Would you ever?

[Aslan]

Already did it.

VIDEO



Backstory:
I really wanted a Columbia Dark Encounter but couldn't find one (it had been recently discontinued/retired). So, I found a 16lb Columbia Encounter. As it was en route to my apartment, a guy sent me a message saying he had a 16lb Encounter and offered it to me for next to nothing...I think I paid $70 for the first one and he sold me the 2nd one for $55...free shipping. As I was agreeing to that...just couldn't pass up that deal...a guy offered me a 15lb Dark Encounter for like $65. So I ended up with (2) Encounters (16lbs) and one Dark Encounter (15lbs). Since I was throwing 16lbs at the time, I thought I'd do a little ball motion experiment (see video) where I could test the true effect of drilling on a ball's performance.

Results:
See thread: http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads...rilling+matter

NOTE: Many users HAVE criticized MWhite in terms of how he drilled the balls. More than a few people have commented that the ball drillings were too similar and maybe that's why you saw such a little difference. IN MIKE'S DEFENCE:
1) He was constrained by the stipulation that I (with my meager ability) had to be able to actually use both balls once drilled.
2) Even that recent, my skill level was far too low to really see a difference in ball reaction, no matter WTH Mike did.

What I WILL say about Mike's drilling is that he puts more attention to detail in drilling a bowling ball than ANYONE I've ever used to drill balls. Most guys do a quick measurement and drill and you'll be lucky if they even wipe off the white marks. I've went to 4 different ball drillers and one of the guys measured the ball wrong and I had to have it re-drilled. The newest guy was in a huge hurry and not only scratched the heck out of my bowling balls, but drilled one wrong so it's in the shop getting plugged and re-drilled. And the first guy, he retired and doesn't drill balls anymore. But none of them actually measured the balls or weighed them post drilling. If Mike was closer, I'd probably still be having him do it. But the traffic from Orange County to Riverside County is a galdang nightmare so it greatly limits trips to the other side of Riverside.

[Aslan]

These answers certainly responded more than I expected. Great.
NOW---HOW do you fill the 3 or more slots in an arsenal. With the variations in coverstock, weight block, lane conditions, etc.

I already did that too!!

And I believe either BTM or bowling journal also has a scale.

[ALazySavage]

Bowling This Month the magazine has a scale to help compare balls that are across different companies. In all honesty the best way to develop a three ball arsenal is to discuss it with a pro shop operator that you trust or have heard good things about through other bowlers. Do some research to give yourself an idea of what you want to see in the arsenal and then take that information to your pro shop operator so that they have some guidance on how they should help you.

I think Rob wrote an article for Bowling This Month about filling gaps; also Tyrel Rose wrote an article a while back about how he would set up arsenals from 1 ball up to 6 balls. Those could be good places to start researching.