Has anyone ever removed a maple bowling alley floor?

[Malcolm Schweizer]

The local alley shut down, and they are selling everything. I am eyeballing that floor for the maple. Are these laid like a traditional wood floor with nails in the tongue and groove, or are they glue only? Is it worth the effort to try to salvage this wood? Seems the nails will all split wthe wood upon removal.

351605

[Matt Day]

From what I recall, there will be a lot of metal (nails) in those lanes. Would make some great work surfaces though!

[Jerome Stanek]

Lots of nails in them

[Art Mann]

I have helped a friend turn a section of bowling lane into a workbench top. Here is what I observed. No glue was used to hold the top together. The slab was a few inches thick. The planks were stood on edge nailed together horizontally on a tight grid. They are hardened ring shank nails, which are very difficult to remove without damaging the plank. Although I have heard of a few people who did it, I would not assume that the individual planks can be recovered. A typical workbench sized slab is very heavy. It will take more than one person to move it around. That is bad for working with but very good for a bench top. It isn't possible to saw the slab to size without hitting multiple nails. You need disposable carbide blades to cut the slab to size, since the blade will be very damaged when you are done. As you might expect, the top surface is fairly flat but we decided to sand both sides to parallel anyway. We carried the slab to a mill work shop that had a gigantic wide belt sander. It did a great job but it would have been difficult to do the flattening by hand. We didn't have to reinforce the nails since the joints were already very tight. I have heard of people boring long horizontal bolt holes and then closing cracks with threaded rod and nuts but I don't see how they went through without hitting a bunch of nails. In the end, the bench top turned out beautifully and it will be a superior work surface for a long time to come. It was well worth it for my friend -- especially since he got some free help.

[Morey St. Denis]

Art's information is correct in my experience; he types faster than I, but here it is anyway:

I recently had an opportunity to closely examine some sections of maple bowling alley that were salvaged from a demolition, but had been improperly stored and unfortunately suffered some moisture damage. Depending upon the period of fabrication and perhaps prevailing construction costs, they may be only about 8/4" in thickness. The maple is typically not tongue & groove milled, but simply planed to uniform thickness. Individual pieces are secured to each other across the width by horizontal side nailing. In most cases there is little evidence of any glue having been employed, at least any minimal adhesive in use has little to no moisture resistance. There are hundreds of hardened nails buried within, perhaps as frequently as every 8" or so, and each penetrates through multiple laminations.

This material would indeed make excellent worktop surfaces if it is properly handled at time of salvage. You might also pay special attention to any lane marquetry, these can be positioned to good effect. Depending upon repurposing plans you may wish to consider screw attaching from beneath, or perhaps partially inletting, lengths of structural steel across the width of your countertop to prevent sagging. Keep the cut lengths manageable for ease of handling, these are quite dense and heavy and you'll need plenty of assistance hauling them. Likely best to use a Sawz-all with sturdy bimetal blades intended for wood with nails to section manageable lengths during removal rather than wrecking multiple chainsaw blades going through nails. Get onto that salvage operation as soon as practical, else another wood reclaimer may get there first, unless you happen to end up bidding upon the rights of access to individual lanes. Good luck with that endeavor and let us know how it turns out.

[keith wootton]

lanes i dealt with transitioned to a hard pine, and most of the lane was pine. plus 1 more on the nails being a pita. i ultimately passed on my sections of lane, and my workbench is a maple table top from a diner. ripped in half, put a 3 inch half lap, glued, then sawed it apart, dado(d) out for bench dogs and glued back together again. had it now 30 years.

[Rich Riddle]

There's a price I put on effort, frustration, and broken tools. After dealing with ONE, just ONE experience with bowling alley maple, I will gladly pay for the raw wood.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Thanks all for the replies. Seems my suspicion is right that these are not like traditional flooring and are much thicker. I was actually wondering what if I salvaged it for a shop floor? That'd be a cool floor for a shop, no doubt.

So, Art and Morey, are these laid in prefab sections? That's what I'm understanding from your replies.

[Art Mann]

I believe the lanes are constructed on site and are monolithic.

