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Author Topic: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid  (Read 5108 times)

Brickguy221

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Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« on: July 03, 2008, 02:15:40 AM »
I have been looking at an Ebonite Playmaker and then have decided to look instead at Storm also as I haven't had a Storm ball for a few years. I am looking at "maybe" a Rapid Fire Pearl and then heard there is also a Rapid Fire Solid that is polished.

Are there 2 Rapid Fires?

If so, what are the differences and conditions for each?
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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick
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VideoBallReviews

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2008, 10:22:56 AM »
Brick check out the video on my site

http://www.videoballreviews.com/rapidfirepearl.html

this should help give you an idea of what i saw out of the two
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blockhater

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2008, 12:36:54 PM »
Also consider the longevity advantage you will get with a Storm cover over an Ebonite one....
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pegleg42090

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2008, 12:41:52 PM »
quote:
Also consider the longevity advantage you will get with a Storm cover over an Ebonite one....


I guess that doesn't apply to everyone.
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Oldskool2

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2008, 01:07:51 PM »
quote:
quote:
Also consider the longevity advantage you will get with a Storm cover over an Ebonite one....


I guess that doesn't apply to everyone.


Maybe not, but is was the same thing I was thinking.

Both my recent Ebonite's lost most of there performance in one season. The reaction when new was great. No problem with Storm so far.

The Rapid Fire Solid in oob finish was not arcing for me, it was very flippy. If you don't like this, just alter(dull) the cover, it really changes the ball and than it's arcing for me.

I think the Solid with polish is for medium. With a dull finish it can handle at least medium-heavy. Can't say anything about the Pearl yet.

Succes,

Antoine
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Brickguy221

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2008, 10:06:55 PM »
The reported shorter life of Ebonite balls is one reason I decided to look at Storm. I decided today to try a Storm Rapid Fire Solid. The only thing I worry about is the low RG being high at 2.62 with a lower flare due to the differential being .040 in 14# balls of which I throw. Maybe should have taken more time and given it more thought before buying, but I sort of got caught up in a weak moment because of a great deal and ordered it....lol


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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick

Edited on 7/3/2008 10:07 PM
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charlest

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2008, 10:48:39 PM »
quote:
The reported shorter life of Ebonite balls is one reason I decided to look at Storm. I decided today to try a Storm Rapid Fire Solid. The only thing I worry about is the low RG being high at 2.62 with a lower flare due to the differential being .040 in 14# balls of which I throw. Maybe should have taken more time and given it more thought before buying, but I sort of got caught up in a weak moment because of a great deal and ordered it....lol


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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick


Don't be afraid to use a low pin and high flare (leverage) drilling, like a Rico or a variation of it to counter the high RG and the low overall flare. It will raise the differential. Put the CG in the thumb positive quadrant and put a big old weight hole 6 3/4" over.

Then there's the usual plethora of surface adjustments. If it's too shiny, sand it to 600 or 800 grit and then put a light dose of a non-abrasive polish on it to give length and the 600/800 grit underlayment will give it grab at the breakpoint.

You've been down this road before, Jim.
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Brickguy221

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #7 on: July 05, 2008, 11:19:48 PM »
quote:

Don't be afraid to use a low pin and high flare (leverage) drilling, like a Rico or a variation of it to counter the high RG and the low overall flare. It will raise the differential. Put the CG in the thumb positive quadrant and put a big old weight hole 6 3/4" over.

Then there's the usual plethora of surface adjustments. If it's too shiny, sand it to 600 or 800 grit and then put a light dose of a non-abrasive polish on it to give length and the 600/800 grit underlayment will give it grab at the breakpoint.

You've been down this road before, Jim.

 


Thanks for the information Jeff. With what I have been thinking, plus what I have also learned in talking to Britton,  and what you suggest here, we are close.

One question on the weight hole of 6 3/4" .... Could you be a bit more specific of the approxinmate location of it? I've never done this before so am not sure I understand. all of my weight holes have been in one of 3 locations.....

