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Author Topic: effect of re-plugging balance hole  (Read 10011 times)

Neptune66

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effect of re-plugging balance hole
« on: January 05, 2011, 11:14:40 PM »
Had a balance hole added to (or should I say subtracted from?) a ball recently, and am not thrilled with the results and considering having it re-plugged or filled in ---or whatever it would be called.
 

Without getting into why I added it in the first place and whether it was a good or bad decision, am wondering how close the ball will be to it's pre-balance hole drilling once it's plugged.

 

I have had balance holes plugged before, but those balls had always had the hole, so I wasn;t trying to restore a certain reaction.

 

Thanks in advance for any info on this.

 

Strider

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Re: effect of re-plugging balance hole
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2011, 07:31:43 AM »
Well, a balance hole is only used to fine tune the ball's reaction (and make the statics legal), maybe 2-5% of the ball's reaction.  That will depend on the location and depth of the hole.  A shallow hole near your PAP won't change the dynamics of the ball since it will hit little if any of the core.  A deep hole that goes into the core will have a bigger effect.  So, filling a balance hole will negate whatever effect you made to the ball most of the way.  The plug material is a little lighter than what the ball is made of, and much lighter than the dense core that may have been removed.

 

For the less than PBA caliber bowler, I seriously doubt you'd notice much of a performance difference between a virgin ball and one with a weight hole that was later filled in.  Was the weight hole needed to make the ball legal, or was it added for performance?  Even if you fill the hole that's there now, you might want/need to add another in a different location.

 

I did that with my Black Widow Bite.  The original drilling did not need a weight hole to make it legal.  I wanted to get more movement down lane, so I added one based on BrunsNick's weight hole video.  I didn't notice much difference in the ball, so I filled that hole (didn't throw it after plugging to see if it rolled any different than it did originally - plus it wouldn't have been a fair A/B comparison anyway) and added a P4 weigh hole.  Now the ball rolls the way I want.


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Neptune66

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Re: effect of re-plugging balance hole
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2011, 07:54:15 AM »
The ball was drilled with the pin lower and caused it to roll earlier than [I thought] I wanted it to. So I asked the driller to add the balance hole so the ball would go a little longer before changing direction.
 

However....  in the one session I used the ball since adding the hole, the ball seemed almost to have been neutered, with much less backend  than before.  The hole is bigger than my thumbhole and is quite deep, so am pretty sure it IS into the core..  I probably should use the ball some more before panicking and re-filling the hole, but am anxious to return the ball to at least "near" virgin state.

 

And I am definitely not even close to PBA skill level.  But an very fussy.

Cobalt Bomb

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Re: effect of re-plugging balance hole
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2011, 07:58:01 AM »
The success of plugging the weight hole will depend on type of ball, type of plug material used, and how deep the hole was.

1 hour quick plug is significantly less dense than the ball shell material, so using that will not restore the ball completely. Regular plug material is close to, but not quite as dense as most shell or core materials, but denser than the filler material used on some balls. So, depending on how deep the hole is, and whether the ball has filler between the core and the shell will make a difference. It is possible for the plugged hole to be heavier than the original material removed.

 

Bear in mind, though that any actual differences as seen in on-lane performance will be slight.

 

I can use a personal example on one of my balls, a Storm Rapid Fire Pearl. There is no filler used between the cover and core on that ball. I got it used with pin over MF(6"pin to pap). Ball had a deep hole on axis apparently to calm the ball down. For me, that layout is borderline for needing a low hole to avoid flaring over the holes. After plug/redrill of finger and thumb in same location, ball flared over the holes. Plugged weight hole with normal cure plug material, flare moved enough to be intermittant over holes. Still needed low hole.I concluded that in most cases, the ball will be close after plugging, but not quite what it was without the hole.

Hope this helps

 



Cobalt Bomb

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Re: effect of re-plugging balance hole
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2011, 08:02:12 AM »
What kind of ball is it?

 

From what I just read about what you were looking for, there's not really alot you can do to get more length with a balance hole, without losing some backend response. Perhaps smoothing or polishing the surface before filling the hole might get you to where you want to be.


 
Edited by Cobalt Bomb on 1/6/2011 at 9:03 AM

Neptune66

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Re: effect of re-plugging balance hole
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2011, 08:04:55 AM »
Yes, thanks.
 

I probably should use the ball some more before replugging. Could be just a coincidence that conditions after plugging it were oilier (or with more carrydown), and that the balance hole did exactly what it was supposed to do, but another variable had changed (the lane).

 

But there is that part of me that doesn't believe that and really wants to undo what I did as best and as quickly as possible.

 


 

 

Neptune66

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Re: effect of re-plugging balance hole
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2011, 08:05:48 AM »
Oh... it's a Track 607SA.

Neptune66

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Re: effect of re-plugging balance hole
« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2011, 02:28:37 PM »
Just a quick follow-up...
 

Used the ball last night, and it actually was pretty decent and very well matched to the condition I encountered. In other words, I was able to continue using this ball long after the lanes had seriously dried out (several games after league on top of the league play that already taken place on this pair).

 

Back-end is slightly diminished, and thus there is still a part of me that feels the adjustment is a little too much, but overall ws satisfied with the ball's movement ----last night.

 

So for now, I will leave it as is.

vkowalski1970

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Re: effect of re-plugging balance hole
« Reply #8 on: January 07, 2011, 03:21:20 PM »
My 607A rolls earlier than I originally thought it would. I have it 2000 polished, 65x4.5x30 pin up, and its still earlier than I would like, Im going to try 4000 polished next

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