BALLS

[dberber]

I wonder if it would be worth organizing some kind of list that keeps track of the different types of balls people are using on their mini lanes, and attempt to somehow rate or describe performance to help others figure out what works and what they should buy. You guys have any thoughts?

Here's a list of criteria I came up with:

Make/Model of Ball
Weight & Diameter
Lane Surface

• Distance to head pin?
• Finished Plywood, Laminate Flooring, Synthetic?
• Oiled or dry?

Description of Performance/Hook

[Scaleman]

Was just looking at buying some extra half scale balls from EPCO and I ran across their Bocce balls page.

They have replacement 4.3" GLO Bocce Balls for $15!
They are 2lbs-4ozs and they are smooth "no stripes"
These would be perfect for Blacklight Bowling!!!

http://paramountindustriesinc.com/prod_6bocce_6bal.asp

[theultimateandy]

Was just looking at buying some extra half scale balls from EPCO and I ran across their Bocce balls page.

They have replacement 4.3" GLO Bocce Balls for $15!
They are 2lbs-4ozs and they are smooth "no stripes"
These would be perfect for Blacklight Bowling!!!

http://paramountindustriesinc.com/prod_6bocce_6bal.asp

Wow, those are cool, and about the same price as Linds Balls. I think I will order 1 or 2 to try out. Right now I am using the newer Linds balls which are weighing in at 1lb, 15oz.

[theultimateandy]

I just called the company. Their website prices have not been updated, and they had a slight increase, from $14.87 for the glow balls to $24.24 per ball. The World Cup Bocce Balls are the same price $24.24. They also said the balls weigh 2lb, 6oz.

[Scaleman]

Wow yeah some "slight" increase, if you look under the candlepin balls at the very bottom of the "Paramount" line, they have a 4.25" version in a few colors, it says they're $41 i wonder what the slight increase is on those

http://paramountindustriesinc.com/prod_1bowl_1blc.asp

Oh yeah and if you can still find the Brunswick Mini Viz-A-Balls (most of them are discontinued) those are 4.275" and I'm not sure of the weight, they used to have a lot of cool designs like sports teams and stuff, Curt on here bought some of them back in the day and he said they bowled awesome.

[Stevejt66]

Hi gang,
I don't think the 1/8 of an inch or so difference between balls makes much difference.. Some brands of bowling balls back not too long ago were made bigger, I had a bowler last fall during rock'n' bowl, his ball kept getting stuck in the ball return, and once the other pinchaser saw the brand of it, he said those were made a little bit larger. I also saw a video shot in the 30's or 40's, where a child was bowling with a really smaller ball! These were the days before the machines were invented. I thought it was interesting..LOL

[brokenpin]

I got a Brunswick Mini Viz-A-Ball and on the box it said in bold letters not to be used to bowl with, something like that. So not sure how they hold up to hitting mini pins.

[Scaleman]

I just talked to Curt from the forum here and he said they bowled really well, he said they gripped the lane better too and hooked really nice, the warning on the box is probably so you don't take them to a Duckpin or Candlepin center and jam up their ball returns since they are a little smaller.

[theultimateandy]

^ I am almost willing to bet the warning was for full scale bowling. I am sure a lot of people think the pinspotter will return any ball designed for bowling, regardless of size.

[moosehead]

Guys if you are ever wanting candle pin balls I can keep an eye open on local classified ads for used sets, a lot of times you could pick up a set of 4 balls for like $20 around here, i just dont know what the cost of shipping them to you would be.
I ordered some balls from Epco before, but I find they show more on the site then they have. Its more or less a limited stock of what is on hand at the time.

[Scaleman]

I just called the company. Their website prices have not been updated, and they had a slight increase, from $14.87 for the glow balls to $24.24 per ball. The World Cup Bocce Balls are the same price $24.24. They also said the balls weigh 2lb, 6oz.

Hey Andy, I just called them today for a price on the Glo Bocce balls and the lady quoted me $28 per ball !!! What the hell is up with these people, must be another slight increase!

[theultimateandy]

I don't remember what they had quoted me for a set, but I found this website where the prices are accurate, and you can order online. http://www.boccelife.com/cart.php?suggest=0

By ordering the set, the price including shipping works out to be $17.62 per ball. I was thinking about ordering a set and selling half the set at my cost + shipping if anyone is interested.

[Scaleman]

Andy, I might be interested in doing a quarter of the set (2 balls) I'm sure someone else would take the other 2, if you didn't mind splitting it up that way.

I was also talking to EPCO about how much it would be to make one of the bocce size balls (110mm) in that "Blue" color from their "Neon" line of bowling balls. I think that blue would look pretty cool under the blacklights. Also talked to them about some other extra balls they would sell at a discount that they have leftover from a custom run.

Then there's also the Mini Viz-A-Balls that are getting harder to find and the Linds balls for $18 that are an option too, but I would rather have something a little heavier.

I don't know which ones I want to get yet, but I know if I start spending like $100 on mini bowling balls the wife's gonna kill me, Plus I need a new "real" bowling ball!

[dberber]

Can they engrave them with the AMBC logo?

[theultimateandy]

I was actually looking at several other bocce ball manufactures. There are a lot less expensive ball out there that are just as good, but the only problem is that most of them have those marker lines engraved in them, it's not a smooth surface. Some of the balls may just have them drawn on, but it's hard to tell. Epco's glow balls have no markings on them. I would love a set of the marble balls, but those are really expensive.

Dberber, can you create a mono blue tone of the AMBC eagle logo? I would like to see how it looks on the pin. If you could make a high resolution image as well, I would like to put the image on my lane somewhere. A full color gobo projected onto the lane would be awesome, but its about $200 for a full color glass gobo.