r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Joanna_Valdes • 8d ago

Bowler's thumb gets stuck in his bowling ball (SFW) Video

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22.1k Upvotes
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u/BukkitCrab 8d ago edited 8d ago

It's not his actual thumb, it's a piece of bowling equipment called an 'interchangeable thumb' used to customize the depth shape of the thumb hole on a bowling ball.

979

u/ecafsub 8d ago edited 8d ago

It does not change the depth of the thumb hole. It’s used to change the shape and diameter.

Finger and thumb holes are drilled to specific depths and diameters. Most custom balls have both thumb and fingertip inserts, being standardized at about 1” OD which makes it dead-simple: slap a 1” bit in the press and start drilling. Obviously there are rare cases where that’s not big enough, but most thumbs and fingers will fit a 1” hole with room to spare. The inserts are used to fill the space. Fingertip inserts are generally a lot softer than the ball resin/urethane while thumb inserts are harder and smoother plastic for better release.

The inserts are selected for finger fit and can be sanded for more precise fits, and are glued into the holes with CA. They are easily replaced. The CA will eventually fail, which is likely what happened.

Source: I’ve drilled hundreds of custom bowling balls.

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u/Kayniaan 8d ago

"I’ve drilled hundreds of custom bowling balls."

Did you drill it with or without the insert?

68

u/Longjumping-Cod-6290 8d ago

Obviously he used his thumb

19

u/macabremasterplan 8d ago

Of course, if he's rich enough to play competitive bowling ball, he should be able to afford enough spare thumbs

1

u/JohnsonMcBiggest 8d ago

I wish I were good enough for competitive bowling ball 🤷‍♂️

2

u/Longjumping-Cod-6290 7d ago

I always wanted to be good at football ball myself

1

u/LordNightFang 7d ago

Yeah it's tough. At one point I was averaging like 220 per game and I was still put on the lower team cuz my schoolmates would make about 240-270 per game. I felt like a total noob.

27

u/Scrub_nin 8d ago

New insert every time. Cleanliness is of the utmost importance

22

u/Jason_Kelces_Thong 8d ago

That’s why I never throw the same bowling ball twice. It’s an expensive hobby when done right

8

u/worldspawn00 8d ago

Nah I don't want that ball, it's been on the floor. Bring me a fresh one!

0

u/Super-Magnificent 8d ago

You should probably try drilling women instead. Much more exciting than doing the nasty with some old bowling ball.

0

u/False_Disaster_1254 8d ago

and your fingers fit perfectly into the holes, every time!

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u/ItHappenedAgain_Sigh 8d ago

I always love it when someone like you turns up with real life experience and knowledge.

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u/Wonderful_Charge8758 8d ago

This is why I stick around here.

11

u/NeuroticNinett 8d ago

Question about custom bowling ball: Do you need a custom one if you lack fingers, or does a standard one suffice?

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u/ecafsub 8d ago

Never did one for someone without fingers, but I did do a couple for a guy who wanted only the thumb hole. Balancing it for drilling was a little tricky as you have to account for removed material and not drilling finger holes shifted the center of gravity a bit. Not a lot. A few ounces of urethane out of a 16lb ball isn’t much. Also drilled the thumb hole at a bit steeper angle toward the center so he could hang on moar better.

He had some kind of glove that had a grippy texture on the palm and fingers. Dunno where he got it.

7

u/SOfoundmytrappornacc 7d ago

I had my own custom ball as a teenager when I was in a bowling league (bowled a 300 when I was 15, not in league though which sucks, just out with friends. I had them print off the scoresheet and my mom has it framed at her house) and I had those finger inserts put in since they help a lot with curving the ball imo. Never had a thumb one though.

1

u/ecafsub 7d ago

They absolutely do help with that. I’ve never seen anyone bowl a 300, tho I’ve seen someone make a hole-in-one. Good on ya!

5

u/SOfoundmytrappornacc 7d ago

Yea I had the whole bowling alley come and surround us when I got to the 7th/8th frame lol it was so damn nerve wracking that I was shaking.

I also wasn’t using my ball because I forgot to bring it so I was using my friends custom ball that had those inserts, but they were fitted for a right handed person and I’m left handed. So the middle finger and ring finger inserts were switched for me and felt weird since it was almost too tight for my middle finger and almost too loose for my ring finger.

I had like 50+ people watching me (I still remember everything so vividly lol I’m 33 and was 15 at the time) and since I was bowling with friends everyone had to wait and watch them before my next turns lol

it was so cool how quiet everyone got on my last strike, especially cause the way I curve the ball it always looks like it’s just about to gutter and hovers on the edge for a few seconds before cutting back in. Then the whole place erupted after that last strike. Everybody came up and shook my hand and kept asking how old I was and how I could be the youngest person in Idaho to bowl a 300 ( never actually did find out about that) and the owner came up and shook my hand.

