tenpin, my first L/M ball was the Blue World Class. This ball opened my eyes to L/M. I'd still have it if it weren't for some pretty bad lane damage on it. thanks to my Pro Shop guy who sent it back under warranty, and turned me on to the Terminator as a $50 replacement.

The Pro Shop guy did roll the WCReactive for a while with good success. But, he turns over balls every couple of weeks. He did hold on to this ball for a longer period since he said he couldn't find another ball of any make to beat it.

I'm having some get-aquainted problems with my BigRBang, I will let you in on. I bought this ball for a medium shot. It is a few years old, but did place 5 balls in the top 10 bowlers at Nationals in '06, including the top woman. Reading on it, I should get more length and some sharp arc on the back end.

When I first opened the box, I noticed the coverstock was really tacky to the touch. Had it drilled for length according to the L/M drill sheet. But, I can't get any length on it. The ball really grabs the midlane. Maybe it's my 16 mph speed that allows it. But, it has turned into another heavy oil ball. I had the topweight checked by another driller, and he agreed that the drill pattern was right.

I have never touched the surface, other than regular cleaning after use. And, it is still tacky to the touch. I have read some reviews on this ball, and some say they took it to 4000 abralon, and got more length with a strong, controllable arc. I am hesitant to change it, since it has worked so well on Chameleon patterns and the like. and, if I don't change it, I am limited to only 1 ball in my bag for lighter conditions, unless I bring out an older one.

It's a dilemma. On some conditions, it turns more than my Conqueror.

I look at it this way, if you don't bowl on conditions a lot where you can use your ball, might as well change the surface to suit more conditions. I am actually going to take my Cell to 4000 abralon today. Once I get closer to tourny time, I will take it back to 2000 or 1000.

I am going with the T E R M I N A T O R. Would someone convert "stacked drilling" into MoRich's DUAL ANGLE LAYOUT TECHNIQUE.

1) The Drilling Angle
2) Pin to Positive Axis Point (PAP) distance
3) The Angle between the Pin to PAP line and the VAL (Angle to the VAL)

I am going to ask my Pro Shop person if I can lay out the ball for her to drill, (and for her to check out my lay out before she drills).

Also, what "Pin Placement" and "Top Weight" should I request for my new ball?

~ John

"Stacked" can't be readily converted to Dual angle because "stacked" says nothing about the height of the pin, just that the cg is below it. The one they show on drill sheets is probably around 45* x 3 3/8" x 45*. If you want more snap, make the 2nd angle smaller, and increase the first angle so that they add up to 90.

Mo's corner: For most bowlers, the largest "safe" angle between the Pin to PAP line and the VAL should result in the pin ending up just below the finger holes. Very high Track bowlers are the exception to that rule. For very high Track bowlers, the maximum angle between the Pin to PAP line and the VAL should result in the pin ending up just above the fingers.

&

If the two angles add up to 30°, the ball will transition as quickly as possible. If the two angles add up to 160°, the ball will transition as slow as possible. Keep the sum of the two angles between 30° and 160° to create effective ball reactions while still allowing the ball to maintain hitting power. Yet the drilling angle must still be kept between 10°and 90° and the angle to the VAL between 20° and approximately 70° (depending on the bowler's Track).

Smaller angle sums should always be used for:

1)Speed dominant players
2)Higher axis tilt players
3)Longer oil patterns
4)Higher volumes of oil on the lane

Larger angle sums should always be used for:

1)Rev dominant players
2)Lower axis tilt players
3)Shorter oil patterns
4)Lower volumes of oil on the lane

Medium angle sums should always be used for players whose ball speed and rev rate match.


Thanks cgeorg.

According to the information above (I am a "Speed dominant" "High axis" tilt player) the sum of the two angles for me would be best kept lower than 90* - Right?

~John

Then why are you trying to shoehorn yourself into a stacked layout? Just build the 3 parts of the dual angle layout for what you want the ball to do. Stacked means pin directly above CG, Leverage means 3 3/8" pin. The difference between a stacked drilling and a label type drilling is that the stacked drilling ends up having a smaller drilling angle than a label drilling.

I messed up on my math before - to keep the "stack", you need to keep the 2 angles the same. So, if you want a lower sum, use smaller angles. The more you do that, the farther the CG will be pulled away from the grip center. Most stacked layouts need a weight hole anyways, but if you reduce both angles, you may run into problems making the ball legal. You'll definitely need a longer pin-cg ball - I have no idea about top weight.

Thanks cgeorg.

Very informative. Now I would like to hear from Dennis & CoachJim for conformation that I'm heading in the right direction.

~ John

John,
I can't answer the dual angle question. but you have the right ball.

I believe in drilling strong balls strong, so if you follow what cg has told you and the dual angle system you should go with a
3 3/8" pin to pap distance for max flare place the pin 30 degrees (2 1/4") from the val. The Terminator has no marked mass bias, so to lay the ball out using the das you will need to draw a line from the pin through the cg to a point 6 3/4" from the pin and make a mark there for measuring purposes. Place the mb mark 30 degrees (2 1/4") from the pap and place the extra hole on this mark as well to increase the flare.