Lane conditioning tips

[TTREX]

WHAT IF I HAVE TOO MUCH CARRY-DOWN
Decrease the distance of the applied oil in the center of the lane leaving the pattern distance the same. This adjustment increases the buff distance
and reduces the oil thickness at the end of the pattern.

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH HOLD
Hold is created by the length and amount of oil in the “mid-lane” (20-32 ft.). This is done by applying oil in the mid-lane on the reverse pass of most lane machines. Lengthening the reverse application distance creates hold oil which allows the ball to more consistently guide to the breakpoint. With Brunswick’s Direct+ Conditioning
this can be easily accomplished by adding oil to the required boards in zones that affect the mid lane during the Forward run.

WHAT IF MY BACK ENDS ARE TOO STRONG
Lengthen the pattern to “tone” down the ball reaction. Make sure that the conditioner application distance does not change, only the total pattern
distance.

WHAT IF THE HEADS HOOK
Two things cause the heads to hook. 1. Not enough oil applied to the head area. 2. The physical condition of the heads. To increase the volume of oil In the heads, slow the machine down on the reverse pass. With Brunswick’s Direct+ oil system, during the forward run you can increase the units of oil by board in the head zone(s) to resolve this problem.

WHAT IF I HAVE NO SWING AREA
A lack of swing area can be caused by two things: 1. too much oil applied to the outside boards or 2. “crowned” lane topography. Reduce The amount of oil on the outside boards if there is too much. If topography is the problem, contact your professional lane resurfacer.

WHAT IF THE MID-LANE BALL TRACK HOOKS TOO MUCH
The mid-lane ball track can hook if there is not enough oil or if there is too much oil. This can be determined by looking at the pattern settings along with Computer Lane Monitor graphs.

[RobLV1]

Since we don't have any control over how the lanes are oiled, how about just learning to adjust? Novel idea!

[bowl1820]

WHAT IF I HAVE TOO MUCH CARRY-DOWN
Decrease the distance of the applied oil in the center of the lane leaving the pattern distance the same. This adjustment increases the buff distance
and reduces the oil thickness at the end of the pattern.

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH HOLD
Hold is created by the length and amount of oil in the “mid-lane” (20-32 ft.). This is done by applying oil in the mid-lane on the reverse pass of most lane machines. Lengthening the reverse application distance creates hold oil which allows the ball to more consistently guide to the breakpoint. With Brunswick’s Direct+ Conditioning
this can be easily accomplished by adding oil to the required boards in zones that affect the mid lane during the Forward run.

WHAT IF MY BACK ENDS ARE TOO STRONG
Lengthen the pattern to “tone” down the ball reaction. Make sure that the conditioner application distance does not change, only the total pattern
distance.

WHAT IF THE HEADS HOOK
Two things cause the heads to hook. 1. Not enough oil applied to the head area. 2. The physical condition of the heads. To increase the volume of oil In the heads, slow the machine down on the reverse pass. With Brunswick’s Direct+ oil system, during the forward run you can increase the units of oil by board in the head zone(s) to resolve this problem.

WHAT IF I HAVE NO SWING AREA
A lack of swing area can be caused by two things: 1. too much oil applied to the outside boards or 2. “crowned” lane topography. Reduce The amount of oil on the outside boards if there is too much. If topography is the problem, contact your professional lane resurfacer.

WHAT IF THE MID-LANE BALL TRACK HOOKS TOO MUCH
The mid-lane ball track can hook if there is not enough oil or if there is too much oil. This can be determined by looking at the pattern settings along with Computer Lane Monitor graphs.

That appears to be copied pasted from Brunswicks "Know your 3 C's" the "ADJUSTING THE PATTERN FAQs–WHAT SHOULD I DO IF..." section. (Though it maybe included in other manuals)

http://brunswickbowling.com/uploads/document-library/Order-Forms/Know_Your_3Cs_Brochure_0216-12.pdf

If your just copy pasting info cite the soure where you got it from.

[TTREX]

Since we don't have any control over how the lanes are oiled, how about just learning to adjust? Novel idea!

You think like a cave man. what you said is like telling Nascar that they should race in the rain and still drive 200 mph on a completely wet track where no traction can be found and then saying....HOW ABOUT YOU LEARN TO ADUST?? NOVEL IDEA!

Humans are in control of the lane machine, so yes there is a proper way to maintain the lanes, and oil the lanes. It is part of the science of bowling which you evidently do not understand or care to learn about.

[bowl1820]

You think like a cave man. what you said is like telling Nascar that they should race in the rain and still drive 200 mph on a completely wet track where no traction can be found and then saying....HOW ABOUT YOU LEARN TO ADUST?? NOVEL IDEA!

Please everyone try not to get personal in responses to other users posts.

Note your nascar reference doesnt really work in this context, the drivers (bowlers) not having control of the rain (lane machine) only really have the option to adjust to the conditions or stop racing (bowling).


Humans are in control of the lane machine, so yes there is a proper way to maintain the lanes, and oil the lanes. It is part of the science of bowling which you evidently do not understand or care to learn about.

While The information you provided can be of interest to all, it is mainly only of use to a houses lanemen. Most all of the users here are just bowlers and dont have control of the lane machine or how the patterns are applied.

Now the info could be used in discussions about reactions a bowler might be seeing during bowling, but you would need the question to put it in the proper context.

[TTREX]

Please everyone try not to get personal in responses to other users posts.

Note your nascar reference doesnt really work in this context, the drivers (bowlers) not having control of the rain (lane machine) only really have the option to adjust to the conditions or stop racing (bowling).



While The information you provided can be of interest to all, it is mainly only of use to a houses lanemen. Most all of the users here are just bowlers and dont have control of the lane machine or how the patterns are applied.

