Need help finding a 3rd ball

[b0ss52o]

I've been bowling for a very long time, however I never really got too much into the tech-side of the sport, so I'm not real effective when it comes to talking specs with everyone else. I would consider myself a decent bowler (190 avg on a difficult shot) with relatively slow ball speed (about 16-16.25 mph) and a low-med rev rate. I've trusted my local pro for EVERYTHING back where I used to live, and since I just moved I kinda want to pick up building my arsenal on my own. I'm on a relatively tight budget, and I'm looking for a third ball to compliment the two I'm using now.

I'm currently using the original Vibe (purple) and the Raw Hammer PAIN. Yes, these are OLD, but they've been reliable up until now. I have them both drilled the same way, the pin immediately above my middle finger hole. I'm looking at one of the BW's that would work with the RICO drilling, and would compliment the two balls i'm using right now.

ANY suggestions are GREATLY appreciated, I love the Hammer line but like I said, ANY suggestions are welcome. Thanks a ton, and it's great to be on message boards where people know what they're talking about :)

-b0ss52o

[idlehourlegend]

Get the BWS(Black Widow Solid), works well with the Rico from what I have seen and is the most versatile ball and best ball in the widow line. It should work well with that drilling and compliment your other equipment nicely.

[b0ss52o]

Get the BWS(Black Widow Solid), works well with the Rico from what I have seen and is the most versatile ball and best ball in the widow line. It should work well with that drilling and compliment your other equipment nicely.

That sounds like a good idea. I've always been really skeptical about having a weight hole drilled... it's a mental thing. Something about a 4th hole in the ball always threw me off :P

I'm going to post some pics of my PAIN and Purple Vibe when I get home tonight, so would anyone be able to give me some suggestions on possible re-drill ideas, or if I should just try another simple drill on a different ball. Like I said before, ANY suggestion would be beneficial since I'm not exactly "up-to-date" with my technology vocabulary.

[b0ss52o]

Ok, so here are the pics of my PAIN and Purple Vibe. I was trying to describe them in the first post without looking at them, and so I said the pins were over the middle finger hole, when they're actually over the ring finger (i'm a righty.) Please let me know if I should do something different with a new ball. Thanks!
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y175/boss520/RawPAIN.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y175/boss520/PurpleVibe.jpg

You can probably tell the track that it rolls on, since they are quite worn... and I never really took the time (because I don't have much free time) to clean and/or re-surface them. Any suggestions help!

[Thepainscoming]

get them resurfaced, it runs about 25 a ball and you just have to drop and pick them up. that will help a LOT.

[Old Scratch]

Yeah. Get them resurfaced. They're more than due.

And not to throw a wrench into the works, but...

I have both of those balls and have had a Black Widow. My Vibe is even drilled the same as yours. I'm also a high tracker like you. While I have good success with the Vibe and the Pain, the Widow was an enigma. I know most who have it love it, but it didn't work out for me. However, my Widow wasn't a Rico drill like you're considering.

Anyway, since we seem to have similar tracks and similar success with very similar balls I'm wondering if you might be better off sticking with a symmetric core ball for your Rico drill. Maybe an Anger instead of the Widow?

I'm interested in hearing what the real experts have to say about this idea. Hopefully I can learn something too.

[Thepainscoming]

y do you want it rico?

[TenPinSniper]

Do you tracker over your thumb?

If you do a RICO it will have to be adjusted for a High Track Player.

But first get those things resurface and cleaned up. If yo have any question about getting them cleaned up just ask.

[b0ss52o]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I'll go ahead and get them resurfaced on Wednesday at my pro shop, when I have the day off from work.

Yes I am a high-track player, but it does not roll directly over the thumb. It used to, but I changed my release and it's starting to get a little bit lower, but still relatively high. I wanted to get a RICO drill just for a change, but if that's not going to help all that much, then I won't do it. I'm just going to do the resurface and see how much that helps. How often does everyone else resurface theirs?

I only bowl once a week in a scratch league on Mondays (so 10-minute practice and 3 games) and don't practice outside of that because I don't have the time to... I would love to bowl more and improve my game even more but I just don't have the time. I would still love other feedback, and I'll post my scores from tonights games before I get them resurfaced. Thanks a ton for the suggestions so far, and keep them coming!