On a line from center of grip thru the CG and ending on the VAL

On my PAP

On a line from center of grip thru my PAP to some times 1" past the PAP to 2" past it. (Not sure if you know what I mean here or not. In other words, in the direction to being under ball...Just have to be careful the ball doesn't flare over it.)
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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick
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charlest

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #8 on: July 06, 2008, 08:32:15 AM »
quote:

Thanks for the information Jeff. With what I have been thinking, plus what I have also learned in talking to Britton,  and what you suggest here, we are close.

One question on the weight hole of 6 3/4" .... Could you be a bit more specific of the approxinmate location of it? I've never done this before so am not sure I understand. all of my weight holes have been in one of 3 locations.....

On a line from center of grip thru the CG and ending on the VAL

On my PAP

On a line from center of grip thru my PAP to some times 1" past the PAP to 2" past it. (Not sure if you know what I mean here or not. In other words, in the direction to being under ball...Just have to be careful the ball doesn't flare over it.)
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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick


If the wt hole is on the PAP or on the VAL, that is the "normal" (if there is such a thing) or average position. It is usually considered sort of a neutral position. It will just make the ball legal and usually will not add or subtract flare.

Putting the Wt. hole 6 3/4" from the grip center, through the CG, is also one of those standard posiitons, similar to the pin's leverage position. It is 1/4 distance around the circumference is usually, but not always at a vital point of the core.

Since people's PAPs vary from 3" to 6 1/2", with many being in the 4 1/2" to 5 1/2" range, 6 3/4" over is  consider many to be a fairly safe number, again, for most people, in general. It will add some flare for most people. This is the number recommended in the Rico drilling standard:
http://www.brunsnick.com/rico_ball_layout.html

Putting the pin 2 1/2 - 3" over (same line: grip thru CG) will add flare. It will usually be the maximum amount possible by manipulating the core to add asymmetry it's similar to the concept used by the Rico Drilling.

Also putting the Wt Hole 2 1/2" - 3" BELOW your PAP achieves the same result as putting it past your PAP.

Putting the WT Hole on the VAL achieves the same results as putting it on the PAP, AS LONG AS the WT Hole is on or below the midline.

Wt Holes 2 1/2"  or so inside the VAL or 2 1/2" above the PAP will REDUCE flare. The opposite result of putting it below or beyond.
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chatnboy

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #9 on: July 06, 2008, 09:35:36 AM »
brickguy221.....for future reference,instead of going by blind faith in what some others have dealt with(concerning ball death from ebonite balls)why not try the one of your choice???whose to say if you will have ball death or not???i have three ebonite balls and none of those have had "ball death" at all!!!!my total nv,the one,and nvs still perform great and my total and one have over 200+ games on them each.so i would say to you if you thinking about ebonite....try ebonite!!!!then if you have ball death then go from there,but dont just go by what some others have said.you might be missing out on something good just because somebody said their ball died!!!!i testify that i dont know what they are doing but i have NOT had a problem with none of my ebonite balls!!!
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Brickguy221

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #10 on: July 06, 2008, 04:03:04 PM »
Jeff, thanks for the understandable explaination on weight holes. I now have a beter understanding of each.

quote:
Also putting the Wt Hole 2 1/2" - 3" BELOW your PAP achieves the same result as putting it past your PAP.

 


The one  above here is the one that I was never sure of. In the past when I would ask a driller about it, one would say.... "past the PAP creates the most flare".... and another would say.... "below the PAP creats the most flare".... so I never knew which was which or who to believe.

