Want to build 1/2 scale lane but have questions

[coasterp]

Hello everyone. Quick history on myself. I have bowled for 43 years (I'm 45) but recently gave it up due to back and shoulder issues. I bowled mostly weekend scratch tournaments and have done well. However, getting up the morning after a tournament with my back screaming, just isn't worth it anymore.

With that said, I came across this site last week and was inspired when I saw what some of you have done. I expect my set of linds pins and a candle pin ball to arrive TODAY!!!

My questiosn are:

1. If you have built a full 1/2 scale lane (30' fould line to head pin) do you feel this was a good length. I'm concerned as I know sometimes things don't scale down well. If you went shorter, what length do you have and do you like it.

2. What materials have you use for the lane surface. I would like something that is quite. It appears as some surfaces are nosier than others.

3. I'm guessing no on this one but do any of you oil your lane and if so, what do you use?

4. How can I acquire Open Score. I have done a google search but unless I missed something, nothing turned up.

I am in the planning phase and hope to start construction of the lane area in the basement in the next couple of weeks. From there, the lane will be built followed by a fully automatic pinsetter. Hope to have it completed by Sept. sometime.

[tate10]

Coasterp, Welcome. I got the linds pins first also. They kind of inspired me to actually start and finish the project.

1. I can't comment on 30' as I did not have the room. Mine is 18' and plays great, but think it would be even better if I had the room for another 6' section giving me 24'. This is one of the reasons I built mine in sections so I could add to it down the road.

2. I used glued pine with coats of poly. The poly dries really hard and probably makes it a little more noisy but its not bad. The ball hitting the pins and kick plates is more noisy. A lot go with synthetic hard wood flooring and seems to be really durable. I'm hoping to find some real lane surface for sale in my area in the future.

3. I have used pledge for oil and definitly changes the play. I have pledged just the middle so the ball hooks back in from the outside. It can add a fun new experience to your lane.

4. Open Score can be downloaded here http://openscore.catster.net/ It is a fantastic program for our mini lanes and was devoloped by a bowltech member. You will need a webcam (any cheap usb cam will work) depended how far you want your computer or laptop from the camera a active usb extension might be needed.

Can't wait to see your progress. Please keep updating with pictures.

Tate

[coasterp]

Thanks for the open score link Tate. In addition to the automatic machine, having auto scoring is also needed. The thread where a user remapped the mouse button got me very excited to see. Pins and ball arrived last night. I will be diving into organizing the basement this weekend. Really want to get moving on this. My wife is cracking the whip for me to get it built. I will probably post some pictures of where it's going later this weekend.

[TwinFountainLane]

Hello everyone. Quick history on myself. I have bowled for 43 years (I'm 45) but recently gave it up due to back and shoulder issues. I bowled mostly weekend scratch tournaments and have done well. However, getting up the morning after a tournament with my back screaming, just isn't worth it anymore.

With that said, I came across this site last week and was inspired when I saw what some of you have done. I expect my set of linds pins and a candle pin ball to arrive TODAY!!!

My questiosn are:

1. If you have built a full 1/2 scale lane (30' fould line to head pin) do you feel this was a good length. I'm concerned as I know sometimes things don't scale down well. If you went shorter, what length do you have and do you like it.

Mine is approximately 16-foot, and would like to add more length in the future. If you have room for it, 30' would probably be great!

2. What materials have you use for the lane surface. I would like something that is quite. It appears as some surfaces are nosier than others.

Hardwood Plywood 1/2" with stain and Polyeurethane coatings. It is very sturdy and not that loud. I imagine that for sound, the laminate flooring may be the best.

3. I'm guessing no on this one but do any of you oil your lane and if so, what do you use?

No oil yet, but a Pledge application once in a while. The pledge is for dust though, not necessarily for "oiling", so I can't say if it affects the roll at all. I don't notice a difference.

4. How can I acquire Open Score. I have done a google search but unless I missed something, nothing turned up.

(Already Answered)

I am in the planning phase and hope to start construction of the lane area in the basement in the next couple of weeks. From there, the lane will be built followed by a fully auto
matic pinsetter. Hope to have it completed by Sept. sometime.

