkshop

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Re: Are Factory Surfaces The Same For Every Ball Off The Line?
« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2017, 03:12:05 PM »
Quote from: Impending Doom on November 06, 2017, 02:10:13 PM
Yeah, if you're concerned, do your own surface. I had a Darkness that was supposed to be 4000, and I'd bet one of my kidneys that it was 1000. I expected my Incinerate to feel furry, but not that ball.
post of the month so far
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