drilling ball with 1

Question
QUESTION: Hello Warren,
 First off THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME !! I have ask you questions in the past which you have answered!  
 I have a 16# Columbia Messenger Titanium (solid red & blue) which is my favorite of all time. The one I currently have has about a 4" pin and its drilled with pin above fingers and CG kicked out w/leverage hole it is getting old.
I was lucky enough to find one brand new on E-bay but it only has a 1 " pin. How do I go about drilling it so it will react like my old one. I know it I am limited with
what I can do with it. I am fairly knowledgeable and drill all of my own balls at home.

  Thank you,Dan



ANSWER: Dan,
You are asking a very basic question. No disrespect, but putting the top of the weightblock in an advantageous position is lesson #1. Slightly different positions will result in slightly different reactions. You can put the pin and Center of Gravity at the same drill angle as your previous ball but with the hole in the same spot you might have imbalances that are illegal. Do you have a DoDo scale?

Your only problem with the pin in, is putting the weightblock (pin) where you had it before will help position the core where you'd like it, but the imbalances may require a different weight hole location, which changes ball dynamics. What's the top weight of the pin in ball?

The better choice might be to invest in a Columbia Freeze which has a Messenger (slightly modified) core and an improved and updated coverstock and you should be able to get any core distance and top weight combo you want. Let me know how it works out. Thanks for the question.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Warren,

Yes I do have a Kaufman dodo scale. I do not know top weight of ball, it did not come in original box. That is something I have been meaning to ask is how to figure to weight of a new ball that you don't know the top weight of. So your saying I could possibly put the pin above fingers as long as I can keep top and side wt. under 1 oz.  maybe I will lay it out and see how it weights up before I drill. I am aware of the Columbia Freeze when it came out I noticed that it had basically the same core but I got the messenger cheap so I figured I would give it a shot

Thanks,Dan  

Answer
Dan,
You're scaring me a little. You have a scale but don't know how to use it? You should have gotten instructions on how to use the scale. Check with USBC rules and I believe they have a section on imbalances (they basically walk you through weighing a ball).

You should be able to find the top weight with your scale. You may want to get some training, learning some of the techniques and skills are difficult. If you are self taught you won't know if an assumption you make is correct, and you may do something wrong with every ball you drill.

I'd hate for you to have spent a bunch of money on equipment that you don't learn how to use properly. One illegal ball and a disqualification from a league or tournament is embarrassing, but what if it cost you a bunch of money?

You might be able to put the pin where it was on your favorite ball, but if you have very little top weight or a bunch, the reaction won't be the same (and the ball might be illegal).

Cheap is good, but useless would be a complete waste of time and money. It sounds like you're winging something that is complicated and technically demanding.

Lastly, being fairly knowledgeable and being precise to fractions of an inch or fractions of an ounce, isn't the same. After 15 years in business, I spent almost $1,000 for IBPSIA technical training and it was worth it. Sometimes you just don't know what you don't know. I learned some short cuts and techniques that made my job easier, verified with the only bowling pro shop trade association that what I do is correct and proper, improved my skills and helped me save money. If you know what you are doing, drilling balls doesn't look complicated, but it is. I'll step down off my soap box, now.

Good luck with the Messenger and good bowling.