Power lifts come with 1/4" forward pitch built into them. Ovals have 0, not sure what the others are. Pitches may vary by manufacturer.

I have power lifts and I go 1/8th reverse with the fingers so I end up with 1/8th forward.

Lefty's post didn't come up I am just posting this to see if it makes it show up.

Actually, I want to know what is the most common pitch for the fingers? Or do the finger pitches always start out with 0? The Hoppe Chart says that 3/8" is commonly used with finger inserts, so I guess one would have to adjust the pitch 1/4" with the power lifts?

Around 0 is common, but there are several factors to finger pitch. Flexibility of the fingers is one, the span can also effect it or if a bowler has hand/finger issues.

What I have noticed by watching many bowlers over the years is that forward finger pitch makes you get out of the fingers later. If you are having problems hitting the ball on the up swing, then reversing the pitch to the point where the ball is coming off your hand when it is parallel to the lane would benefit you. How much that is is different from person to person, so you will have some trial and error.

It is best to video tape yourself from the side up at the foul line so you can see the ball come off your hand and land on the lane, and see if the ball goes up after it leaves your hand, or goes straight down to the lane. If the ball goes up slightly before it goes down, try backing off the forward pitch 1/8" at a time until it stops going up after it leaves your fingers.

hmm, i also feel as though i get almost no lift from my fingers. it's probably partly due to the incorrect drilling i have now but i'll ask the driller when i see him tomorrow about finger pitch.

No lift is usually a thumb issue, usually caused by you squeezing the thumb to the point where the fingers and thumb come out at the same time.

well guys had the ball redrilled. went to a different guy that a friend recommended who is also certified in drilling.

he measured me a tad to long on span and at 1/8" reverse thumb pitch. long story short is that he put a new slug in at 1/4" forward and WOW! WHAT A DIFFERENCE! he said the new forward pitch would make up for the to long of a span since my span was only off a little bit.

i tried throwing the ball and literally couldn't get it off my hand for about 20 minutes! after i figured out that in order to get it off my hand i had to squeeze with the base of my thumb i got out of the ball cleanly every time.

it's a totally different way than i'm used to and i made a huge jump in pitch in one night so i'm still not confident on the drilling but i'll practice with it for a couple weeks to see how it goes.

question though: i do have a pain at the base of my thumb when i throw it(right at the bone at the base) and once my thumb actually fell asleep. seems to me that i have bevel problem on the hole. sound right or is that normal? may be i just need practice to get used to it.

thanks for the help guys! i'll keep posting on the never ending battle that is my thumb!

another thing i noticed is that the span is still too short. hmm, i'll have to make another trip up there and see if he can shorten it up.