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Bowling alley for countertop

FastEddie | Posted in General Discussion on March 3, 2009 01:44am

Saw this in Craigslist, wondering how well it would work as a kitchen counter. 

 

Reply to: [email protected] [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-03-02, 2:13PM EST

I have bought a couple of complete bowling lanes and have cut them into 6′ pieces. Half of the pieces are “Rock Maple” and the other half are “Douglas Fir”. All are 42″ wide and 2.5″ thick. All are in excellent condition.These pieces make beautiful countertops,bars,worktables,cutting boards or just about anything you can imagine.Very heavy duty! The “Rock Maple” is $15 per linear ft. and the “Douglas Fir” is $10 per linear ft. Could be delivered at an extra cost.I also have a few pieces of the “Rock Maple” in 8′ length.

 

“Put your creed in your deed.”   Emerson

“When asked if you can do something, tell’em “Why certainly I can”, then get busy and find a way to do it.”  T. Roosevelt

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  1. rez | Mar 03, 2009 01:50am | #1

    From another site...

    We built something close to this maybe 30 years ago, using recycled gymnasium hard wood flooring that we recycled. Ran it through a planner ever so slightly, to bring out the fresh grain of the wood. We built a custom bar top for a club we once owned…….using this maple flooring. Applied a honey gold stain and then poured one layer of Envirotex (2 part resin/hardener) as the final treatment. One coat of this Envirotex equals 50 coats of varnish. We ran the bar for 10 years with severe punishment nightly. All we used was a light application of a Pledge lemon polish…….and ten years later, it looks brand new/never used.

     

    94969.19  In the beginning there was Breaktime...

    94969.1  Photo Gallery Table of Contents



    Edited 3/2/2009 8:26 pm ET by rez

    1. User avater
      Ted W. | Mar 03, 2009 03:13am | #7

      What's that Rez?? I couldn't hear ya!

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

      =)

      ~ Ted W ~

      Cheap Tools - BuildersTools.netSee my work - TedsCarpentry.com

      Edited 3/2/2009 7:16 pm by Ted W.

    2. xrcyst | Mar 03, 2009 03:30am | #9

      I am guessing you were sniffing the envirotex right before you posted this, and that would explain why your eye's were squinting so badly that you had to turn the text up to deafening levels like that.... no?

      1. User avater
        hubcap | Mar 03, 2009 03:44am | #10

        Made two bar tops and our dining room table out of lanes I used to bowl on as a kid.

        loads of nails but like Jimbo said- easy to work with.

        ours doesn't move much at allNo Tag

      2. rez | Mar 03, 2009 04:27am | #11

        Sorry bout that. Sometime a copy/paste can do funny stuff.

      3. jimblodgett | Mar 03, 2009 04:42am | #12

        Who is "envirotex"? 

        1. rez | Mar 03, 2009 05:22am | #13

           

           

           

           

          I Kiell you!

  2. BoJangles | Mar 03, 2009 02:23am | #2

    I bought all of the alleys in a bowling establishment many years ago.  I made many countertops for myself and sold the rest for a bundle of $.

    They do make very strong tops, but in my opinion, they aren't suitable for a kitchen.

    The maple sections are from the area you walk on. (the approach)  The fir sections are from the alleys themselves.

    The thing most people don't realize is that these are made from boards set on edge and nailed together.  They are not glued.  They do have small gaps between the boards in places and are usually held together by iron "T" bars underneath.  If you remove the T-bars, the sections aren't very strong.

    The individual boards are not exactly the same height.  They are just thrown together and then sanded to perfection after they are installed at the lanes. so the bottom can be very uneven.

    They are also very heavy.

    They make excellent workbench tops, but if you plan on cutting them or boring them out for any reason, you will hit lots of very strong nails.

    1. TomW | Mar 03, 2009 02:27am | #4

      Yup, full of nails, not easy to work with at all. I built a workbench from one.   

    2. calvin | Mar 03, 2009 02:28am | #5

      Might be area or age specific.  Our pc has no nails I'm aware of, not rod, no steel underneath.  Same smoothness top and bottom.  Only 30x26 in size-boards on edge-maple.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.

      Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

      http://www.quittintime.com/

       

      1. Shoemaker1 | Mar 03, 2009 02:54am | #6

        Used one to make a workbench. even though I drilled and clamped with redi rod still opened up.
        Used others (fir) for stairs and landing good top side, ugly bottom and tarred and seams opened.
        I have radient heat so humidity is low. Tons of nails.
        Gave left overs to neghbour and he put them down as "tire ways" in his garage, they are just fine. Heavy but some nice wood.

        1. jimblodgett | Mar 03, 2009 03:17am | #8

          We used old bowling lanes for kitchen counters in the house we now live in.  We love them.

          Ours were like a previous poster said, nailed together on edge with 8d sinkers, maybe 8"o.c. nailing, every board to the next.  Lots and lots of nails to pull to disassemble. 

          Even though it took a lot of time, it was easy to take the boards apart, clean the edges, and reassemble, though.  Even managed to save some of the mahogony dot lines that bowlers use to line up their shots?

          We did reuse the steel T-bracing also.  We cut them to length and I'm pretty much convinced they are why we haven't had any trouble with the tops, even though it's obvious they move as humidity levels fluctuate.  The slots you screw through to fasten the T-bracing to the bottom of the lanes are elongated, to allow for movement widthwise, but still keep the countertop flat.  Been through two winters living here now, and ours still look great.

          I'd recommend it to anyone.  Like I said earlier, it's a lot of work, but virtually anyone could do it.  Nothing to it, really.

           

          Edited 3/2/2009 7:19 pm ET by jimblodgett

          1. BoJangles | Mar 03, 2009 05:45am | #14

            I guess another way to look at it, is that for $15 a foot, you are basically buying about 8 board feet of maple that is full of varnish, dirt, and nails.......and on top of that, the wood is not good quality.

            For the same price or less, I can drive down the street and buy kiln dried maple from a local supplier and fabricate the same type of top with much better results.

            When you add the time spent pulling nails and otherwise messing around with an old alley and then trying to reassemble it, it doesn't really make a lot of sense.  I think you have to take them for what you get and if you want a better end product, you should go buy some decent wood to work with.

             

            Edited 3/2/2009 9:46 pm ET by BoJangles

  3. calvin | Mar 03, 2009 02:25am | #3

    On the end of our island counter we have a pc of old bowling alley.  Works well, overhangs the cab and a potholder rack on one side.  Perfect place to rest the bottom of the frypan while you direct the diced homefries into it.

    Be careful if used around the range or where pots would be set off from the cooktop.  It will burn.  Stains with old thermos rings if not considerate.

    Ours has the finish off from the beginning with only min. oil to protect it.  Great chopping block.

    A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.

    Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

    http://www.quittintime.com/

     

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