|
|
|
 before
renovation
|
after
renovation
|
Testing: & Bowls Renovation Service: by Russ Heys licenced WB tester
New Zealand
has worlds highest test failure
rates [40%+] due to re-biasing during play caused by the sand in
synthetic greens. The rate and amount of wear was previously
undetected as NZ suspended the 10 yr test program 25 years ago, just
after synthetic
astrograss was introduced. Many players are under the impression that
the wear marks are only cosmetic and don't realise the amount of bias
change that playing on this
product has produced. There seems to be little or no warnings given to
players about the effects on bowls. Bowling Clubs should consider this when making a decision to install a synthetic surface.
Bowlers play
quality has deteriorated over the years as their sets have been
re-biased by the sanding action of the sand-fill. Moden sets wear
quicker than older ones due to softness. Over 60% of sets used on astro
we've checked over the past 6
years don't perform properly and are not legal. This sanding action
alters the shape and can render your set
unplayable and illegal under the Rules very quickly, it's as simple as
that.
[ Bias changes are happening so quickly that Bowls Australia
require players entering their Nationals to have their set tested every
3 years! ] Bowls must have min legal bias and group within a circle of
100mm or 4" after running 9 meters on a test table. We've seen sets
that are 1.5 meters apart after playing on an
Auckland astro green and are only 2 years old.. Players who constantly get told on the
green "it's not the
bowl, it's you" when they play poorly can take heart. It's not you, it
is the bowl! Players who often buy new bowl sets are advantaged over
those players who have had their set for some years and played on sand
topped synthetic.
To fully
understand the ramifications of playing on sand-filled synthetics with
modern very narrow running bowls see FAQ on the tech page.
The good news
is that with the new test
table upgrade done by WB in 2002 your set can be made legal and run as
a set and returned to its original bias. Many of the sets tested
are not legal under Bowls Laws 1.4
& 8.1....see faq below.
Your
set may not run correctly nor conform to the rules. It's worth
considering having it checked before buying a replacement.
Standard
WB test, engrave, issue certificate and return freight $60 [S. Island
$60] Sets requiring std test and bias re-set and re-polishing $100-160 [S.
Island $105-165]
Sets from the South Island being sent
in the original type box are same as Nth Is fee $60
OTHER
TESTING SERVICES: Bias re-set; Re-polish; Chip-fill: Re-paint { Drakes colours only}
Lawnbowls
may fail WB table test for following reasons: Please check your older
set for readable bowl size before sending to us. This requirement is
not in the Laws of the Sport. See WB Test certificate below.
|
Not
a set of 4
Bowl size not displayed/readable
Bowls do not match
Bowls not within 0.4mm diameter
Bowls not within 15 grams weight
Bowls not grouping within 100mm circle
Bowls having insufficient bias
Bowls
Direct Ltd is licenced by World Bowls Ltd
|
CONTACT US: Bowls
Direct Ltd
email: bowls@bowlsdirect.co.nz
ph 07 548-0330
Courier or post
bowls for testing to:
Bowls Direct Ltd
66 Francis Road, Omokoroa.
Tauranga RD2. New Zealand.
|
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q How do I get my bowls tested?
A. Send your set to Bowls Direct 66 Francis Road,
Omokoroa. Tauranga 3172. Include a note with your address and the bowl
serial number and what you want done, std test, re-polish/ renovation and please
remove stickers and polish residue.
NZ Post is the most cost
efficient [$10 approx within the North Island] if you don't have access to a courier using the pre-paid
ticket system. Sending in the original box is best if still available.
.
Sets arriving to us
Monday-Wednesday will be dispatched by Fastway Courier back to you the
same week. Couriers will not leave a parcel on the doorstep if you are
out, they require a signature upon delivery.
So you may want to plan ahead to make sure someone is home to sign for
your returning bowls. If you have a rural delivery [eg. RD 6 etc] the
set will end up on your rural mail delivery
and and will incur an extra $4 delivery charge. Alternatively the set
could be sent to an urban address for you to pick up at the normal
charge. Please remove stickers and polish residue.
