Drilling Q: Pancake block + no thumb ...

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JessN16
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Drilling Q: Pancake block + no thumb ...

Post by JessN16 »

I probably already know the answer to this question (meaning, it's not going to matter), but I'm getting ready to drill up a NIB ball with a pancake weight block and it's the first time I've done so since either the no-extra-hole rules, and since I converted to two hands 2-3 years ago.

It's making my head hurt to try to figure out a way to reverse-engineer a dual-angle layout, especially since a lot of pancake balls have the pin and CG markers on top of each other (this one does) and there won't be a thumbhole in the ball. It's a urethane ball (AMF Angle LD), so there's at least the potential for some actual performance (I'm looking at it as a dry-lane ball now that my rev rate is really high).

Does the layout really matter here, or should I just label it to make sure the ending statics stay within legal parameters? I'm basically trying to salvage as much of what little weight block exists if it can help me in any way.
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EricHartwell
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Re: Drilling Q: Pancake block + no thumb ...

Post by EricHartwell »

I would suggest to roll it on the lane without drilling any holes in it. See if the track flares.

The Angle was one of the first balls to have track flare if I remember correctly.

What is the distance from Pin to Cg and Top weight ?
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JessN16
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Re: Drilling Q: Pancake block + no thumb ...

Post by JessN16 »

EricHartwell wrote: June 2nd, 2021, 1:48 am I would suggest to roll it on the lane without drilling any holes in it. See if the track flares.

The Angle was one of the first balls to have track flare if I remember correctly.

What is the distance from Pin to Cg and Top weight ?
I'm going to have to wait to get it to see if it's coming in an original box so I can know the top weight, or I'm going to have to weigh it out. I think Pin/CG distance on this particular ball is zero (meaning, one is on top of the other). I've only seen pictures so far and only have seen one picture of what looks like a locator pin. I managed to win it very cheap off eBay. It is NIB.

You remember correctly about the Angle series. I remember older pro shop guys telling stories about sending some of the first ones back to the factory because they "wobbled." People thought it was a defect.

Funny you mention rolling it with no holes. Currently, I'm experimenting with a lightweight spare ball (T-Zone) with no holes in it so I can fully convert to two hands for all shots. I've still been throwing with a thumb at the 10-pin but would rather not have two completely different approaches/timing.

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Re: Drilling Q: Pancake block + no thumb ...

Post by JimH »

You asked if you should weigh the ball to determine the top weight and location. I always did that because what comes out of the box may not be correct. What happened to me once was a ball had the CG marked in the wrong place. The ball had a small 'dimple' hole on the surface as well as the marking hole for the CG. The 2 holes were about 4 inches (12 cm) apart. The person who engraved the markings on the ball aligned the ball around the 'dimple' hole instead of the proper CG hole.

I suggest that you take the few minutes to weigh the ball.
JessN16
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Re: Drilling Q: Pancake block + no thumb ...

Post by JessN16 »

JimH wrote: June 2nd, 2021, 3:03 pm You asked if you should weigh the ball to determine the top weight and location. I always did that because what comes out of the box may not be correct. What happened to me once was a ball had the CG marked in the wrong place. The ball had a small 'dimple' hole on the surface as well as the marking hole for the CG. The 2 holes were about 4 inches (12 cm) apart. The person who engraved the markings on the ball aligned the ball around the 'dimple' hole instead of the proper CG hole.

I suggest that you take the few minutes to weigh the ball.
The ball arrived a couple of days ago, sans original box. So we were really in the blind at that point. No CG mark at all, and the pin looked to be 90 degrees to the label, about where a right-hander's PAP would be.

We weighed it out tonight and it seems the label itself marks the "heavy" area, and it seems to have 2.5 oz top weight so we're pretty safe no matter where we drill. I'm thinking about shifting the label over towards the VAL, keeping it about 2-3 inches off the VAL and going with that. The weird pin location has us perplexed, but it can't be much different than the White Dot I bought last year where the label was on top of the ball and the pin dead-center on the bottom.

Jess
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Re: Drilling Q: Pancake block + no thumb ...

Post by kajmk »

JimH wrote: June 2nd, 2021, 3:03 pm You asked if you should weigh the ball to determine the top weight and location. I always did that because what comes out of the box may not be correct. What happened to me once was a ball had the CG marked in the wrong place. The ball had a small 'dimple' hole on the surface as well as the marking hole for the CG. The 2 holes were about 4 inches (12 cm) apart. The person who engraved the markings on the ball aligned the ball around the 'dimple' hole instead of the proper CG hole.

I suggest that you take the few minutes to weigh the ball.
The PSO'S I went to always weighed the ball out of the box as step one.
As the saying goes, "trust, but verify". ;)

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