Ideas for a first urethane.

Which layout is right for me?

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star
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Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by star »

I will be talking to my driller when I get down to his shop but any info would be greatly appreciated.

I’ll be buying my first urethane strike ball for 18 years, last one was a XXL by Lane#1 and wondered what drilling’s are favoured on urethane now.

I’ve gone down in weight to 14’s five years ago. The ball I ordered is a Purple Hammer Pearl thinking it was a two piece but found it’s now not but there’s no worries about that.

I only use weak pieces as I bowl on really old wood lanes and wanted a smooth ball so went with my pro’s recommendation.

I normally use 5 inch pins on most of my balls but don’t know if that’s the right way about going with a urethane.

Any info about how and why you do what you do now would be very much welcomed. Thanks.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by EricHartwell »

That is a bummer about the lighter Purple Hammers not being a 2 piece.
Still a good ball just not as Durable as the 15 and 16 pounders.

I would definitely Not use a 5" pin to PAP on this one unless...
You really want to mess up the lane condition depleting the heads and creating a line of carrydown all the way to the pocket.
5" Pin to PAP will basically take any core action out of the equation. No Flare.

I would try to get as much flare as possible to try and preserve the pattern a little bit.
It will still be a smoother rolling ball as the .020 isn't going to give you that much flare.

With that said I would drill it 70-4-30 and drill the thumb hole 4 1/2" deep.
Shallow finger holes will help max out flare if you are as OCD as I am when trying to get as much as possible out of a weak core.
The 70* drilling angle is measured to the thumb.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by star »

Thanks Eric.

The 4 1/2 inch finger depth and only drilling the fingers deep to the depth of my silicone inserts is something I’ve been doing for a while now. Mo Pinel explained it to me as I had a fetish for 2 piece equipment and in 14lb you always get very low diff. It’s awesome information.

I’ll give the 70-4-30 drilling a go and let you know how it goes.

Thanks so much. It’s greatly appreciated.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by TonyPR »

Ahhh the urethane topic jejeje. Carry down can equal to creating hold left on sport patterns if the gutter is playing granted the player is aware of the fact that the adjustment is right of where they were previously playing. Not many people as skilled or confident enough to dance with the devil so close to scoring zero on a shot though. Plus having multiple urethanes with fresh surface to do that is a must.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by EricHartwell »

star wrote: December 6th, 2021, 7:57 pm Thanks Eric.

The 4 1/2 inch finger depth and only drilling the fingers deep to the depth of my silicone inserts is something I’ve been doing for a while now. Mo Pinel explained it to me as I had a fetish for 2 piece equipment and in 14lb you always get very low diff. It’s awesome information.

I’ll give the 70-4-30 drilling a go and let you know how it goes.

Thanks so much. It’s greatly appreciated.
I know what you mean about the 2 piece balls. Back in the day I was rolling equipment that was too heavy because I wanted the "better" ball.
Try rolling 13# equipment, the disparity of core strength gets even worse.
Though I have found a few where the 13's were much stronger than their heavier big brothers.
TonyPR wrote: December 6th, 2021, 9:22 pm Plus having multiple urethanes with fresh surface to do that is a must.
I wish I could afford to have several of the same urethanes for competition.
When I roll them I always end up more tired at the end of the set because of all the effort put into wiping the ball down on every shot.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by star »

EricHartwell wrote: December 6th, 2021, 4:48 pm
The 70* drilling angle is measured to the thumb.
Eric, sorry to bother you but what do you mean by this?

Is it different to a normal 70-4-30 drilling?

Also is there a pin buffer layout equivalent by any chance? My driller has started to use this method recently.

Boy, I’m all want. Thanks so much.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by kajmk »

Eric, I noticed your comment,
" I wish I could afford to have several of the same urethanes for competition.
When I roll them I always end up more tired at the end of the set because of all the effort put into wiping the ball down on every shot."

Humor or fact?
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by EricHartwell »

Sometimes I am funny without trying.

Fact, I use a leather shammy to wipe my ball. I spin the ball in my hands at least 5 times, sometimes more, to get as much oil off it as I can.
It gets tiring especially when rolling at a lot of spares.

One of the houses where I use Urethane exclusively holds a doubles tournament over the course of several weekends.
I will bowl in it with several different partners. To have multiple sets of my Urethanes Dull and Shiny would be a nice advantage.

My Arsenal has always been a little bit excessive and to add 4 more duplicated balls would bring it to another level of excessive.
I am actually downsizing from 13 to 9 with my new arsenal. Some compromises needed to be made.
As it is, my downsizing/ugrading of my arsenal is costing me $1250.
This all stems from the new rules Dis-allowing balance holes. 8 of my 13 had balance holes and just didn't serve my needs once they were plugged.