Payment can be made by chq/credit card/direct credit
Q. Why do we use couriers?
A.
Parcels sent by courier have a tracking number and are automatically
insured under their standard carriers risk? But no claim can be made
after 28 days.
Q.
How do I tell
the age of my set?
A.
Look at the numerals inside the BB or WB
stamp and count back 10 i.e 98 would mean made in 1989
|
|
Bowls here show the older 6
sided BB stamp
and the newer oval rugby football shape signifying the new testing
rules introduced 1/04/2002.
R = registered trademark of
WB
WB = World Bowls Ltd
X = makers assigned identification
14 = date stamp legal period upto year 2014
i.e. set made in 2005
other numbers i.e.V7-3771= makers serial no.
Current manufacturers:
X=Drakes Pride Liverpool UK
A= Taylor Bowls/ Greenmaster UK
N & K= Henselite Australia
See www.worldbowlsltd.co.uk
for full testers list
|
|
Q. Why are the costs today more than testing last done in 1983? [i.e. 92 stamp]
A.
Back then testing was done on the green with minimal specialised
training or equipment. If the set failed it could not be fixed. Todays
testing tables are the same as the manufacturers use and comprise
of 3 1/2 full sized billiard tables and ancilliary equipment to
re-bias, engrave and re-polish lawn bowls. Also carry
the same requirements to be operated by WB licenced testers who have
the training to correct failed sets. There are also the
same associated costs of premises to house and operate the table and
yearly Warrant of Fitness inspection and
registration fee and individual test fees payable to World Bowls UK.
Q. Should I have my bowls tested?
-
- A. Over 60% of sets seen by us are not legal.
-
  
Why handicap yourself by playing a set that's not
taking the same track down the green. The game is already hard enough.
Testing over past 6 years
has shown very high failure rates. Sets played regularly on sand topped greens have even higher
[60-70%] fail rates.
Q.
Could erratic play be
due to a problem with my bowls? or Why do I
keep changing my line to the jack...left...right...left etc?
A.
Yes, very likely if you play at all on astro sand
topped greens or synthetic carpet.
Bowl
surface wear is a major problem for NZ players playing partially or
full time on astro sand filled greens and synthetic carpet. Many
players see the result as only cosmetic and don't realise that material
scratched off the bowl surface results in bias changes. Wear from use
on synthetic carpet is harder to detect visually as the bowl is being
"polished" as it goes down the green. Bowls with ditch pebble damage as
shown on the red bowl can be repaired but testing is required if the
filled area is on the running surface.
Across
the bowl surface [in pic left above] there are quite deep scratch
marks.
Although less than a year old, the surface wear caused this set of
bowls to fail the test for minimum bias and grouping requirements as
per WB regulations April 1 2002 as the result of abrasive action on the
bowl. [see table testing article below]. Testers change the bias of a
bowl on a lathe using sandpaper and the sand on the green does the
same thing only at random and differing amounts with players individual delivery style.
In
this case the bowl is a modern minimum draw model and resulted in
factory bias being altered quite severely and set not grouping. The
owner was alerted to the problem when observing almost nil turn-in at
the finish. The pic on the right is of a 3 year old bowl that
shows extensive scratching on the bias side of centre which has
increased the std factory bias and causes the set to play much wider
and with a dramatic hook at the finish. This sets failed the WB
grouping requirements by 3 times the group limit and played as 2 pairs.
The owner was always changing the line on the next delivery. There is little owners can do
in such circumstances but be aware of the changes to the bias and are
advised to have their sets checked and corrected every few years,
especially if you play 2-4 times per week.
Since the track a bowl takes down the green is governed by
the shape of the bowl's arc at the apex it is very important to keep this shape
"healthy". The small expense in testing and correcting your set will
allow higher quality play. Many say the game of bowls is 90% mental so
its better to know for sure what your bowls are doing. Sets
we have seen recently have bias changes so dramatic rendering the set
as unplayable and often we see a set where all 4 bowls take
a different line! Sometimes this wear has happened in less than 2 years.
