How to Feel the Friction

I received a rather inspiring email the other day from a gentleman named Sidney. Sidney’s question dealt with friction and his request is special because of his health. Although he can see shadows of images and can make out a few other objects with his sight, he is actually legally blind.

This got me to thinking that, although there have been some very good articles written about the friction of bowling balls and oil patterns and transition, there is one thing that, to my knowledge, has not yet been discussed and that is about how to understand the “feel” of an oil pattern.

Since much of the game of bowling is surrounded by feel of one type or another, it only made sense to try to put an article together that will not only help Sidney, but maybe even a lot of other bowlers who are looking to gain more of an understanding by “feel” about the friction on the lane and the transition of an oil pattern.

Getting started

In order to get the most out of this article, there are a few items you will need to have:

• 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 grit Abralon pads (preferably new ones if at all possible).
• A towel, preferably one that is slightly thick.
• Spray bottle slightly filled with lane oil or any type of cooking oil that is thin enough to be sprayed out of the bottle.

Turn all of the pads over so that the sanding side is facing up. Put all the pads in sequential order starting with the 4000 and ending with the 500 grit pad. The reason for sequencing the pads in this order is that by doing so, you are representing a fresh oil pattern that is put on ...