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Author Topic: Oval Thumb?  (Read 5378 times)

thewhiz

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Oval Thumb?
« on: February 26, 2018, 11:49:13 PM »
What benefits if any are there using an oval thumb vs. Regular round thumb hole.  I have both and I see no difference in ball roll from one to the other.
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charlest

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Re: Oval Thumb?
« Reply #1 on: February 27, 2018, 04:30:40 AM »
My 2 cents:
Chances are around 90-95%, if you look at your thumb from the fingertip towards your hand that your thumb is oval shaped. If not, when you use any pressure to hold onto the ball, it will then be oval shaped. If you have a round hole, without tape, front or back, then, when holding the ball, you have a space there, requiring more than the minimum amount of pressure to hold it, whether you realize it or ot.

If you're in the small percentage that does have a truly round thumb under any circumstances, you are indeed rare. Since you say you're using both round and oval thumbs, chances are pretty good you have an oval thumb and should be using such, for a proper fit and grip.
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Strapper_Squared

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Re: Oval Thumb?
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2018, 06:26:58 AM »
Yep..   tight on the sides and loose on the front/back. 
I usually drill the thumb smaller and work out the sides to make an oval.  Issue with this is that they are never quite the same...
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Steven

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Re: Oval Thumb?
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2018, 06:50:39 PM »
I've tried every type of thumb know to man. Milled ovals, Pre-made oval thumb inserts, round holes without modification, and round holes with scraping on the sides to achieve a "modified oval".   
 
I never could get a constantly clean release from milled or pre-made ovals. If I made any mistake on my release such as turning a little early, I'd hang. If my thumb swelled a little too much, I'd tend to hang. It was great when everything was just right, but that's not the reality of bowling. I got tired of worrying about hanging.
 
I've settled on a round hole with the sides scraped out custom to my thumb. I can easily adjust with tape as needed, and don't have to worry about the ball coming off my hand.
 
Having said all this, it's an individual thing. The only way to know is to experiment with different thumbs yourself. There is no one size fits all answer.
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bergman

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Re: Oval Thumb?
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2018, 12:12:49 PM »
I have tried in vain to get oval thumbs to work, but to no avail. I have tried different pitches and  different amounts of bevel, as well as making sure the ovals were placed at the correct angle relative to my thumb. Nothing worked. Hang on one shot, fall out of another--again and again. I went back to round thumb holes and I have not looked back.
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hammajangs

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Re: Oval Thumb?
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2018, 12:21:29 PM »
I been using the tiered tape technique for years and love it.  Look up Joe Slowinski on YouTube for an instructional video. 
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Pinbuster

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Re: Oval Thumb?
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2018, 02:17:39 PM »
My thumb is very flat, I would have 3/4" hole drilled and would work out the sides until it fit. That would make the sides near 1".

I would hand shape with a rasp and a sander. Getting the same feel was an issue.

I did this for about 15 years then VISE came out with a thumb hole molding kit. I had a thumb I really liked and we took a mold of it and then started making thumb inserts from the mold.

I never have had an issue since then. I can have my PSO create an insert, drill the ball and put it in. When I get there the thumb is ready to use. I still put a piece or two of tape that allows for some swelling and I like the feel of white tape but all my balls feel the same.

The VISE thumb mold system works extremely well for me and we had a lot of customers go to it as well.

Today with milling machines you can get better ovals than on the old straight drill presses.
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SVstar34

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Re: Oval Thumb?
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2018, 03:16:08 PM »
Quote from: bergman on February 28, 2018, 12:12:49 PM
I have tried in vain to get oval thumbs to work, but to no avail. I have tried different pitches and  different amounts of bevel, as well as making sure the ovals were placed at the correct angle relative to my thumb. Nothing worked. Hang on one shot, fall out of another--again and again. I went back to round thumb holes and I have not looked back.

I had the same issue. I just go with a round hole and go a size bigger to add tape to shape the hole
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