[Matt Day]

Malcolm, a shop floor, really? It'll take two guys to move one piece for a benchtop, and you want to cover your whole shop with it?

[John K Jordan]

Malcolm, a shop floor, really? It'll take two guys to move one piece for a benchtop, and you want to cover your whole shop with it?

My brother in Ohio got some pieces from a guy who took a bowling alley apart. I have a 6' piece as a work surface. Yes, it took two people to carry it. And yes, a lot of the weight was nails. I wouldn't want to use it for flooring.

[Jim Becker]

I had a piece of that stuff years ago..."nail city" !!

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Malcolm, a shop floor, really? It'll take two guys to move one piece for a benchtop, and you want to cover your whole shop with it?

I meant before I became more "edumacated" on the subject. I had heard before that they came apart in sections. Anyway, it's a true testament to the toughness of maple that you can throw bowling balls at it all day and not hurt it.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Side note: you see bowling balls, I see cannon balls. If I had a foundry, I'd be dangerous. Those really shouldn't go to waste. They need to be turned into a projectile of some sort. I wonder what they want for the lot. I'm getting ideas- really bad ideas.

http://virgin.craigslist.org/spo/5957439694.html

[Morey St. Denis]

Affirmative, it is as Art said. I also am aware of plenty of reports that this lumber sometimes can transition to a hard pine after the initial length of visible Maple where the bowling ball usually impacts. Naturally it would be unlikely that an installation contractor might have had sufficient incentive to "cheapen-up" any job within the luxurious Virgin Islands.

[Brian Elfert]

Side note: you see bowling balls, I see cannon balls. If I had a foundry, I'd be dangerous. Those really shouldn't go to waste. They need to be turned into a projectile of some sort. I wonder what they want for the lot. I'm getting ideas- really bad ideas.


I knew someone who had a bowling ball cannon.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I knew someone who had a bowling ball cannon.

I notice you use past-tense here! :(

[Frederick Skelly]

Side note: you see bowling balls, I see cannon balls. If I had a foundry, I'd be dangerous. Those really shouldn't go to waste. They need to be turned into a projectile of some sort. I wonder what they want for the lot. I'm getting ideas- really bad ideas.

http://virgin.craigslist.org/spo/5957439694.html

Remember Malcolm, you cannot fire bowling balls at the surfers until they are 10 days late with their payment and you have called them twice. :D:D:D

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Remember Malcolm, you cannot fire bowling balls at the surfers until they are 10 days late with their payment and you have called them twice. :D:D:D

I bet if I mounted a mortar on my board NOBODY would EVER drop in on me.

[Bradley Gray]

How about a bowling ball trebuchet?

More on the subject, Oldham makes really good negative tooth nail cutting blades for circular saws.

[Jim Kimbrough]

Finally there is a topic on which I have some knowledge.

Malcom, I have no idea on the firearms laws in your area, but if you are really serious about using the bowling balls for projectiles, it can be done. Without getting into the gory details, it involves using an old oxygen cylinder cut to length, a gun mount, some black powder and cannon fuse. You really want to hold everything together and the only thing going airborne is the bowling ball. Also, start kinda low on the black powder charge, too much and the ball breaks up in the barrel.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Bradley Gray and Jim Kimbrough- we could be friends!!! I like the trebuchet idea. Sadly, since unregistered firearms bring a 10 year jail sentence here, probably firing a cannon would get me in more than just a little bit of trouble. That said, there are plenty of Cays (small islands) from which such shenanigans could be undertaken outside the jurisdiction of said laws.... or are they? Well, at least out of earshot.

Googling "trebuchet plans" now...

[Bradley Gray]

I have neighbors who have a pumpkin farm and I have been thinking about launching their leftovers - but a bowling ball would probably work even better and you have ocean!

Do you think coral would grow on bowling balls? Maybe you could get a grant... I could come and help - I love the Virgin Islands!

[Brian Elfert]

I notice you use past-tense here! :(

I probably used the wrong tense. I have no idea if they still have the bowling ball cannon or not.

