my equipment got destroyed tonight

[foreverincamo]

I feel sick. Went to my normal Monday night practice session to get some more games in on my Black Widow Legend. I threw 225 with my Marauder Mutiny to warm up then switched to my Legend and went 202 and 250. Then in game four was switching between the Marauder and Legend to see how the shot shape was different, and neither ball came back. I struck, grabbed the next ball and struck before the first ball should have returned.
I don't know how to post pictures, but both balls were destroyed. The Marauder has a groove in it 1 1/2 wide, 12 inches long, and deep. The Legend has a groove 3/4" wide by 1/2" deep and goes completely around the ball.
Expecting a call tomorrow to see how they want to replace both balls. Not accepting anything else but total replacement. My Marauder was the ball I threw my 300 with. It'll get a spot on a shelf soon next to my bowling pin I got after throwing the 300 .

[fortheloveofbowling]

I feel sick. Went to my normal Monday night practice session to get some more games in on my Black Widow Legend. I threw 225 with my Marauder Mutiny to warm up then switched to my Legend and went 202 and 250. Then in game four was switching between the Marauder and Legend to see how the shot shape was different, and neither ball came back. I struck, grabbed the next ball and struck before the first ball should have returned.
I don't know how to post pictures, but both balls were destroyed. The Marauder has a groove in it 1 1/2 wide, 12 inches long, and deep. The Legend has a groove 3/4" wide by 1/2" deep and goes completely around the ball.
Expecting a call tomorrow to see how they want to replace both balls. Not accepting anything else but total replacement. My Marauder was the ball I threw my 300 with. It'll get a spot on a shelf soon next to my bowling pin I got after throwing the 300 .

That stinks man. Hopefully they will take care of you.

[Jaescrub]

That's always bad to hear. Two weeks back to back to different C300 balls of mine came back with deep chunks in them. First my Wrath Xp then I replaced it with my Crazy antics and that one came back first throw same thing. Good luck getting them replaced

[bowl1820]

Ouch!! Same thing happened to my clear wolf.

[Sourtower]

Hopefully you get a replacement. I've *knock on wood* never had anything that bad happen to me before, but I'm dreading the day it happens. I bowl in a league every other Saturday night and I absolutely refuse to throw my Black Widow Legend in that league because I've gotten multiple dings and scratches on my Deadly Aim, and the one time I did use the Legend, it left 2 small scratches that stand out because of the coverstock on the Legend. Usually the Pro Shop owner is on the bowler's side because all the bowling alley usually does is take the price of the repair/replacement off of the rent due by the pro shop. At least that's what happens in the 3 bowling alleys I go to. The problem is convincing the bowling alley to pay for the repairs/replacement.

[foreverincamo]

I had less than 10 games on my Legend, including practice that .night. I know most everyone there including the owners so it shouldn't be a huge ordeal . Just the size and scope of the damage is astounding. The Marauder was hot to the touch and you could smell it. What sucks is all I have for league is my spare ball, and they just increased the length of the oil, rendering that ball useless .

[epiepenburg]

Ball damage usually occurs when people aren't watching the ball return to make sure the ball came back. Seen it many times.

[Perrin]

That sucks. The good news is like you said you'll get the stuff replaced. THe bad news is there is about a snowball's chance to find a new marauder mutiny.

going to be tough to replace since they don't really make anything like it anymore. going by DV8's website it looks like you could go with Dude or a misfit red/orange if you want a similar shape.

[white_rabbitt]

I feel for ya man! Hope you get some new equipment asap!

So is there a way for the bowler to prevent damage from the ball return? Just wanting to make sure I don't make anything worse when I notice a ball not coming back in normal time.

[vdubtx]

Not much you can do about a mechanical malfunction and it tearing up a bowling ball. You certainly will never know when it will happen. Just because a ball has not come back does not mean it is being chewed up or damaged by the machines either. Bucnch of different things that can happen for balls to not make it all the way back to ball return.

I would say unfortunately in foreverincamo's case, his is the exception and not the norm of balls not returning.

[Amyers]

That really stinks I hope they take care of you on it. I have never lost two balls in a night that must really bite

[Mike White]

I had less than 10 games on my Legend, including practice that .night. I know most everyone there including the owners so it shouldn't be a huge ordeal . Just the size and scope of the damage is astounding. The Marauder was hot to the touch and you could smell it. What sucks is all I have for league is my spare ball, and they just increased the length of the oil, rendering that ball useless .

Get a large roll of double stick tape, and lots of wet/dry sandpaper, and tape the sandpaper to the outside of your spare ball.

If you do a REALLY GOOD job, nobody would notice.

Or, get a new ball from the pro-shop and send the bill to the center.

[foreverincamo]

UPDATE!! The center called me and said they would replace both balls -- no problem! They gave me a $313 budget, and replaced my Legend at the same price I paid-- $165. They can't get me a new Marauder, but I already have a replacement that's getting drilled tomorrow. ( tried to get it drilled tonight but pro shop had a drill machine malfunction.)
So I have $158 to go towards ANY ball I want. I spent the evening going thru ball specs. Going to get something with a " solid " coverstock. Going to the center tomorrow to see what they will agree to get me, and get both balls ordered. They will be in by Thursday. Just a matter of getting them drilled.

