Half way between the knuckles is where a proper span should be. If you are too long a lot of bevel will be needed, as well as keeping the thumb pitch backed off a bit in order to get out of the ball which leads to gripping. Its a vicious circle. In order to use less bevel you need to have the correct span, which it doesn't sound like your driller is willing to do. With the correct span and pitches you can put your hand in the ball and have it relaxed at your side and with no gripping the ball will hold there. After a while your hand might relax some and more forward pitch can be done to allow the ball to hold itself on the hand during the swing. Now some people do need a little more bevel, I am one of those due to the shape and size of the base of my thumb.

I agree with Inferoncal. The proper span is halfway between the knuckles. It shouldn't vary by person.

In the picture you're talking about, my hand is as relaxed as I could manage given the fact that I had to hold my hand out in front of me while I tried to take a picture with a DSLR with the other. It was kind of awkward.

On keeping your hand relaxed, I can put my hand in the ball, keep my hand completely relaxed and the ball stays on well. I have to do quite a bit of shaking back and forth for it to fall off.

I use the red hada patch. I buy it in rolls because it's more economical, but I just found out they stopped making it. I think I'm going to have to stock up on a bunch of rolls.

And here's a picture of my thumb. I use a removable thumb so this was easier to photograph.


Also, your thumb can hurt at the base because your span is stretched too. A stretched span will force that part of your hand against that edge. If it gets bad enough, there's a nerve there and you'll end up with shooting pain going down your arm when you put the ball into the swing. Been there, done that.. get your span fixed before it happens to you too.

So gravity won't pull the ball off your hand, but it actually comes off your hand at the right time for the release? This is something I find really hard to believe. Don't get me wrong, I don't think you're lying, it just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Also, should there be any strain on the thumb during the swing, such as the ball wanting to come off but the fit not letting it?

I wanted to ask about the tearing on the back of my thumb again. If the span and pitches are right. Is there any possible way that could happen, such as the bevel sander not getting enough of the back or something? That tearing also happens with tape in the back, which I wish it didn't because I'm thinking of using black tape in the back for a smoother release.

EDIT: Wow, your top edge looks smooth where you base should go, yet there's also quite a bit of the slug left at the edge. Quesion though; is bevel defined as how smooth your edge is or as how much of the edge is left in general? Anyways that looks good. Yeah I don't like my ball that has less bevel because it bothers me too much, but I haven't experienced the shooting pain you're talking about.

Physics allows the ball to come off your hand at the bottom of the swing with a proper fit. As your hand gets to the ankle in the forward swing the ball begins to roll off your hand, thumb first just prior to the ankle and then continues to roll off the fingers. I used to have the effect with my ill fitted balls but it wasn't consistent.

I also had the problems with some discomfort when using tape on the back side of the thumb hole.

I don't think the bevel sander would do anything to cause this as the bevel sander just smooths the material some, it really does take anything off.

As for bevel, it is the roundness of the edge. In Lefty's picture that is just enough bevel to not have a sharp edge. More bevel makes it rounder and rounder until you actually start moving down the thumb hole. My bevel is quite a bit more than Lefty's due to the contour of my thumb. In order for me to have that little bevel my thumb hole would have to be quite large and make me want to knuckle it. With a properly fitted ball you want to have as little bevel as possible, for some its like the picture above, for others it would be like mine, but I can't get a picture of it to show it.

It's all about where the pressure is being applied. At different points of the swing, the pressure is at different points that keep it on your hand. When the ball gets to the release point, the force shifts in such a way that it releases the tension on the thumb. That is if your span isn't to long.

As far as bevel, it's how much the edge is rounded over.

Here's another slug that I just dug up. I've never used it because it has to much bevel.



You can see how much more rounded the edge is than the one that I primarily use is.

Yeah I can definitely see the difference. That's kinda how my stuff is but most likely due to the longer span. Cal, is your thumb hole beveled like that ones on the right, or more like something in between the two?

Another question, is there any relation between span or thumb size and how much bevel should be used? For instance, Lefty, your span is probably a whole inch or more longer than mine if mine was correct. Does that mean I should se more or less bevel than you automatically, or does it just depend on how sensitive the base of my thumb is?

Also, I'm happy to inform your guys that my driller is going to try a shorter span. He's going to do it on the used ball to make sure before he plugs my stuff, but I think my span is going to come out to 3 3/4 MF and 3 1/4. That's a pretty short hand in my opinion, any of you guys ever seen someone close to that(in their late teens)? They'd be 1/8 longer each but I'm compensating for the length of the edge of the inserts for the fingers. That span might be a little off but it's only on a ball that doesn't matter and we'll see how it goes. We'll put 3/8 forward to start with as well, he said. If it goes well, we'll plug and redrill my thumb holes accordingly.

So I feel pretty good and that I'm making some progress. If this works and I can actually relax my hand also having better releases, being more versatile, etc I will praise you guys so much I will probably go around to everyone saying their span is too long. There's some good bowlers around here but I'd bet their spans are long just like mine. How they've managed to be top youth bowlers with ill fitting equipment(if that's the case) is beyond me.

Wait.. your span was 4 3/8" and now you're going to be 3 3/4 and 3 1/4? Something sounds wrong there.

Wow 3 3/4 x 3 1/4"! that is a whole inch shorter in the ring finger and 3/4" shorter in the middle finger. Are you sure those measurements are correct? If so who ever drilled the ball originally was waaaay off. This would explain the unusual wear and tear on your thumb.

Yeah, I think it's that short now compared to before, because when he normally fits me he pulls my fingers a bit, so that my fingers really aren't relaxed on the Bill Taylor. Not to mention I don't think he measures at halfway between the creases anyways, maybe 1/4 or so past the first one. Knowing that, it should make some sense.

I used the Bill Taylor myself with my hand relaxed and I came up with something like 3 7/8 MF and 3 3/8 RF. I just decreased the span my another 1/8 to accommodate for the finger inserts, which were never accommodated for to begin with. Was it a mistake to have my hand completely relaxed, or should I stretch it a bit, then relax? I've heard that's what you should do in some articles.