I only knew the owner(s) because they brought their cannon to an event I go to every year. After the second or third year bringing it and and firing it they were told in no uncertain terms to never bring it back.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I probably used the wrong tense. I have no idea if they still have the bowling ball cannon or not.

I only knew the owner(s) because they brought their cannon to an event I go to every year. After the second or third year bringing it and and firing it they were told in no uncertain terms to never bring it back.

I was being a bit silly- assuming they met their maker in some horrible bowling ball cannon disaster.

[roger wiegand]

I also do model rockets, and the bowling ball launch is an annual event for the LDRS* launch: http://ddeville.com/derek/BowlingBalls.htm

* Large and Dangerous Rocket Society

[Brian Elfert]

I also do model rockets, and the bowling ball launch is an annual event for the LDRS* launch: http://ddeville.com/derek/BowlingBalls.htm

* Large and Dangerous Rocket Society

The bowling ball rocket launches at LDRS ended after 2007 because the organizers got tired of doing it and nobody else took over.

The bowling ball cannon was not part of any rocket launch and the owner was shooting the bowling balls out of the cannon in the evening after rocket launching was over.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I also do model rockets, and the bowling ball launch is an annual event for the LDRS* launch: http://ddeville.com/derek/BowlingBalls.htm

* Large and Dangerous Rocket Society

Wow. That looks as fun as it is dangerous. I was considering tossing balls into the ocean on a short trajectory. You're talking literally launching them a mile high. Wow. So how do you control such an event to ensure nobody gets their head bashed by a falling ball? The control area would have to be at least a mile radius.

[roger wiegand]

Big launch area, redundant recovery systems, and people pay attention

[Roger Feeley]

I saw a documentary on the LDRS. You guys are great! I particularly liked the scene where some guys mounted motors on a portable john and sent it aloft. I think someone else launched a big wooden cable spool. Great fun.

[Adam Herman]

a long sewer pipe buried in the ground at a slight angle makes for a great bowling ball cannon. 5 lbs of flash powder in the bottom gives a 12 lb ball more than 40 seconds of air time. you can listen to them sing due to the finger holes. they leave a pretty good impact crater in sand when they come down.

on the subject of the lanes: we turned some into an island top and it is really the highlight of our whole kitchen. its beautiful and functional. If you have the room, get some of it for tops, build a dining table even. advise here is correct. no glue, lots of hard ring shank nails to damage your saw blades. Mine had 3 in. angle iron bolted to the bottom to keep it flat. I sawed grooves into the bottom and rabbits for 1/2 angle iron and put a bunch of 1 in #8 screws into it to create structure over our bar area. if you pick up both sides and do not support the center, it can some apart or bend like an accordion. our island top was built of a section with the walnut darts and the matchsticked pine/maple transition. it weighs around 300 lbs for the 5 ft by 6 foot area. it took hours with with a belt sander to remove the thick plastic finish.

[Brian Elfert]

I saw a documentary on the LDRS. You guys are great! I particularly liked the scene where some guys mounted motors on a portable john and sent it aloft. I think someone else launched a big wooden cable spool. Great fun.

We are getting way off the original topic, but I know the guy who did the porta potty rocket that was filmed in 2003. I was maybe 500 feet from where the porta potty launched as our group was waiting to launch a rocket.

The reality is a lot of the really crazy rockets like the porta potty where really only done for TV.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

We are getting way off the original topic, but I know the guy who did the porta potty rocket that was filmed in 2003. I was maybe 500 feet from where the porta potty launched as our group was waiting to launch a rocket.

The reality is a lot of the really crazy rockets like the porta potty where really only done for TV.


As as the OP, I approve any discussion on this thread related to launching bowling balls, port-a-potties, and other objects into the air. :D

[kevin nee]

I have a bowling alley section for a work bench. It has been split down to 28 inches x 9 foot long. It is mounted on two cabinets against the wall in front of a window. I wrapped the three exposed faces with 3/4 maple. Vises on each end! I scrape off any glue or anything that got on it about once a year and put linseed oil on it. It is close to 3 inches thick. Go for it, you won't regret it. The flooring in front of the lanes is probably 3/4 young & groove. Good luck post photos.