[b0ss52o]

Ok so last night was a mess... the oil pattern we used was extremely long... probably about 44-45 feet... which means my ball didn't react as much as I would have liked. My games were 197-188-177 for a 562. The third game I didn't care too much about, since all I needed was to beat a 166 (blind score from opponent). Only thing that seemed to work was a Norm Duke type shot, sliding foot starting at the center dot and throw the ball straight up the 10 board. Looked like the ball finally started to hook and roll around the 50 foot mark, which was very frustrating for someone like me.

Our scratch league format is:
1st game - 4-man team total for one point
2nd game - #1 and #2 vs. #1 and #2 for one point, and #3/#4 vs. 3/4 for one point
3rd game - individual matchups, for one point each.
2 point bonus for total team series winner, for a possible 9 points per week.

Our team won 8 out of those 9 points this week... only point we lost was the 3/4 pairs matchup (I bowl in the 3-spot, so that was my fault)

I'll be getting those rocks resurfaced tomorrow, and hopefully i'll throw a practice game or two when they're done, and I'll let everyone know how it works out.

[TenPinSniper]

Resurface should be done as need. It will depend the lane surface.
If you bowl on Synthetic's its less often compared to wood.

I'd say every 50 game would be a good to have them checked out.

Alot of us have spinners at home or access, so we retouch them weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

The Pain was 2000 grit Abralon and the Purple Vibe was 1000 grit Abralon with Factory Finish Polish from the factory.

It might be a goods time to give them a deep cleaning something like a Hook Again, Revivor Bowling Ball Oven (Special Bowling Ball Oven) or Hot Water Treatment. Before any of these are down dull the ball up to clear of pores of any grime, belt marks or dirt.

Since you are a High Track Player, I'd suggest trying a pin-down drilling Pin to PAP around 5" to 5 1/2". See how close you track on that ball before going to the RICO. It's useful, but you don't have to have one. Thin this would give something different. If you put the MB or CG at 45* with a weight hole at 6 3/4" from the Pin it would be a modified RICO drill.

[samltk1977]

Try this one? but it's an international release.... I can't wait to get my hands on it... there's another one called BW BPR and this? it's BW Killer!! cool!!! For me, it would be a bliss if I can lay my hands on the chalk and this ball... Black white combi... I am absolutely in love with the gas mask core!!

[b0ss52o]

Well I finally went ahead and dropped off those two balls to get resurfaced. it was well past due for them, and i'm going to be picking them up from the shop this afternoon after i'm done at work.

While the pro was looking at my PAIN, he noticed that the CG was well off center from where it should be, making it illegal because there was too much weight on one half of the ball... this makes me very angry at the pro i ordered it from because he drilled it for me and didn't measure it. i will NEVER go back to him. thankfully, i've never used it in serious competition and none of my achievements have been with that ball, so he said it shouldn't be that big of a deal.... so he's going to put a weight hole into it for me to even it out. Putting this weight hole in it should change the action on the ball fairly dramatically, and hopefully the lanes monday night won't be too dry for me to use it on.

He also gave me some pointers as to how I can change my release to start lowering the track... I'm going to try a few things out on monday night during practice to see what I can't do. I'm extremely excited for monday night, and if I see a dramatic difference in performance, then i'll stay away from buying a brand new ball for now. but i've also decided that if I do get a new ball in the future, it'll be a BWP with either skid/flip or strong drilling. Thanks again to everyone for the advice, and I'll let you know how everything goes on monday night!

[PinSlayer]

Ok so last night was a mess... the oil pattern we used was extremely long... probably about 44-45 feet... which means my ball didn't react as much as I would have liked. My games were 197-188-177 for a 562. The third game I didn't care too much about, since all I needed was to beat a 166 (blind score from opponent). Only thing that seemed to work was a Norm Duke type shot, sliding foot starting at the center dot and throw the ball straight up the 10 board. Looked like the ball finally started to hook and roll around the 50 foot mark, which was very frustrating for someone like me.

Our scratch league format is:
1st game - 4-man team total for one point
2nd game - #1 and #2 vs. #1 and #2 for one point, and #3/#4 vs. 3/4 for one point
3rd game - individual matchups, for one point each.
2 point bonus for total team series winner, for a possible 9 points per week.

Our team won 8 out of those 9 points this week... only point we lost was the 3/4 pairs matchup (I bowl in the 3-spot, so that was my fault)

I'll be getting those rocks resurfaced tomorrow, and hopefully i'll throw a practice game or two when they're done, and I'll let everyone know how it works out.

You may also want to give them a hot water bath.. Get some of the oil out of the ball as well as the resurface will help.