Again, many thanks for taking the time to explain.
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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick
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Brickguy221

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #11 on: July 06, 2008, 04:48:15 PM »
quote:
brickguy221.....for future reference,instead of going by blind faith in what some others have dealt with(concerning ball death from ebonite balls)why not try the one of your choice???whose to say if you will have ball death or not???


chatnboy, I am inclined to agree with you here as you are right in that I will never know for sure unless I try one and I haven't ruled out the possibility of still trying one. In going back to the old Ebonite line up of balls, the V-2 Pearl is my all time Ebonite favorite. It wasn't popular to some people, but I liked it a lot and after I made some coverstock changes on it, I loved it and it became the first ball out of my bag for approximately 2 years.

I try to be really careful although not always successful, in choosing 2-3 new balls each year as that is about all I can afford with my being retired and on fixed income and with the recent rise in gasoline prices and it's effect on the price rise in everything else, even those 2-3 balls a year may have to stop. Thus my reason for deciding to pass on the Playmaker at least for the current moment.

As for the Storm Rapid Fire, I was looking at the new Pearl over the Playmaker due to the coverstock reasons I gave. Then after noticing there was also a Solid, I talked to one of my 2 drillers about it and he said he has thrown it and it has decent length and a good backend to it. I looked at the posted specs on it which are usually 15-16 lb. specs, and based on balls that normally work well for me, I decided to go with the Solid first as I felt there was a place for it in my bag due to the recent changes that have been made to the way the lanes are being oiled in the house I bowl in the most. Since many companies balls have almost identical specs for 14-15-16 lb. balls, I assumed the 14# Rapid Fire Solid to be the same as the 15-16 lbs. I asked my driller for a price and the price he gave me was excellent, so I told him to order it.

A couple days later I was looking at the specs on the Storm site and noticed a huge difference between the 15-16's and the 14's which really surprised me, especially based on other companies not having a huge difference on the 14-15-16's like Storm does the Rapid Fire. I now wish I hadn't ordered it, but it is too late, so I am now asking questions for the best way to drill it in hopes it might work for me and in talking to Britton and Charlest, I may be able to make it work and if not, it is entirely 100% my fault, for assuming and not looking at the specific specs. Britton really likes the coverstock on the Rapid Fire and said it is very tuneable/adjustable.

Sorry for a long explaination here, but that is what happened.

Everyone that has knowledge/styles/experience etc. similar to mine which are in my profile, are free to post them here if they wish to.

Since I haven't owned any Storm balls the last 2-3 years or so, I don't normally frequent this forum, so Storm may not have staffers to aid people in need like Brunswick, Lane 1, Hammer and maybe another or so do, I don't know.
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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick



Edited on 7/6/2008 4:51 PM
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JBracer2

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #12 on: July 06, 2008, 10:25:32 PM »
I think the difference is because of the way the fire line is made. It doesnt have a filler in it. It is core and shell. More like the old school balls.
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Brickguy221

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #13 on: July 06, 2008, 11:53:39 PM »
quote:
I think the difference is because of the way the fire line is made. It doesnt have a filler in it. It is core and shell. More like the old school balls.
 


JBracer, are you serious here? If that is true, then that must mean the coverstock is solid reactive like Legends/Lanemaster balls and if so, then that would mean the core in a 14# ball is 2# lighter than the core in a 16# Rapid Fire ball. If that is the case, then I am really in trouble here because I had a problem with all 4 Legends/Lanemaster balls that I tried regardless of drilling and coverstock adjustments because of the lighter cores in 14# balls.

If all of that is true, I am going to try to see my driller tomorrow to see if he can send the ball back even if I have to pay the shipping cost to do so. Darn.
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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick

Edited on 7/6/2008 11:54 PM
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rustylegacy

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Re: Rapid Fire Pearl vs Rapid Fire Solid
« Reply #14 on: July 07, 2008, 09:56:25 AM »
I dont have a rapid, but I did try a 14# sure fire. It has a pretty big hook on medium-med light, alot of midlane approx 4.5 x 4 with a big hole down by the thumb to make the flare separations a little wider. It has no problem knocking down pins. The only thing I dont like is it throws off my approach from being lighter, I was thinking of dropping down a # but it feels weird walking up to the lane.
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