Back in the day before reactive coverstocks I always said, "I wish I could throw a brand new ball every shot"
That was usually in practice after throwing several strikes in a row before the ball built up its load of oil.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by EricHartwell »

star wrote: December 8th, 2021, 9:24 pm Eric, sorry to bother you but what do you mean by this?

Is it different to a normal 70-4-30 drilling?

Also is there a pin buffer layout equivalent by any chance? My driller has started to use this method recently.

Boy, I’m all want. Thanks so much.
No Bother at all.

Pin Buffer layout 4 x 5 5/8 x 1 3/4
This is using the pseudo PSA location Not the Cg.
Pseudo PSA location is 6 3/4" from the Pin through the Cg.

In your question "Is it different to a normal 70-4-30 drilling?"
Different would be drilling of the thumbhole to 4 1/2" deep making it a stronger layout for the weaker core.
Otherwise it is "normal"
It will look like this...
Star.PNG
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by star »

Thank you Eric, truly awesome explanation as always.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by star »

Well, I’ve had my Purple Hammer drilled and all I can say is WOW.

Fresh dressed 42 foot house pattern lanes, Brunswick synthetic and I played my IQ tour black pearl (reactor cover) 15 to 8 struck for fun.

My ball was ready by end of first game so thought, I’ve seen what a fresh cover can do on a urethane so I’ll play through the middle to get some oil into the cover. Moved to aim 20 to 10. 7 pin. No worries needs some oil in the ball. Moved 5 and 2, got the ball out to 8. Brooklyn. Try it again, Brooklyn.

Took 2 games and a very flat hand release and I finally got the ball to the pocket. Tickle it and it was gone. Moved my track from my normal position right up next to the fingers and thumb to get some control. Ball was driving through the pins like a hook/flip monster. WOW.

Is this urethane? It’s crazy strong. Flare lines were tight together so maybe I’ve got to give it more games to get some oil into the ball.

Don’t know if I’ll be able to use it on our wood lanes but hey I’ll have some fun trying.

Thanks Eric, although I think I could have had a 7 inch pin to pap and it still would have hooked. ;) Would have p’d everyone else on the lanes off though.

I’m thinking of soaking it in a bucket of Castrol GTX motor oil for a couple of days before I try it again.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by EricHartwell »

I hope you are just kidding about soaking it in motor oil. It is not going to absorb oil.
The oil load will come from your practice shots.

It will calm down as you get a little bit of lane shine on it. 2000 grit factory is a Strong surface.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by star »

Hi Eric, yeah I was joking. :) It’s an awesome ball and I agree the 2000 is probably too strong for me. Cannot believe how it keeps going through the pins at that finish, truly spectacular for a urethane.

Has anyone ever polished over the top of the 2000 or gone 4000 then polished?

Maybe just an old 4000 no polish?
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by EricHartwell »

I would not ruin it with Polish.

I don't have first hand experience but from what I have heard is, it does not shine.
It is a lot like the original Blue hammer, which I do have first hand experience.
My suggestion would be to roll some practice games on burned up lanes and practice hooking the whole lane to pick up 7 pins.
Rolling it on dry lanes will help speed up the lane shine.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by star »

Thanks Eric,
What I’ll do is put it on my spinner and run it with a white scotchbrite for a minute or so each quarter. That usually gives me a lane shine appearance.

Then do a little 7 pin practice ;)

Thanks again.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by EricHartwell »

Good idea!
I have a brand new white scotchbrite in my bag.
I was wondering how I was going to knock the bite off my new Hammer Obsession.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by star »

Well, first night with my Purple in my home centre. Lanes were extremely patchy both in the front and back. Typical pattern for a machine that is 28 years old, doesn’t strip (done by hand) and a motor that was a 2 speed but is now a one speed. Wood lanes that haven’t been refinished/resurface since 2010.

I’d run the ball on my spinner for 1 min each quarter with a wet white scotchbrite with a lot of pressure. So it was about 5000 grit.

First game 210 with a big 4. Tickled it. It was so smooth played 3rd arrow out to 7, haven’t been able to play there for a while as if you slip outside 7 it’s 3 off the corner or ditch. Didn’t get that with the Purple.

With my speed that’s a great start. Second game tried to chase it in but by the eighth frame it was too hard. Should have gotten out of it after the first 2 frames but was enjoying rolling a ball with such a smooth action.

We’re getting a resurface in the new year so may get to use it more than one game after that. Overall very pleased with the ball. I understand why people use these balls on tough patterns. If I had a bit more speed it would be the dream ball.

Thanks so much Eric for your kind help.
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Re: Ideas for a first urethane.

Post by EricHartwell »

Hopefully they will protect the resurface with plenty of oil for you.
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