[fortheloveofbowling]

UPDATE!! The center called me and said they would replace both balls -- no problem! They gave me a $313 budget, and replaced my Legend at the same price I paid-- $165. They can't get me a new Marauder, but I already have a replacement that's getting drilled tomorrow. ( tried to get it drilled tonight but pro shop had a drill machine malfunction.)
So I have $158 to go towards ANY ball I want. I spent the evening going thru ball specs. Going to get something with a " solid " coverstock. Going to the center tomorrow to see what they will agree to get me, and get both balls ordered. They will be in by Thursday. Just a matter of getting them drilled.

Good news! Some centers won't replace damaged equipment so that is great that they did.

[Amyers]

Glad to hear that it worked out for you. Have fun with the new balls

[white_rabbitt]

That's awesome! Definitely the type of customer service we need to see more of!
And have fun shopping for your new equipment!

[Sourtower]

UPDATE!! The center called me and said they would replace both balls -- no problem! They gave me a $313 budget, and replaced my Legend at the same price I paid-- $165. They can't get me a new Marauder, but I already have a replacement that's getting drilled tomorrow. ( tried to get it drilled tonight but pro shop had a drill machine malfunction.)
So I have $158 to go towards ANY ball I want. I spent the evening going thru ball specs. Going to get something with a " solid " coverstock. Going to the center tomorrow to see what they will agree to get me, and get both balls ordered. They will be in by Thursday. Just a matter of getting them drilled.

That's awesome news! 3 bowling balls for the price of 2 damaged ones. Not bad at all. Do you have any idea about what ball you're interested in getting?

[foreverincamo]

Well, I got my new balls ordered. I replaced the Black Widow Legend, and went with a Brunswick Melee Cross. I nearly bought the Cross once before, and it was every dollar of what I had left. Almost went withthe Storm Hyroad Solid . The numbers between the two are nearly identical, and since I have several Brunswick/DV8 balls already, I stayed with Brunswick. I'll let everyone know how they roll once I get them drilled up next week or so.

[15lbballs]

At least there is a happy ending to your story. I read this while looking for advice. I know how it is to loose a ball. Someone liked my spare ball and decided to take it home... My replacement ball is the wrong weight which is my fault but thats all that the shop had i didnt think 1 lb would make a difference and the bridge is wrong even though i had the same guy drill it.. Im not the kind of person to say anything to him about it. Maybe i should be or maybe i just take my equipment elsewhere.

[J Anderson]

At least there is a happy ending to your story. I read this while looking for advice. I know how it is to loose a ball. Someone liked my spare ball and decided to take it home... My replacement ball is the wrong weight which is my fault but thats all that the shop had i didnt think 1 lb would make a difference and the bridge is wrong even though i had the same guy drill it.. Im not the kind of person to say anything to him about it. Maybe i should be or maybe i just take my equipment elsewhere.

I would say something and give him the chance to correct it. We all make mistakes. We can only learn from the ones that we know and acknowledge.

[Aslan]

I've had numerous bowling balls not return...virtually never leads to any damage.

ONE time...my Rhythm got stuck in a ball return at the point where the wheel is supposed to lift it up onto the ball return...and it put a couple small gashes in it...but they weren't that bad and weren't in the track so I just let it go.

The only other two times I've damaged a ball were me throwing it and it bouncing out of the gutter into the pinsetter (major damage) and the time my homemade ball dehydrator had a failure that resulted in the ball coming into contact with the heating elements and that put a small gash in it...but again, not in the track or anything so no bigee.

[foreverincamo]

Just a side note here. The pro shop orders all their balls from a warehouse that's 10 miles away. I ordered the Legend and the Melee cross both at 16 pounds, and they had to order the Legend out of Indiana.because the first warehouse didn't have any at that weight. Tons of 15 pound balls, but no 16's. Thought it strange since about everyone I bowl with uses 15 pound balls.

[Perrin]

15 has pretty much become the standard wieght anymore.

I switched a few years ago because of a bad shoulder and it also had the effect of giving me more ball-speed.

[rv driver]

Glad other the center is taking responsibility -- which they should, since you have no choice but to use their ball return equipment. Sucks that you can't get the Marauder replaced, but sounds like the center is treating you right.

[Jaescrub]

15 has pretty much become the standard wieght anymore.

I switched a few years ago because of a bad shoulder and it also had the effect of giving me more ball-speed.
And that sucks my pro shop has just about every size ball but 16lb. Other then a teammate of mine and me he said he would have no one else to buy 16s ha ha ha.

[foreverincamo]

I got another Marauder Mutiny off of EBay yesterday for a bargain. Should be here this week. I'll keep it in the closet until Marauder #2 bites the dust. My replacement balls should be in on Thursday.