About Russ King Expertise 21 years in drilling balls,9 years running Pro Shop,cure grip problems,Fix approach problems,coach handicaped bowlers, certified coach instructor, coach Crankers,Tweeners,Strokers,Ex Ball Tester,A Mechanic on Bruswick machines,B Mechanic on AMF,Resurfaced lanes (Wood),change oil patterns for different ball reactions to train & test on.Hints on ways to clear/relax your mind on the lanes.
Experience American Bowling Congress 32 yrs.,PBA 20 yrs., I learned from 3 Ball Drillers & then, develped my own styles of drilling.I EXPERIMENT ALL THE TIME (THE BEST WAY TO LEARN!).
Question 17 Chicago IL U.S.
I am doing a research paper and I was wondering if you were to put the same shot out on each lane what the difference in the breakdown/carrydown of the lanes would be and what other factors that would be found that would make them so different and the overall differences in the two alnes.
Answer Wood lanes have different densities on different parts of the lane. Oak for the first 20 feet then Pine up to the pin deck.Oak is a harder wood that can take abuse. The first 20 feet of oak is for the hard impact of ball meeting lane. The soft pine is cheaper wood & also helps the reaction of ball to lane. The oak pin deck is for a whole lot of pounding from balls & pins.
The boards are set on 2x12 boards to create the underlanes. The 2x12 run along the lanes.The boards that are at the surface are around 3 -4 inches tall with a notch cut out on both sides to fit into each other to create a firmer surface. Then they are nailed at an angle near the center notches for more stability.This also let the house to flip the lanes over after 20-35 years to get a new surface for more pounding.
On old houses with wood, they sand down around 1/2" to allow area for the synthetic surfaces to be laid in ontop of the wood.The sanding was chosen for 2 factors. 1.Lifting the pin machines would be very hard & costly if the synthetic lanes were just laid on top of the old wood.2. Had to do with the clearance from machine to ceilings.You would also have to adjust the underlanes for speed & height & THE PIN DECKS WITH FLAT GUTTER ADJUSTMENTS.COSTLY!!!
The new houses that are set in old super markets just like the old wood lanes have to have the 2x12 boards to allow room for the underlanes.The cheapest way was to have exposed ball returns. It took a little getting used to watching ball rolling your way up to the ball zig-zag slowing the balls down so they can single file up to the heel that they hit so you can pick them up.The rest area for the balls were single file that fit inbetween the pair of lanes right up on the approach. YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THESE IN OLD MOVIES.THESE WERE THE CHEAPEST WAYS TO INSTALL LANES BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO LIFT THE LANES WITH 2X12 BOARDS TO ALLOW UNDERLANES & YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO CUT TRENCHES FOR THE UNDERLANE TRACKS.CUTTING UNDERLANE TRACKS IN CEMENT SLABS WERE THE MOST EXPENSIVE OF ALL.
THE SYNTHETICS ALONE ON NEW HOUSES HAVE THE 2X12 WOOD SUPPORTS UNLESS SPECIFICALLY BUILT FOR BOWLING WHERE UNDERLANE TRENCHES ARE BUILT INTO THE SLABS.DEPENDING ON WHO MAKES THEM,THEY COME IN SECTIONS.I HAVE SEEN APPROACHES,20 FRONT SECTION OF LANE,MID SECTION & PIN DECK WITH FIT IN PIECES BETWEEN PAIRS & ENDS.OLDER MODELS (MADE FOR OVER WOOD APPLICATIONS)HAVE SMALLER PIECES. THEY EVEN HAD JUST SYNTHETIC HEADS(FIRST 20" OF LANE) FIT INTO WOOD APPROACHES UP TO THE PINE SECTIONS.THIS WAS THE CHEAPEST APPLICATIONS.EVERYBODY UNDERLAYS DIFFERENTLY FOR THEIR COPYRIGHTED SYNTHETIC LANES.VERY FEW BUILDINGS ARE BUILT FOR BOWLING. MOST ARE OLD SUPER MARKETS. WHEN ALBERTSONS SUPER MARKETS MOVED OUT, THE BUILDINGS TURNED INTO HOME DEPOTS & BOWLING LANES.THE ONLY PROBLEMS WERE THE LOLLY COLLUMS(POLES)NOT FITTING EXACTLY IN PORTION TO PAIRS OF LANES.