Older
wide-drawing models will tend to have bias added, but many modern sets
sent for testing recently show the same wear problem due to the playing
surface and delivery action. This results in alteration to the factory
bias and in many tests have seen modern narrow draw sets turned into
ancient old "wide drawers" in just a few years play. In either case the
factory bias will be subject to uneven wear owing to the amount of time
the bowl runs tilted to the bias or non-bias side. Polishing the bowl
will only change the cosmetics and never use even fine sand paper to
improve the look as it will alter the bias. If you think your bowls are
tracking wider or narrower than when new, you're probably
correct....time to get them tested and corrected.
While
bowls currently carry a 10 year World Bowls test stamp, owners are
advised to get their sets checked more regularly if use on sand has resulted in early bias wear.
Players
who do not often play with 4 bowls need to rotate the 2 or 3
bowls played every
day to
ensure that any bias change is applied equally to the whole set. Table testing over the past 5 years
has shown that many players are using a set where 1 or 2 bowls have
quite different bias to the others and some newcomers to the game have never been
told about rotating their bowls.
This is the most common test failure and the main reason why poor quality
play is experienced. It's
near impossible to play well with a set that literally runs "all over
the place".
Also
remember that bowls submitted for testing must have readable bowls size
otherwise the set cannot be tested and passed. Also please remove
stickers and polish residue.
___________________________________________________________________________
Testing and re-testing of Bowls.
There is much discussion about bowls testing, why do it and why should
we be involved in having to send our set out of town to a test centre
when in the good old days we just took them to a local club with a
chute on the appropriate day etc. While administrators knew of the detrimental
effects sand would have on plastic bowls, most players didn't. Until we
built our table 6 years ago any remedial action required the set to be sent to
Australia.
The $10 cost of sending a set from anywhere in the North Island is
not going to break the bank and would be cheaper than driving across
town to a possible closer test facility. It would need to be within
30kms to make sense and its only once every 10 years.
The adoption of non-grass playing surfaces and the proliferation
of bowls that go so narrow means that a lot of players are bowling with
illegal bowls as defined by the Rules of Bowls simply due to normal
wear. It is not true that a set will hold the factory bias forever,
they're only plastic. Two sets of bowls tested recently were 15 times
greater than the legal min requirements and were only 2 years old. For
some players the examination of their set needs to be every 2-4 years.
The blue bowls above are representative of 7-8 years playing on sand type synthetic greens.
Many players think that a set of bowls will last for years. This is
true, but so will a car engine. At a certain stage it ceases to
function properly but it's still an engine. Reconditioning restores it to normal, bowls are the same. The most compelling
arguments to have sets tested and corrected are legal and playability.
Let's just look at the playability angle. The most surprising thing
that has been noticed by us is the number of players who play
erratically after some very good playing years and are putting it down to old age. An end will be played as follows: the first
bowl gets close to the jack so the next bowl goes down the same line but
doesn't turn in. So the line on the next bowl is altered only this time it's across the centre line and out the other
side. Now you've played 3 and not sure what to do with the last bowl
and about to start all over again from the other end.
These players usually have a set that's 10 years old, never been
checked and has been played on various surfaces including sand topped
astro. If playing against a relatively new set chances of success are
very slim. So the gap between players with new
sets tested at manufacture and players with old sets never tested has
got much wider and does not accurately reflect player ability, but more
the wear factor not often talked
about. The use of sand based synthetics to help clubs finacially during
the winter had some merit but has created significant problems for the individual
bowler.
All sports require either the purchase of wear out items like
golf balls or equipment maintainance and upgrades. Lawn bowls is no
different.
Below is the WB Test certificate issued with testing. Bowls must have
no less than WRB test bowl minimum and group in a 100mm circle.
|
