A Long Tradition
The average person, even one who enjoys bowling, knows little about the manufacturing process for creating bowling balls. Surprisingly little specific information is divulged about current manufacturing, perhaps for proprietary reasons since successful companies hardly wish to give up their trade secrets. The bowling ball has come a long way since its original incarnation, and the pastime of bowling goes back very far indeed. The ancient Egyptians played a version of the game using balls made of stone. Lawn bowling, which used small and slightly asymmetrical balls (lacking finger holes) to allow curved trajectories, became popular among soldiers in medieval England. The modern American game of tenpins arose in reaction to the banning of ninepins as a form of gambling. During the 19th century, bowling balls of modern dimensions with finger holes were typically made of hardwoods such as oak or lignum vitae. Rubber balls, which first appeared in the early 20th century, underwent many technological improvements over the next several decades. During the 1960s, the first plastic balls were introduced to the market, part of a succession of materials that were impervious to the cracking and warping that could be expected with wood.
Materials Currently Used
Bowling balls must conform to specifications created by the American Bowling Congress (ABC). The basic parts of a modern bowling ball are the core, containing weights and solid but nonmetallic filler, and the coverstock, which is a low-friction hard exterior. Over the last 30 years, bowling ball coverstocks have been made from polyester, polyurethane, "reactive resins" and additive particles such as glass, ceramic or rubber. Each of these materials has different rolling and friction characteristics under a variety of lane-surface conditions.
Current Manufacturing Processes
Manufacturers now use computer-aided and other high-tech design processes. Design innovations include unevenly weighted "combination cores" that help the ball achieve fancy action in the lane while remaining within ABC standards. The typical manufacturing process begins with a tiny hole being drilled in the core to accommodate a support pin. After the core is suspended inside a coverstock mold, the resin or other coverstock material is poured into the mold. After setting, the tiny hole is filled with resin. The ball is ground down using a lathe and then sanded, buffed and polished according to the quality level and price of the ball. Finger holes will later be custom-drilled for the buyer over the heavy spot on the unevenly weighted ball.
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