The house I bowl at likes to save money by not oiling the lanes that often and when they do they use very little oil, none in the heads or middle of the lane.. I often loft the ball very far to get past all the dry and to show my discontent with the way they oil their lanes. I usually loft atleast 30 feet to start but if I do it too log get tired. .. The funny thing is I usually strike pretty well lofting it that much. Everyone comes up to me and asks how I can throw it that far and still be so accurate.

Well, after opening this thread on July 1st, I have experienced a second ball to crack only a few days ago. This time it was my Brunswick Punisher, purchased new last year with less than 50 games on it before it cracked. The ball was last used about 3 weeks ago. The crack extends horizontally from the middle finger halfway around the ball, very similar to my Ebonite V2 which had cracked earlier. As I stated before, the balls are kept inside the house at a temperature that ranges between the low 70's to maybe 80 at the most. I just can't figure out what may be causing these balls to crack if not for disuse even though 3 to 4 weeks ago is not all that long. The only ball, purchased around the same time period, that hasn't cracked is my plastic spare ball. Now I'm worried that my 3 new Lane Masters balls may experience the same premature death. It is possible that too much stress was put on the balls core structure during the drilling, possibly caused by dull drill bits. I don't know what else I can do to prevent my balls from cracking other than to carry all of them with me to the lanes and use them. I guess I can accomplish that ok with 3 balls, but it was impossible with 5 balls plus a spare. I'm afraid to purchase anymore new balls; one ball cracking can be explained away, possibly as being damaged or had left the factory flawed, but not 2 balls. Any suggestions other than rotating all of my balls regularly? I really hate that my Punisher has cracked; the cover was still like new.

Pattayabowler

Just a thought. Are you purchasing these balls in the States, and bringing them back to Thailand by booking them in baggage on a plane? And, doesn't the temperature get pretty cold in baggage? And, how long of a flight are they booked?

They could be getting damaged by the cold, and any bumping, banging, etc could cause an internal crack that eventually works its way to the surface.

Otherwise, sorry to hear this.

The three Lane Masters balls were purchased in the States and were transported via air, thus far they are ok, but the two balls in question which have cracked were both purchased and drilled here in Thailand. Sometimes I think that Thailand may be purchasing 2nd quality balls at discount prices then selling them at retail. Of course, it could be the other way around; maybe Thailand is only receiving 2nd quality balls. Regardless, I'm crossing my fingers that the Lane Masters balls are more durable because being here in Thailand, they are irreplaceable.

For your sake, I hope so too. Maybe it's an omen that you shouldn't have any other competitive balls, but Lane Masters. Course, that is just me thinking.

i can say one thing, im on my highschool bowling team and one of the players on my team left his brand new raw Hammer out in his car during the winter because it was before practice, when he got to the bowling ally he threw one ball and it cracked first thing. The people at the bowling alley said that when u leave a bowling ball in the cold and it gets really cold that it is like glass, and that it is very easy to crack then

My dad used to work as a pinsetter a LONG time ago. He said that one day in the middle of winter, a guy came in with having his ball in his trunk over the previous week. He threw one ball and it cracked in half. My dad skidded the biggest part up the lane to the guy. The guy got bent out of shape and asked for his ball. My dad yelled back: THAT IS YOUR BALL!!!! The manager came up and grabbed the half of the ball. It was cold in the middle of the ball. He told the guy that is what happens when you leave your ball out in the car in the middle of winter. The manager even made the guy pay for my dad to clean the lane out of all of the bowling ball pieces.

and thats why u dont leave ur bowling balls in your car! lol or u can atleast get them out and wait until they arent freezin cold anymore!

hey gp did that guy think your dad did it?

yeah you mite be right about them being 2nd quality. i wouldnt be surprised that Brunswick was doing it for them. sending them 3rd quality balls just to save a buck ( no idea if 3rd is real) they mite be doing the same in the states since the plant was moved. big money is big problems sometimes.

30 feet? That's halfway to the pins which are 60 feet from the foul line, the arrows are 16 feet from the foul line. Why not just bowl with plastic if the lanes are that dry? Also if those are wood lanes you could be doing some damage to them by lofting the ball that far. Wood lanes are constructed of hard wood (maple)and softer wood (pine). The maple portion ends just beyond the arrows at the splice. If you are really lofting the ball 30 feet the ball would be landing on the pine section of the lane possibly putting dimples in the lane surface. Also lofting is a bad habit to get into unless you know what you are doing like Robert Smith. Most of the time lofting the ball kills the ball so that by the time the ball reaches the pins it has little action left in it. In lofting the ball I have also had the ball come down on the lane and instead on bouncing in the intended direction the ball atually hops sideways to the right causing the ball to miss the head pin completely to the right. Now lofting the ball,that is, launching the ball in an upward direction and having it bounce onto the lanes is not the same as providing lift in an outward direction so that it comes down as an airplane sets down but fairly far from the foul line - say 5 or 6 feet.