Deadball? S.O.S

[Hammertime]

I bought a hammer sting ball one year ago. The ball was AWSOME at first. I could stand on the last dot on the left, hit the 3rd arrow swinging the balll to the 8th or 5th board about 45 feet down the lane and the ball would come back strong, hit the pocket and explode the pins. Now I can not get the ball to come back and when the ball does hit the pocket the pins do not explode anymore. I have had regular maintance done to the ball. I have the ball de-oiled, resurface back to the factory finish twice), new finger inserts all done by the local pro shop and I still can not get this ball to react as it did in t(he past. I have talk with the employee at my local bowling center and the shot has not change. I have also watched and talked with other bowlers and their balls are still reacting. I have made the necessary adjustment with my shot and feet to keep my avg at 190. However the ball is not reacting as it did when I first got it. My Columbia White Dot which is a 30 year old bowling ball breaks as much as this one does now. .

Could it be that the cover stock on the ball has changed causing the ball not to react?
Is their anything I can do to bring the reactiveness back to this ball?
Should I have the ball surface rough or scuffed up with heavy grit pads than the factory recommends?
Is it time to buy a new ball? After 1 year.

Any advice would be more than welcome.

[WAC4504]

Hey Hammertime, it's not the age of the ball, it's wear on the ball. Bowling balls are like tires, it's the milage that counts. It sound as though it's time to move that ball down, to maybe light oil conditions, and get a new medium heavy ball. Good luck.

P.S. Welcome to the boards, glad you're with us.

[Raydee]

I was just telling my driller that my Hammer Toxic has nowhere near the reaction that it did when I first bought it. At first I found it hard to beleive that balls wear out but I have witnessed it first hand. I guess this is how the bowling balls comapanies that in business.

[Beech]

i also have that ball and have had it for a year and it hasnt lost its motion / groove. ive had it only drilled twice, but what you can do is change the surface of the ball down to a lower grit, your pro shop owner can do this if he has a ball spinner which he should, it will roll earlyer which is what it orignaly did. i had mine drilled orignal to go long and hard now i got the Rico drilling on it and i had to have it polished to not hook so much.

[Stormed1]

First off have you maintained your ball? Every 50-75 games you should give it a bath in hot tap water to extract the oil which has been absorbed by the coverstock.. Before going out and purchasing a new ball either have a pro shop that has an oil extraction device or give it a bath yourself. You might also have the surface refreshed to the same grit as new. You would be amazed what these "little" things can do for your balls performance

[Hammertime]

Thanks for the feed back. Do you think using a more course sand paper will bring life back into this ball? I can remember that when I got this ball de-oiled and resurface both time it was not as dull as it was when I first got it. I spoke with the pro shop and they have assured me they have resurfaced according to factory specs. I have taken pretty good care of this ball.

Also I am new at posting on the internet. Thanks again.