Might want to get ready for long term storage of your balls.
Posted: March 30th, 2020, 4:57 am
Since all bowling has effectively come to a stand still for a indefinite time period, You might want to see about getting your equipment ready for long term storage.
I would suggest,
1-remove all tape from your thumb holes and clean the hole if needed. Tape left in a hole a long time can get difficult to remove and/or leave sticky residues.
2- If you have interchangeable thumbs, remove the insert. While it may be unlikely, you don't want to run the risk of it getting stuck in the hole for whatever reason.
3- If possible use this time to resurface and de-oil your equipment. If you can't do that at least clean them thoroughly.
4- Find a good place to store them, somewhere that the temperature stays constant.
5- Try not to sit them on a hard surface, put them in your bag or a ball box.
6- A recommendation to help reduce the chance of cracking is to store the ball in a ziplock bag or wrapped with plastic wrap or a plastic bag. You want as tight a fit as you can get, to insulate the ball from the outside air and store at room temperature.
7- Another recommendation to help reduce the chance of cracking is to rotate the ball a quarter turn every few weeks.
Here's a interesting blog post by Jeff Richgels about balls cracking and a article in the Fall 2008 edition of Pro Shop Insider written by Rich Jacobson.
Click here for The 11th Frame: The Ebonite article that tells you how to keep resin balls from cracking – and how I got it wrong
Click here for the Ebonite Article
The main points of Rich Jacobson's "Ask Ebonite.com" article were that while there are other factors in balls cracking, the main reason for it happening during long term storage were gravity and leaving a ball in a static position for a long time.
The recommendation to help reduce the chance of cracking is to rotate the ball a quarter turn every few weeks.
The second factor is open air exposure, which has to do with the curing process of the balls. While the ball surface is fully cured when it leaves the factory, They will still continue to cure for month or even years.
The recommendation to help reduce the chance of cracking is to store the ball in a ziplock bag or wrapped with plastic wrap or a plastic bag. You want as tight a fit as you can get, to insulate the ball from the outside air and store at room temperature.
Thinking about it, balls do typically have a plastic bag around them when they come from the factory.
While this won't stop cracking totally, it could help reduce it.
I would suggest,
1-remove all tape from your thumb holes and clean the hole if needed. Tape left in a hole a long time can get difficult to remove and/or leave sticky residues.
2- If you have interchangeable thumbs, remove the insert. While it may be unlikely, you don't want to run the risk of it getting stuck in the hole for whatever reason.
3- If possible use this time to resurface and de-oil your equipment. If you can't do that at least clean them thoroughly.
4- Find a good place to store them, somewhere that the temperature stays constant.
5- Try not to sit them on a hard surface, put them in your bag or a ball box.
6- A recommendation to help reduce the chance of cracking is to store the ball in a ziplock bag or wrapped with plastic wrap or a plastic bag. You want as tight a fit as you can get, to insulate the ball from the outside air and store at room temperature.
7- Another recommendation to help reduce the chance of cracking is to rotate the ball a quarter turn every few weeks.
Here's a interesting blog post by Jeff Richgels about balls cracking and a article in the Fall 2008 edition of Pro Shop Insider written by Rich Jacobson.
Click here for The 11th Frame: The Ebonite article that tells you how to keep resin balls from cracking – and how I got it wrong
Click here for the Ebonite Article
The main points of Rich Jacobson's "Ask Ebonite.com" article were that while there are other factors in balls cracking, the main reason for it happening during long term storage were gravity and leaving a ball in a static position for a long time.
The recommendation to help reduce the chance of cracking is to rotate the ball a quarter turn every few weeks.
The second factor is open air exposure, which has to do with the curing process of the balls. While the ball surface is fully cured when it leaves the factory, They will still continue to cure for month or even years.
The recommendation to help reduce the chance of cracking is to store the ball in a ziplock bag or wrapped with plastic wrap or a plastic bag. You want as tight a fit as you can get, to insulate the ball from the outside air and store at room temperature.
Thinking about it, balls do typically have a plastic bag around them when they come from the factory.
While this won't stop cracking totally, it could help reduce it.