It was seriously one of the greatest moments in my teenage life.

1

u/logan5_jessica6 7d ago

amazing story!

im shit at bowling, so 15 year old me used to be on a high for days even after getting a strike😝 id have been on god mode if I came remotely close to 300!

well done mate for keeping your nerves in check, not easy..

and thanks for sharing the story! 👍

3

u/SOfoundmytrappornacc 7d ago

Thanks dude! People don’t believe me when I tell that story and so I only tell it if I’m actually bowling lol since people can see first hand that I’m still very good at it.

The sad thing is that I stopped doing league bowling when I was 16 because it wasn’t “cool” and I cared more about partying and stuff. I definitely could’ve made a career out of it. I had been doing a lot of traveling for tournaments that I had qualified for and I didn’t like that, I wanted to be where my friends were🙄 lol

I went bowling for the first time in a few years a couple months ago and I bowled a 195 and a 211, so I definitely still got it lol but I’m not sure how to get back into leagues and tournaments and stuff.

1

u/logan5_jessica6 7d ago

think of what you can still do, dont be hard on yourself for things you can’t change..

like, you can acknowledge poor decisions to keep you grounded, but too much regret just weighs you down..

you stopped league bowling perhaps because you had different priorities back then..

you can still find local leagues or just go bowling with family and friends.. or just bowl for the fun of it and go by yourself if you have to.. grown men can have hobbies..

dont give up on what you enjoy!

3

u/NeuroticNinett 7d ago

Interesting stuff. Thank you!

2

u/Trappedbirdcage 7d ago

If not doing so competitively, I've been to a few bowling alleys that had ramps where you put the ball at the top and push it down. Mainly used for kids but I've seen disabled and older folks use them too.

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u/vahntitrio 8d ago

I would add that the purpose of an interchangeable thumb slug is so that every ball has the exact same feel, and also that it can be swapped for a different size if your thumb starts to swell up in a long tournament.

1

u/ecafsub 7d ago

Yep. Many balls are made with 2 different materials and when drilled the transition between the two is exposed. The innermost is typically coarser material while the outer is smoother. Certainly uncomfortable without the insert as well as affecting gription.

3

u/littlegreenrock 8d ago

Is a custom ball, with custom diameter/shape thumb hole not allowed, or not an option?

3

u/ecafsub 7d ago

It’s a lot easier to drill a round hole in urethane and then slip a plastic insert in which can be shaped, rather than trying to file/sand the urethane. Thumb inserts are typically oval-ish whilst finger are round with a little lip to grip. The angle of the lip can affect loft and spin when releasing.

2

u/frichyv2 8d ago

Inserts are still used on custom balls.

1

u/littlegreenrock 7d ago

thanks! answered my question

2

u/Ferociousnzzz 8d ago

Peak Reddit comment

2

u/nataliieeep 8d ago

This person drills balls !

2

u/TheStoicNihilist 7d ago

So you’re saying girth is more important than length?

1

u/ecafsub 7d ago

That’s what my gf says

51

u/[deleted] 8d ago

Detachable penisssssssss

14

u/mjrbrooks 8d ago

Holy shit I forgot about that song

7

u/cesrage 8d ago

I woke up this morning

With a bad hangover

And my penis was missing again

1

u/Extension_Swordfish1 7d ago

Whattaaaaafuuuuuug? Never losed mine. Yet.

2

u/UrinatingJaguar96 7d ago

Man I love that song

1

u/Live-Fact-7820 8d ago

No, it's more like a little fleshlight.

1

u/Gets-That-Reference 7d ago

King Missile

17

u/TehChid 8d ago

I get that, but why is it red?

1

u/ocelittle7 7d ago

You can get them in many colors, it's for aesthetic purposes, however the fingertip insert colors for some brands determine the softness of the rubber for different feels.

5

u/BertaEarlyRiser 8d ago

Oh thank God... I almost had a new fear.

4

u/G_Affect 8d ago

Lol lost a thimb but picked up the spare, high 5s all around, lets finish the game, then the hospital.

1

u/Randomfrog132 8d ago

the thumb goes into the thumb hole

3

u/Zouteloos 8d ago

*square hole

1

u/Randomfrog132 8d ago

i love her reactions to that video xD

1

u/Latey-Natey 8d ago

Kind of feels like cheating, right? You wouldn’t allow a some kinda grabby stick in Hockey, why allow a glove which can just… slip off?

1

u/Unlikely-Egg-722 7d ago

🎵With the shape of an L on her thumb hole ..👆. 🎳 🎵

0

u/SassalaBeav 8d ago

No shit its not his actual thumb, as if he would be completely calm if that happened.

0

u/Miserable-Neat9370 8d ago

Yes and I bet it was a turbo grip. Should have used JoPo grips. Much better product.