Edit: 7/10/04 9:00 PM
After discussion with Action Man, I feel I must correct any misconceptions I may have allowed to permeate this thread.
While I have been disappointed in that I could not get my The Answer to work, that does not mean many other LaneMasters balls may not be suitable for someone else. It is just my ball and I suppose any number of things may have happened to it on its way from production to my hands. That is the sole reason I felt I cannot recommend any Lanemasters balls. Perhaps it's best if that statement be edited out until I get this straightened out. Thanks for your understanding.
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Ok, I got sucked into (so far that's the evaluation) the hype. I went a bought a 3" pin, 15 lb The Answer; drilled it medium-strong, 4"x5" for yours truly.
The ball comes with as high a gloss as I have ever seen on any ball. I'd guess-timate it at about 3000-4000 grit sanding with a very high gloss polish. This is, in my experience, a VERY fine grit with a VERY high gloss polish.
It hooked MAYBE 2 boards more than my Blue Dot on very dry conditions. I used on a veyr dry cndition and embarassed myself because I did not use it before hand and test it in order to establish some parameters. I either went thru the nose or left washout on very dry conditions. I put it away and finsihed ith my Blue Dot. Bad night anyway.
So I sanded it to roughly 1000 grit with a grey Scotch Brite Pad and then polished it to about 1500 grit, maybe 1200 grit. Now it moved maybe 4-5 boards more than my Blue Dot. I tried it in practice but didn't dare to use it in league.
The ball came to be directly from Lane Masters with abnormal but extremely logical directions to polish or sand as needed to get the desired reaction (as if I have not been preaching that for years here at br.com.) I feel it is necessary to use a ball as it comes to see what the manufacturers planned reaction is. Seeing as how both BJI and BTM both reviewed this ball as being for Medium-Oil patterns, YET with neither of them mentioning having changed the surface at all PLUS my normal release making any ball seem much more powerful than the average bowler finds them, I remain mystified at "The Answwr"'s lack of even medium-light or even dry performance parameters.
What the ______!
I will next try to sand it to 600 then polish lightly and see what happens.
So far it "does not work for me"!
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"We get old too fast, and too late, smart."
Edited on 4/17/2004 9:02 PM
Edited on 7/10/2004 9:16 PM
