New Laminated Cushion Planks

[Kingram]

Anyone having this trouble with the laminates?



To the company that sent me this plank. Think that the screws that you have this plate attached to the plank are gonna pop out doe to the ball impact and it's gonna break anyhow. I would attach another plate to the back side of the plank (with the rough edge beveled off) drill holes through the plank and plates; get some special hardware, 5/16" buttonhead screws that has a threaded barrel to receive the screw and make a steel sandwich so to speak. The plates you have in there don't need to be as long for there is a point between the end of the plate and the weldment leg that the plank will be able to sustain the impact. That point is for your engineers to figure out. Don't think there is a reason to add a third leg to the weldment. For the people worried about getting their pins scratched up, put a skirt on it.



Cushion rubber shoes.

[amfpinboy]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

I used to make and wholesale cushion planks from '82 to '89. The first 550 were made of either solid oak or ash. The next 2,000 were made with laminated construction lumber.
I used cabinet grade ply material because the wood did not have any voids. Cheap fir plywood cannot hold up to the constant pounding. I still have some of the solid wood planks in the machines from '82 to '85.
Screws in the strip and metal plate will wind up in the carpet at some point in time. Screws and possible ball damage would be another worry.

[MCSS]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

I have a few of those, and they have split or the laminated boards come loose from each other.

I prefer the solid planks.

Mike

[Ed Fox]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

Originally posted by amfpinboy:
I used to make and wholesale cushion planks from '82 to '89. The first 550 were made of either solid oak or ash. The next 2,000 were made with laminated construction lumber.
I used cabinet grade ply material because the wood did not have any voids. Cheap fir plywood cannot hold up to the constant pounding. I still have some of the solid wood planks in the machines from '82 to '85.
Screws in the strip and metal plate will wind up in the carpet at some point in time. Screws and possible ball damage would be another worry.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Fred, your planks were the best ever made and the rivits were top notch as well.

Charlie [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

[amfpinboy]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

Mr Fox, Your check is in the mail ! TNX. Fred

[Jimmy Jam]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

Hmmm..So far I think they hold up better than the solid planks. I've always wondered who made the composit black fiberglass resin ones? They are twice as heavy as the wood type but lasted a long time.

[Kingram]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

Originally posted by amfpinboy:
I used to make and wholesale cushion planks from '82 to '89. The first 550 were made of either solid oak or ash. The next 2,000 were made with laminated construction lumber.
I used cabinet grade ply material because the wood did not have any voids. Cheap fir plywood cannot hold up to the constant pounding. I still have some of the solid wood planks in the machines from '82 to '85.
Screws in the strip and metal plate will wind up in the carpet at some point in time. Screws and possible ball damage would be another worry.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Fred,
If they would use a permanent thread locker on the screws it should work. There are also other alternatives to securing the plates. Somebody has to do something or many more law suits to come. LOL Say why did you stop producing the plank?
Ken

[amfpinboy]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

Kingram, A ruptured brain blood vessel kicked my butt for a few months and the doctors told me to knock off the extra work. The odds for recovery were a hundred to one against me, so I took their advise and quit all extra work for a few years.
Another reason I didn't restart the business was that quality lumber took a giant leap and I couldn't sell at wholesale and still make a buck.

[Kingram]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

Sorry to hear that Fred. I for one am glad that you are still with us. There are not many of us left that knew what went on, what is going on and probably what won't be going on much longer if things don't change. Thanks for the info Fred and will C.U.L.
Ken

[Andrew]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

This is just my opinion - I am not a mechanical engineer.

The cushion plank needs to absorb energy, or transfer it somewhere.

Some places it can transfer that energy are:
- The cushion rubber. Takes some force to compress it - i.e. to squish it flat.
- The cushion shock aborber - fluid filled tube that requires energy to move hence will absorb some.
- The weldments - they flex. These absorb often too much (and break over time).

Covering the plank with metal just makes it harder to bend, and requires more energy absorbtion from other parts like the weldments.

So we strenthen our weldments. At the expense of our planks. The plank costs less than the weldment. Makes sense then. It's a sacrificial thing... ;-)

Regards,
Andrew.

[Steve Stafford (JBEES)]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

Self sacrificing parts. Brunswicks have them and AMF has them also. This may be a perfect example.

[BowlEquip]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

I know! I know! Plastic planks didn't work back in the late '80's. However, over the next decade, there have been some measurable improvements in reinforced plastic materials (HDPE, UHMW, etc).

I've been using Stahl's GREEN PLANK for over six years and have not had to replace one yet. On that plank i used the sponge pad along with the standard flat pad (but in urethane) and as a result, have seen the longest lasting cushions ever.

The sponge absorbs energy. The plank absorbs energy when hit near the center. Together, these two help save the weldment and block boxes.

[TheGMan143]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

Hey Ed... this might be one for you:

How about replacing the sponge rubber pad with a pad made out of "Sorbothane". It's neat stuff... basically it's a solid that disperses impact and vibration like a liquid. It's used in vibration-free mountings, as 'drop pads' in factory equipment (so product that drops out of a machine isn't damaged when it hits the conveyor or whatever it's dropping into), athletic shoe insoles, and in mobile "skip free" CD/DVD player mountings.

According to their FAQ sheet, Sorbothane can absorb up above 90% of impact energy for upwards of a million cycles or more. If that were translated into bowling terms, only 10% of the ball impact on the cushion would be transmitted to the shock absorber and hanger block boxes.

It looks good on paper... what do ya think?

<a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank">http://www.sorbothane.com/</a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a>

[Ed Fox]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

Originally posted by TheGMan143:
Hey Ed... this might be one for you:

How about replacing the sponge rubber pad with a pad made out of "Sorbothane". It's neat stuff... basically it's a solid that disperses impact and vibration like a liquid. It's used in vibration-free mountings, as 'drop pads' in factory equipment (so product that drops out of a machine isn't damaged when it hits the conveyor or whatever it's dropping into), athletic shoe insoles, and in mobile "skip free" CD/DVD player mountings.

According to their FAQ sheet, Sorbothane can absorb up above 90% of impact energy for upwards of a million cycles or more. If that were translated into bowling terms, only 10% of the ball impact on the cushion would be transmitted to the shock absorber and hanger block boxes.

It looks good on paper... what do ya think?

<a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.sorbothane.com/" target="_blank">http://www.sorbothane.com/</a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a>

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">It sounds so good I wish you would of contacted me directly...A$$ Wipe..LOL

I’ll look into it...thanks

Charlie [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

[misterx]

Re: New Laminated Cushion Planks

I have one of those planks but havn't tried it yet.