Here’s a noodle-scratcher for you. We have a section of bowling alley lane that we plan to use as the top for our kitchen island. I need to cut a hole in it for an undermount sink.
It’s made of many maple boards just over 2″ wide, standing on edge and glued and nailed together. Kind of like a butcher block counter top. The issue is the nails. I can use a reciprocating saw and/or circular saw with carbide-tipped blade to cut the rough opening. Either one should go through the nails without much trouble. But then I need to trim the opening to its actual size and make the edges smooth.
I thought of using a router with a carbide-tipped bit, but I’m concerned about the nails. The idea of the carbide tip or a chunk of nail lodging in my eyeball is less than appealing.
Any suggestions?
Replies
Drum sander?
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Parenting has always been a mix of sage life advice and inexcusable laziness.
I bought a section of bowling alley lane some years ago to use as a bench top in my workshop and the person selling it emphatically cautioned me not to use it as a cutting board because it was treated with a variety of toxic fungicides and pesticides to keep rot and vermin from damaging it. At the least, I think you want to make sure you keep it well sealed in a food preparation area.
Both sides? Any way of flipping it and using the (presumably) unfinished side?
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
What about using a grinder w/ sanding attachment to flush up to the lines and smooth out the cut?
Brian
safety glasses!!
Dave,
Do you have access to a metal detector? Rough it out with a jabsaw with an imbedded metal blade, remove fasteners, then pattern route. I have only worked with bowling alley lane stock twice and they were glued and clamped, not nailed.
Post some pics as you do it. This is a challenging project.
Chuck S
The wood doesn't appear to be treated, but no matter. I'm not going to use it as a cutting surface. I plan to sand off the current finish, and will be sealing both sides, if only to stabilize the wood. I plan to use Seal-A-Cell and Arm-R-Seal.
Is "jabsaw" the same thing as a reciprocating saw? And what's an imbedded metal blade?
The sanding approach sounds viable. I'd need to make the rough opening pretty dang close if I don't want to be sanding for the next three months, though. Not sure what to do about the exposed nail ends, though. I doubt the finish will stick to them, and I don't want them to rust. Can't very well use a nail set, either.
Any suggestions for filler? There will be some gaps and/or places where the end of one board is a bit lower than then end of the board it butts against, creating a low spot.
Dave,
Here is a link.
http://www.cpomilwaukee.com/accessories/sawzall_blades/48-00-5031.html
I like Lenox better.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
I've worked with bowling alley lanes before and there are a LOT of nails. I bild my main bench from one and actualy pulled it all apart, removed nails that would be in the way of joinery etc, and then reassembled it in the order it came apart using the original nails but I glued the whole thing as well. The lanes i had were not glue originally.
I have a few sections left that will be made into kitchen counters for my house in NH provided I can get it done before the truck heads north June 5th. That's pretty optomistic but I'm gonna give it my best shot. I'll try to get some pics of the process if I get to them.
I considered pulling it all apart, but it's both nailed and glued, so I think it would be very difficult and a possible disaster.
I had originally thought mine was glued as well as nailed but it wasn't. It came apart pretty easily, You are right, if it is glued, it probably won't be coming apart.
OK, I just updated our website with a page that shows the bowling alley. Here it is:
http://home.comcast.net/~Woodbine1/_sgt/m2m2s7_1.htm