Heating bowling balls is half-baked

Ebonite International states the facts on industry issue

HOPKINSVILLE, Kent. — Over the past few months, there has been increased discussion on what makes performance bowling balls die, and, more importantly, what brings them back to life. Ebonite international's research and development team has spent significant time on this issue.

While some in the bowling industry advocate heating or "baking" bowling balls to restore performance, Ebonite International strongly disagrees. Below is a summary of their findings:

• The industry as a whole agrees that reactive and particle bowling balls do absorb oil from the lane into the cover stock over a period of time.
  Companies that advocate the use of heating or "baking" believe that the absorption of this oil causes balls to lose their performance characteristics. The heating process, they claim, rids the balls of excess oil leading to the return of performance. Ebonite International has conducted extensive research and disagrees.
  
  
• Because the core and coverstock are constructed of different materials, they expand and contract at different rates during the baking process. Repeated exposure of bowling balls to these cycles can cause separations and actually diminish long-term performance and the life of the ball.
  
  
• When bowling balls are placed in an oven, they experience a loss of weight. Ebonite International has found that it is not only oil coming out of the balls but also the very chemicals that made the balls react in the first place. Loss of these chemicals will reduce the ability to react as well as contribute to the weakening and cracking of the coverstock.
  
  
• Simply put, oil is not the problem. Ebonite International tests in various conditions bear this out. The company has taken brand new balls, soaked them in oil and found through CATS testing that they hook just as much as their unsoaked counterparts.
  Most ball reaction occurs (and is lost) on the back-end of the lane. The typical bowling center applies oil to the front 28-38 feet of the lane. This is evidenced by examining the track flare rings on a bowling ball. The heaviest deposits of oil will be found on the front flare rings (those closest to the thumb). As the track flares away from the thumb, less oil will be found. The last 4-5 flare rings are dry, evidence that oil is not present in the back-ends. If the ball loses backend reaction and oil is not present on the track flare rings, there can only be one conclusion drawn ... oil is not the reason.
  
  
• Finally, there's a reason most manufacturers do not warranty bowling balls subjected to extreme heat … it's not good for the ball. Exposure to heating cycles causes an excessive amount of plasticizer to be removed from the bowling ball. As plasticizer is removed from the bowling ball, pore sizes shrink allowing less oil to be asbsorbed by the ball, which allows the ball to react less. Additionally, plasticizer loss shrinks the coverstock, which can cause cracking at the stress points....finger holes, thumb holes, weight holes, and pins.

According to Ebonite International, the answer to Dead Ball Syndrome is not the absorption of oil. The company has discovered that when a ball is compressed by repeated use, the plasticizer migrates to the surface and concentrates in the track area of the ball. This build up of plasticizer acts as a lubricant that diminishes friction and performance in the back-end. In effect, the same thing that causes a ball to hook causes it to lose its hook.

Once Ebonite uncovered plasticizer as the culprit in DBS, it was able to find an effective solution. Through extensive research and testing, the company has created a product, the Ebonite® Powerhouse® Hook Again™, that has proven to restore hook to bowling balls that have lost performance in the backend due to over-saturation. Hook Again™ is a scientifically developed formula that extracts plasticizer and oil from the ball using only direct compressive contact.

According to Ebonite's testing, Hook Again™ has proven to restore up to 99.8 of performance loss due to plasticizer saturation. And, this product does not use heat to restore performance, it is not abrasive to the surface and will not harm the ball.

The process of treating a ball is simple. The ball is placed in a specially designed treatment chamber, the Hook Again™ compound is added for 24 hours. The ball is then removed and wiped off. It is then ready for renewed life.