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Lane conditioning

Page history last edited by jlocke@uark.edu 14 years, 5 months ago

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Writer 1:Weldon Locke

Writer 2: Hiroaki Takano


Lane Conditioning 

 

Bowling lane conditioning is very important to the sport of bowling.  Conditioning lanes prevents the wood in the lanes from becoming chipped and splintered and inhibit wear and tear.  The bowling lanes are composed of a wooden lane 60 feet from foul line to the center of the no. 1 pin spot and 42 inches wide.  The lane surface must be free of all continuous grooves, for this reason a layer of varnish is put on the wooden surface.  Friction is a major factor in bowling, so an oil, dimethylpolysilozane, conditioning layer is put over the varnish.

 

 The application, placement, thickness, and buffing methods are vital factors to bowling lane performance.  The lanes are conditioned with oil just over the foul line to a line 20 to 40 feet down the lane.  No oil is applied past that line. 

 

A bowling ball makes its way through three stages as it travels down the lane:

 

1.)  Slide -  When the ball is first released and going down the oily first 20 or 40 feet it is in its first stage.

2.)  Hook - When it hits the dry surface it goes into the second stage. 

3.)  Roll -    After the hook is made the ball rolls into the pins.

 

 A reaction of a bowl will be changeable by how a lane is oiled and how much oil thickness the lane has. There are mainly six types of lane conditioning as shown below. Of course, actual lanes are not exactly oiled like these, but most lanes are involved in these types.

 

Type 1     Type 2      Type 3      Type 4     Type 5     Type 6

 

 Type 1 lane has been oiled in same thickness from its edge to edge. This lane condition should make bowlers feel difficulty because it is hard to know its oil distribution.

 

 Type 2 lane has more depth of oiled zone than the Type 1 lane has, and it means that a bowl will start its rolling later after the hook. Then, it makes bowlers feel harder to roll a bowl in front of the pins.

 

 Type 3 is called Crown Lane. The oil thickness of lane's outside is thiner than the center of the lane, and the amount of oil is less and less as it become farther and farther from faul line. This lane is preferable for all types of bowlers.

 

 Type 4 lane has much oil in its outside and few oils at the center of the lane. It is difficult to play with this lane if your bowl does not have enough friction against the oiled outside of the lane.

 

 Type 5 has an opposite patern of Type 4 lane. Its center of the lane has much more oil than its outside of the lane. It means the bowl will not go in the roll in dry zone (few oiled area).

 

 The last lane, Type 6, has dry zones and oiled zone alternately as shown the above. This lane is called Shuttle Lane. This lane is usually set for professional bowler competition, and the level of this lane is difficult because a bowler will be required a high skill to capture this type of lane. A bowler should use only an oiled area to get a high score because a bowl will be easily hooked right after throwing the bowl if s/he uses non-oiled lane.

 

 

Information Gathered From:

 

Williams, Mark D. "Stages of Bowling Lane Conditioning" 2009. EzineArticles.com. http://ezinearticles.com/?Stages-of-Bowling-Lane-Conditioning&id=1330055

 

Lane Care Tips. "Lane Conditioning" Jayhawk Bowling Supply and Equipment Inc. 2009. http://www.jayhawkbowling.com/Resurfacing/Lanecare.html

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