Bite cracking

[mongoliantreesloth]

Out of interest has anyone had of heard of any issues with Bites cracking?

[Daorge]

I haven't, Are you keeping it in cold weather? or a place that changes temperature drastically? That can cause a ball to crack.

[Walkin Kamikaze]

Out of interest has anyone had of heard of any issues with Bites cracking?

hahaha dude this guy at my center had a bite that cracked straight down the middle of his thumb all the way around.. Yeah it only happens if it Gets hot, which makes it expand. Then when it hits the cold air of the bowling alley, it becomes a little more fragile... check out my first 250 lol leave a comment =P

[Dave34]

I remember when the ball came out there was a rush of reviews that said the ball had cracked. I figured it was either made up or a bad batch that came out from the plant that was later fixed.

I had the ball since the week after it came out until last month with no cracking. I'd assume if you kept it in a controlled area (not on hot/cold surfaces, or surfaces that fluctuate in temperature often) you'll be alright.

[Street Racer]

hey mate, if your talking about the ball what just got put up on totalbowling

if you notice, alot of the balls are cracked...

think its got something to do with the drilling..

[mongoliantreesloth]

Yeah that's the one. Asked whether the cracks are circular around the thumb or in a line away from the hole. Got a blurred image that was taken with a webcam but can't see much. Might be worth a shot but there again if the cracking is caused by him leaving the ball in the boot of the car..... Don't know where Mt Warrigal is but I reckon it's probably warmer than Adelaide.

[BubbaRay]

I remember when these were first released there were alot of reports about the ball being cracked and strange spots on the balls. I sent an email to Brian Graham when he was with Hammer at the time. I recieved a response from the Marketing Director of Ebonite Int Mr. Robert Reid. and he stated there were no reports to the company about these balls being cracked.

Here's the link to that thread when it came out. The reports it seems were from bowlingball.com .

Here is what Mr. Robert Reid said to em when I spoke with him.

BubbaRay = This is in response to the reports of the new Hammer Black Widow Bite cracking and strange spots on the ball.

I have just recieved an Email from Mr. Robert Reid, The VP Marketing Ebonite International , and he stated to me that Ebonite International has investigated this rumor and have conducted numorous product audits . They have no data to indicate that they have these problems with the New Black Widow Bite. The rumors have tended to come from only one site, and Ebonite International is investigating that too.

[mongoliantreesloth]

I reckon it's got something to do with the guy selling it. He's got 7 ball up for grabs and 3 have cracking issues. Doesn't inspire confidence.

15lb storm screamin' banshee, less than 40 gamesm 1st drill, very good condition, apart from fixable cracking, $40

hammer black widow bite, less than 60 games, 1st drill, excellent condition, apart from plugging at the top of the thumb due to cracking, $60

brunswick spiral viZ-A-ball, less than 90 games, 1st drill, very good condition, apart from easily fixable cracking around the fingers and thumb, and a couple of chips, $50

Apparently the crack was linear rather than around the thumbhole so the thumb was completely plugged and slugged. I must admit I'm tempted but I wonder if there isn't now an inherent weakness in that area that will resurface at a later date.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v642/stidder/Bowling/BiteThumb.jpg

[BubbaRay]

Here's some food for thought. I have seen cracking on balls around the thumb hole with slugs inserted. The cracks I have found out in these cases were due to the drill bit for the slug hole being a tad too small. Then when the slug is hammered into the hole, I have seen the balls crack around the thumb hole . In these cases it was due to the pro shop operator error by using a smaller bit for drilling the hole for the thumb slug too small.

[mongoliantreesloth]

Interesting - we always assume the drill is the right size for the slug but I suppose there's nothing to say all drillers will get it right every time. I'm still suspicious though because one of the other balls has fingerhole cracking so I kinda suspect it's a heat issue.

As an aside to this I've got an old Show Time Pearl that I might leave in my boot for a few days during summer just to see what happens to the ball. As we can get to 44 degree days even in South Australia I wonder how high the temps get in outback New South Wales.

[Street Racer]

Yeah that's the one. Asked whether the cracks are circular around the thumb or in a line away from the hole. Got a blurred image that was taken with a webcam but can't see much. Might be worth a shot but there again if the cracking is caused by him leaving the ball in the boot of the car..... Don't know where Mt Warrigal is but I reckon it's probably warmer than Adelaide.

his in sydney...

he is a jnr bowling with ALOT of revs... he lofts the capping alot...

[mongoliantreesloth]

So he's basically abused the ball and it's suffered as a result?