[Sabotage]

Try this one? but it's an international release.... I can't wait to get my hands on it... there's another one called BW BPR and this? it's BW Killer!! cool!!! For me, it would be a bliss if I can lay my hands on the chalk and this ball... Black white combi... I am absolutely in love with the gas mask core!!

it looks so shiny

[Thepainscoming]

did he actually weigh your pain? or just say that?

[PinSlayer]

Try this one? but it's an international release.... I can't wait to get my hands on it... there's another one called BW BPR and this? it's BW Killer!! cool!!! For me, it would be a bliss if I can lay my hands on the chalk and this ball... Black white combi... I am absolutely in love with the gas mask core!!


Do you have any specs on this ball? What is the BPR?

[samltk1977]

I am not so sure about the specs. Just the core is the gasmask one. hmmm shrug... maybe I'd try to find out

[Dave34]

The BPR is basically just an overseas version of the Bite (same cover name, same core), with different colors. http://www.bowlingballreviews.com/ball.asp?ballid=3507

The Black Widow Killer looks like an overseas Black Widow Pearl, but they have different cover names so I'm not 100%. http://www.bowlingballreviews.com/ball.asp?ballid=3535

[PinSlayer]

I am not so sure about the specs. Just the core is the gasmask one. hmmm shrug... maybe I'd try to find out

How much are they? (in US dollars) I know a few people overseas maybe I can have one of them get me one and ship it. then I can jut send them the money Pay Pal for it and shipping costs..

I found a little bit of info thanks to Google.. LOL

[samltk1977]

I've asked about the price and specs but the proshop guy haf not get back to me yet. I was thinking wouldn't it be better to get it from US? Overseas release are still from US rite? double shipping!! I was myself thinking of getting the Chalk. Anyone got any deals?

[PinSlayer]

I've asked about the price and specs but the proshop guy haf not get back to me yet. I was thinking wouldn't it be better to get it from US? Overseas release are still from US rite? double shipping!! I was myself thinking of getting the Chalk. Anyone got any deals?

It would be best to get one here.. BUT they are just that Overseas. Many of them can not be bought over here. Bowlingball.com does sell some of them. If I can find one here yes it would be best..

[TenPinSniper]

Here you go...

http://www.legend-star.com/

http://parklanes.co.jp/shop/shop.cgi?mode=main&cno=25

The Killer does not have a US Version at the present time.

BW Hazzard is a Pearl Version of the Bite.

[samltk1977]

Thanks for the info, any chance on the Chalk? hehe

[b0ss52o]

did he actually weigh your pain? or just say that?

yeah, he weighed it in front of me... i stood there watching him, and could easily tell what was wrong with it. there was another guy in the shop at the same time and he said he had the same problem with the same guy before.

[edit] Update: I should've taken pics of the balls now and posted them for ya'll to see. they look completely different now that they've been resurfaced and I can't wait to bowl tonight!

[Thepainscoming]

yeah, he weighed it in front of me... i stood there watching him, and could easily tell what was wrong with it. there was another guy in the shop at the same time and he said he had the same problem with the same guy before.

[edit] Update: I should've taken pics of the balls now and posted them for ya'll to see. they look completely different now that they've been resurfaced and I can't wait to bowl tonight!

i was just making sure he actually weighed it. there could've been something wierd about your ball that kept it legal but looking at it wouldn't have it look that way.

[b0ss52o]

yeah, when I took a second look at it before he started to resurface it, it was kind of a 'duh' moment, because I never knew what that little open green circle was... when he told me thats what the CG was, I thought to myself "why didn't i think of that?"... anywho, thats something that I'm going to keep an eye out for, and I'm going to go back to his pro shop from now on, because he (atleast acts like he) knows what he's doing.

[samltk1977]

Here you go...

http://www.legend-star.com/

http://parklanes.co.jp/shop/shop.cgi?mode=main&cno=25

The Killer does not have a US Version at the present time.

BW Hazzard is a Pearl Version of the Bite.

It seems like alot of balls from legend has got the violent bite reactive pearl cover. and @ 400++ SGD per ball!! I am like WTFish

[b0ss52o]

Ok so tonight will be the 2nd week with the resurfaced Vibe and Pain. I noticed last week at the end of the 3rd game that if I tuck my pinky finger under, I get quite a bit more rotation off of my hand and, for whatever reason, I have an easier time hitting my mark. Wanted to try to practice last week but never had the time. Still waiting to get my Clean 'n Dull from bowlersparadise. Should be waiting for me at home tomorrow, which would be nice. I'll post results from tonight later.