Now the info could be used in discussions about reactions a bowler might be seeing during bowling, but you would need the question to put it in the proper context.

This information is something that every serious bowler should learn even if you disagree. If bowlers know the science of bowling, such as understanding proper lane maintenance procedures, then bowlers can stand up to the manager and insist he do his job by making the lane man do his job. If everyone does there job properly then the bowling centers will prosper instead of die due to poor lane conditions.

The industry has been trying to dumb down everyone, and make bowling cheap to the center owners so they can make more profit but it is not working. Why? Because as dumb as some bowlers may be they still know which house has a good shot vs which house does not, they just don't know why?

I posted this in the place i wanted to post it so BOWLERS would read it and learn it and maybe they would get the nerve once they know it to tell the manager at there center so he can learn it, and then maybe the lane man will learn it. Somebody needs to know this!! Someone need to be confronted!

The problem is never solved because no one knows what the problem is. I thought that teaching this info to some that it might help someone somewhere.

Example: Our lane man was having trouble getting the lanes to play decent. I told him the buffer brush was not working properly. He did not know this. They had it fixed and the problem was solved. If you teach people this information then they can determine what the problem is. If it is a problem with the lane machine then they can have it fixed, and the end result is that the bowlers are now happy because the lanes are now playable.

Telling someone to adjust to lanes dressed by a broken lane machine solves nothing!! Agree or not, it is the truth.

Sadly some lane men don't know because the center owner won't pay to have them trained, it cost to much they say. Then the owner cannot understand why he isn't making a profit...smh

Personally I am sick of seeing bowling center owners hire restaurant managers who know nothing about bowling, to run a bowling center!!

[bowl1820]

This information is something that every serious bowler should learn even if you disagree. If bowlers know the science of bowling, such as understanding proper lane maintenance procedures, then bowlers can stand up to the manager and insist he do his job by making the lane man do his job. If everyone does there job properly then the bowling centers will prosper instead of die due to poor lane conditions.


I don't particularly disagree, If a player wants to be a student of the game it wouldn't hurt to know this or any other info about how lane maintenance works.

[six6guy]

Can a patron of a bowling center report the center to Brunswick (or somebody) and have their oiling conditions checked/adjusted? Maybe this is not part of the franchise agreement.

I have one bowling center near me which always has bone dry conditions. Yes they run the machine up and down the lanes, but no they are not addressing the issue. They are aware the conditions are dryer than any other house within a 30 mile distance.

I'm probably going to switch houses and I know I'm not the only bowling talking about it.

Brad

[Timmyb]

You think like a cave man. what you said is like telling Nascar that they should race in the rain and still drive 200 mph on a completely wet track where no traction can be found and then saying....HOW ABOUT YOU LEARN TO ADUST?? NOVEL IDEA!

Humans are in control of the lane machine, so yes there is a proper way to maintain the lanes, and oil the lanes. It is part of the science of bowling which you evidently do not understand or care to learn about.

I'm with Rob on this one. Every house is different, and they ALL put down a different shot. Take two similar pairs and prep them with two different machines on the same pattern setting, and I'll lay a dollar to a dime the shot is different. Factor in temp and humidity, and those factors increase. Think I'll take the "caveman" approach and adjust.

[Timmyb]

.....and now I noticed the guy got banned anyway. I take it he had more than just this transgression?

[fordman1]

I bet he was banned because he lied in his profile. He didn't fill out anything or answer any questions. He must have something to hide. :rolleyes:
I never trust anyone who skips filling out their profile.

[Phonetek]

I have to say that the info from the OP was good information for me regardless of the source since I do deal with the oil patterns. This could have helped a few months ago when I was having issues with our oiler. It's an usual thing to happen but our machine went out of it's mind and was putting several more ML of oil down than it was programmed to do.

We had a rash of out of range calls every day, balls getting stuck in the bottom of the ball lift and under the floor by the ball return. They were saturated with so much oil, the belts and pulleys couldn't grab them. They just kept sitting there slipping. Ball rags were soaked and dripping in two days. On one league I had to sit at a pair of lanes for 2 entire games with the ball return cover off, manually pushing them up on the rack and cleaning all the balls. It was awful.

We ended up having a tech come out with his scientific measuring kit to see what was going on. It ended up needing a lengthy re-calibration. That was the only time I ever had any complaints about the amount of oil on our lanes.



I bet he was banned because he lied in his profile. He didn't fill out anything or answer any questions. He must have something to hide. :rolleyes:
I never trust anyone who skips filling out their profile.

Ruh Roh! Mine is pretty much blank. LOL Then again, after numerous appearances on America's Most Wanted they still haven't found me. =)

[Mike546]

I’m new to bowling and Ive been curious how the machines work. I’ll ask the owners what condition the lanes are in when I practice. Even as a newer bowler I can tell the difference with a newly prepped lane. If he tells me that ther haven’t been touch for two days since the last league play I’ll know why my ball is reacting the way it is. It’s all great information. There are three houses we go to and two are owned by the same family and I always have good games there. The third is a larger, I’ll call it a corporate house. I always have problems, never see any oil pattern on my ball. Maybe it’s always dry, I don’t know.

[Phonetek]

For what it's worth, we never go days without touching the lanes. They are done daily, sometimes twice depending on league schedule and traffic. That said, if we have a day where it was extremely slow which happens on rare occasion we may just line and dust. No point oiling if nobody bowled on them. Every center is unique in their practices, I'm glad to be part of one that is diligent. Since our lanes are actual wood, if you aren't diligent then damage can and will happen with neglect costing much more than the conditioner and oil in the long run.