>>>>>>>>> NOW FOR BOWLING REACTIONS<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
WOOD LANES HAD EPOXY SURFACES LAID ONTOP OF THE WOOD.THEY WERE SANDED OFF TO RESURFACE THEM FOR A GOOD AS NEW LOOK.THIS WAS DONE LIGHTLY 1/16" UP TO 1/4" DEPENDING ON THE DAMAGE TO THE LANES.THIS IS TO REMOVE ALL SPLINTERS & INDENTATIONS TO MAKE SMOOTH.THE SURFACE THAT THE EPOXY MADE WAS SUPPOSEDLY UNEVEN & ROUNDED LANDS & GROVES.THINK OF IT LIKE YOUR GOLF EQUIPMENT. THE OLD ROUNDED GROOVES GRABBED THE BALL LESS THAN THE NEW V GROOVED SLITS WITH SHARP EDGES.THE SHARP V GROOVED SLITS GRABBED THE GOLF BALL MORE.THE POROUS EPOXY SURFACES HAD ROUNDED PITS WITH ROUNDED TOPS COMPARED TO V PITS WITH SHARP TOPS ON SYNTHETICS.THE SYNTHETIC POURS WERE ALSO EVENLY FOUND.WERE TALKING UNDER A MICROSCOPE, YOU FIND PATTERNS LIKE UUU & VVVV & UWUV ON THE SURFACES.THE SYNTHETICS ARE MADE FOR UNIFORMITY(VVVVVVVV)AN EVEN UNIFORMITY ON THE CUPS TO HOLD THE LANE OILS ARE THOUGHT TO HOLD THE OIL WITH LITTLE CARRY DOWN.SO THEY MADE WAY SOFTER BALL SURFACES TO TAP INTO THE DEEPEST CUPPS MESSING THINGS UP ALL OVER AGAIN.
THEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE TOP EDGES OF THE SURFACES. ON EPOXY WOOD, YOU COULD FIND UNEVEN LIKE MMNIUWH(WERE LOOKING AT THE VERY TOP)AS FLUID(OIL) SETTLED INTO THE UNEVEN POURS,YOU GET UNEVEN OILS LIKE MICRO PUDDLES & SHALLOW GROOVES THAT DO NOT HOLD OIL FOR LONG.THIS WOULD ACCELERATE CARRY DOWN & AN UNEVEN ROAD TO THE POCKET. THE SYNTHETIC SURFACES ARE MICROSCOPICALLY DIFFERENT DUE TO DIFFERENT COMPANIES COPYRIGHTS ARE BASICALLY UNIFORMED(VVVVVVV,WWWWWWWW). THE TOP OF THE CUPS ARE SHARP & UNIFORMS FOR EVEN OIL & EVEN TRACTION FOR THE BALLS.
TODAY,THERE ARE OVER 60 DIFFERENT YOU COULD SAY VISCOSITY LIKE 10W 40,5W 30 WHERE THERE WAS ONLY 2 FOR WOOD 501 & 511 WINTER & SUMMER.THE OILS ARE SO LIGHT NOW SO THEY CAN RUN SMOOTH THROUGH THE FINE SPRAYERS IN THE OIL MACHINES THEY LOOSE THE IDEA ON STABILIZING THE CARRY DOWN.IT IS HARDER TO REMOVE A OIL FROM A GROOVE THAN THINNER WATER.
TODAY, YOU GET A BUNCH OF HOOK ON DRY & A WHOLE LOT OF SKID ON OIL.BECAUSE OF THE LANDS & GROOVES IN THE SYNTHETIC LANES & THE BALLS LANDS & GROOVES.LIKE RUBBING 2 PIECES OF SAND PAPER TOGETHER OR 2 DRY PIECES OF RUBBER & ADD A LITTLE OIL YOU GET MAX SLIP.
WOOD, YOU GET AN ARC EVEN FLOW TYPE OF A SHOT DUE TO SMOOTHER LANDS & GROOVES.NOW YOU GET SLIP OR GRAB.
THE WOOD CONDITIONS ALLOWED SEVERAL ADJUSTMENTS LIKE STATIC WEIGHTS & SURFACES IN A BALL FOR A MORE IDEAL LINE TO THE POCKET FOR THE BOWLER. NOW IT IS PIN PLACEMENTS & TYPE OF ROLL.SINCE THE LANDS & GROOVES ARE NOW A LOT SHARPER, THE BALLS TRACK IN (WEAR OUT)A LOT FASTER. ONCE THE BALL HITS DRY, THERE IS NO 3RD COMPOUND FOR SLIPPAGE SO THE HEAVY HOT FRICTION BETWEEN BALL & SYNTHETIC LANE IS HARSH.
COMPARED TO WOOD & SYNTHETICS NOW ?
WOOD WAS MORE OF A SMOOTHER REACTION & THE NEW SYNTHETICS HAS A WAY SHARPER HOOK POINT OR A WHOLE LOT OF SKID CREATING A SKID/SNAP TYPE OF ROLL. THE LATEST SOFT SHELLED BALLS CREATE CARRY DOWN WITH THE OIL AGAIN! BUT REACTIVE RESINS SOAK UP MORE OIL THAN OLDER URETHANES,PLASTICS & RUBBER WITH THE LIGHT OIL JUST RE-CREATES CARRY DOWN.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> FINAL WORDS <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
WAY TOO MUCH TECH FOR THIS SPORT !!!!
THERE IS A LOT MORE. I COULD WRITE A BOOK ON THIS.SO IF I MISSED ANYTHING OR YOU NEED MORE, JUST ASK .