[b0ss52o]

So with the exception of my first game (160 trying to play a track line with my Vibe) and not being able to pick up a bloody spare, it was a very good night. Took my Pain, let it get oiled up by using an inside line, and let the ball do the work. Sliding foot started at 35, aimed at 18/19 at the arrows and slowed down a little bit. 234 and 213 in the last two games, and everything felt good again.

Finally back into the 600's, and should be getting better each week now. If I can do that again next week, I am going to wait on getting that 3rd ball until the experience league starts up in the summer.

[Old Scratch]

Way to go! I've been watching this thread to see how things would turn out for you. Nice to see some positive results.

[Pliko]

Nice work! Looking forward to see the "after" pictures to see how well those rocks shined up :)

[alltenback]

The Sauce would compliment your current arsenal. The ball is very versitle and it is very forgiving.

I have video to prove

http://alltenback.com/video/sauce

and

http://alltenback.com/video/hammersauce

I am playing right into the heaviest part of the oil. I slowed my speed down and took some revs off the ball. I basicly letting the ball do all the work for me. You can tell in the video the ball works fantastic. I give it two thumbs up.

Just my opinion though

Keep us posted on your decision.

[b0ss52o]

I just bought the BWB from elzercat from the WTS section... I should be receiving the ball on Monday right before league bowling, so i may be able to test it out in practice. Let's see what happens!

[alltenback]

I just bought the BWB from elzercat from the WTS section... I should be receiving the ball on Monday right before league bowling, so i may be able to test it out in practice. Let's see what happens!

Nice do you have the same span as him? I always try to make friends with the guys that have the same span as I do. It is like gaining a friend and an arsenal. :D

[excalibur]

I think you will like it, My Bite is my benchmark ball and whenever things arent working for the others I always come back to the Bite, I may have to throw a different line or speed but if nothing else is working I always come back to it.

[b0ss52o]

OK ya'll... I've been promising to get new pics of the resurfaced balls. Here they are!! (Before & After)... you can definitely tell that it's been a while with the Vibe.

Pain Before:
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/393/rawpain.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rawpain.jpg)
Pain After: (And yes, that's the new weight hole on the right side.)
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1902/newpain.th.jpg (http://img401.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newpain.jpg)
Vibe Before:
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/4429/purplevibe.th.jpg (http://img208.imageshack.us/my.php?image=purplevibe.jpg)
Vibe After:
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/60/newvibe.th.jpg (http://img164.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newvibe.jpg)

Let's see how they roll Monday night!

[Lonewolf300800]

boss, those balls look almost like new, especially the vibe. like the weight hole in the pain also, should help a little with the backend reaction. keep us posted on how they continue to react.

[b0ss52o]

bowled with ONLY the BWB that I bought from elzercat in tonight's scratch league. It's exactly the reaction I was looking for on these oil conditions, so overall I am very please.

First game with it was a 221. Started at 35 and threw at 14 board, let the ball drift out to about 7 and then snap back flush into the pocket. 2nd game I had a hard time adjusting with it, threw a 152. 3rd game was decent and clean, 200. Overall not a bad set with a new ball, just need to get the fingertips switched out and should be good to go for next week :) Helps out a ton that elzercat and I have the exact same span.

[alltenback]

:D bowled with ONLY the BWB that I bought from elzercat in tonight's scratch league. It's exactly the reaction I was looking for on these oil conditions, so overall I am very please.

First game with it was a 221. Started at 35 and threw at 14 board, let the ball drift out to about 7 and then snap back flush into the pocket. 2nd game I had a hard time adjusting with it, threw a 152. 3rd game was decent and clean, 200. Overall not a bad set with a new ball, just need to get the fingertips switched out and should be good to go for next week :) Helps out a ton that elzercat and I have the exact same span.

Isn't it great when you find a friend with the same span? I find like I don't just gain a friend but an arsenal as well. My friend and I try to never get the same bowling balls seeing if we need a different ball we just switch up. Even though we aren't on the same team. It is only difficult when we are trying to win against each other in league play but usually it is a high scoring event.

I think the last time we bowled against each other I rolled a 671 and he bowled 655. It was a good battle. He took the first game and I came back and won the rest.

Gave me an idea for a post. Maybe we should start a thread that is called "same span" Could be a good way to trade bowling balls with fellow friends.

maybe we can even get it sticky-ed?:D

Let me know your thoughts.