Posted 10 years ago
Ginseng108
(46 items)
This is THE modern pin. The quintessential Surlyn-coated bowling pin. In the U.S., the QubicaAMF pink and the Brunswick Max are, by far, the most common pins found in alleys and centers. The QubicaAMF is generally acknowledged to be the most durable, highest scoring design. I have read reports that the Brunswick Max is now made in the same factory although it is unclear the construction or materials are identical. Sanctioned by the current body, the USBC, United States Bowling Congress and thus of control weight and standard dimensions, about 15" x 4.5".
Current Brunswick bowling pins are made by AMF as you suspected. If you tap on the each one of the pins they will sound the same. Most likely being constructed the same way. AMFlite 2 is to MAX as Score King is to Pinnicle.
Interesting! Do you know if there are any actual differences between the "twins?" Or is it all in the printing? I supposed it's sort of like the Dodge - Chrysler situation. Some'll buy Dodge and some'll buy Chrysler but never the other.
From what I know its all about the labels, with each company also offering the premium brands.
Yeah, that makes sense. Although it seems like the reports from the bowling centers doesn't always paint the "high end" pins as the best there is. Perhaps it's the cost of the performance or maybe it's just the performance.
I will tell you that in my limited experience, the Amflite II surface finish is much nicer than the MAX. It's smoother and more consistent as well as blemish-free. The MAX finish feels noticeably slipperier. Almost oily. I've gotta believe that the surface friction has some effect on pin carry. Don't you think?
I'm not so sure that the carry is affected that much. As a former mechanic the biggest thing to worry about with new pins was how flat the bottoms are. a new batch they are very flat and gradually round a bit as they fall. So initially they are somewhat harder to knock down new and then gradually that changes. The other issue are the pindecks. If a center does not properly maintain there pindecks, carry down or oil from the front of the lane that gets pushed down, will gradually make its way to the pindeck causing pins to slide instead of fall. Most centers are on top of this but, just recently I was at a place where the carry down was so bad, a pin moved 6 inches of spot after it was hit by another.
The center I worked at had horrid carry. I got constant out of range calls and can't tell you how many times I would watch pins walk across the deck standing. That was also in part that the decks were 25+ years old. Once we finally got new lanes and decks that problem went away.
Wow, brunswicka2, that's totally insane! Six inches?
Was it the sliding problem that brunswicka2 mentioned for you as well?
Weight and dimension are the main factors that the sanctioning agency requires. So there can be no real differences in the pins other than labeling. It's pretty much always been that way. The reason the pins are all made in the same factories is nothing more than modern economics, the standard and widespread consolidation plague that has affected all areas of manufacturing. The next step would be overseas manufacturing and importation.
I tend to agree, TrudiCakes. There is just enough wiggle room in the specs for some observable differences. For example, the 2012 USBC specifications allow the weight to range from 3 pounds, 6 ounces all the way up to 3 pounds, 10 ounces. A difference of a quarter pound or just over 4%. Now that doesn't seem like much, take a light pin with a coefficient of restitution at the minimum spec of 0.605" and a heavy pin with a max COR of 0.735" and you could have some really big differences in pin action.
The other question is whether a manufacturer is consistent enough to cleave to one end of the spec or the other to purposely produce performance differences.