Good luck with everything....See the "quote bubble" for my answers to your questions!

[dberber]

1. If you have built a full 1/2 scale lane (30' fould line to head pin) do you feel this was a good length. I'm concerned as I know sometimes things don't scale down well. If you went shorter, what length do you have and do you like it.

My lane is about 18 feet to the head pin, so about 19 1/2 feet total. It's a good length for the amount of space, the ball has time to hook and it's still challenging to play. If I had a bigger spot to set up my lane I'd probably build an additional section. My modular sections are 7 feet each.

2. What materials have you use for the lane surface. I would like something that is quite. It appears as some surfaces are nosier than others.

I lucked out and got some used lane panels from my local bowling center. It can be noisy, especially when kids toss the ball onto the lane rather than rolling it. But the lane is also built on top of the wood deck in my backyard, and I used 2x4s and 4x4s to keep things portable, so noise tends to amplify. I'd say that the more solid your lane cribbing is, the quieter your lane will be overall. A lot of the basement lanes are built with more substantial lumber, 2x12s, 2x10s etc. Maybe some smooth surfaced linoleum or other vinyl flooring over MDF would be quieter than synthetic lane panels or laminate flooring.

[coasterp]

2. What materials have you use for the lane surface. I would like something that is quite. It appears as some surfaces are nosier than others.

I lucked out and got some used lane panels from my local bowling center. It can be noisy, especially when kids toss the ball onto the lane rather than rolling it. But the lane is also built on top of the wood deck in my backyard, and I used 2x4s and 4x4s to keep things portable, so noise tends to amplify. I'd say that the more solid your lane cribbing is, the quieter your lane will be overall. A lot of the basement lanes are built with more substantial lumber, 2x12s, 2x10s etc. Maybe some smooth surfaced linoleum or other vinyl flooring over MDF would be quieter than synthetic lane panels or laminate flooring.

Thanks for the insight on the lane panels. This is one option I was actually considering, as I may be able to get a panel from a local center. I may be re-thinking that one. I really like the MDF option. I had not thought about it but I do think that may be good. Might just have to do up a small test section to see how it works out.

[Stevejt66]

Hi Coasterp,...welcome to the bowltech forum, and the world of mini bowling!!! Just an FYI.....I have laminate flooring from the local hardware store, Lowes I believe it was...and I got the cheapest stuff on sale, and it has over 5,400 games as of January this year, and it still looks new! My lane was built in May of 2010.

[theultimateandy]

Hi coasterp, welcome aboard. I believe I have the shortest lane of everyone here, 12 feet total length, approximately 10 1/2 feet from head pin to foul. Even with that, mini bowling is a lot tougher than it looks. Out of hundreds of games I have bowled (maybe even thousands) I only have a handful of games over 200. We even have a mini league on here, we are about half way through the first season. Hopefully you can get up and running by the time we start our second season, we would love to have you aboard.

[coasterp]

Hey everyone. Been a while since I posted. I have actually been working on things related to the lane. First up was getting the basement organized and cleaned up a bit. We moved into a new house last August and our first priority was to finish a section of the basement. Once that was done, I got a bit lazy on getting the rest of it organized. That's done now though. Planning is taking place on the lane and room. First up is the section of wall that will be removed to to enable starting the new section of finished basement to house the lane. We will be cutting into the wall just to the right of the cabinet. The whole section should be able to be re-used.

Next up is the other side of the wall. Nothing special. Just open basement at this point. Last is machine parts I have been working on. I have built a mold and am casting my respot fingers. Originally I planned on them working like those on an 82-70. However, once I got most of the pattern built, I wasn't comfortable they would last over the long haul. I modified the design and while they will still function like fingers on a 82-70, how they work will be different. Sorry about the messy bench but here is what I have so far . That's it for now. Hopefully I can have a little video of the fingers working by the weekend if all goes well.

[theultimateandy]

Looking good so far. What are your fingers made out of? It looks they are made of wood.

[coasterp]

Looking good so far. What are your fingers made out of? It looks they are made of wood.

They are made out of a material called Alumilite. It is a two part liquid urethane system. I made a master and then a silicone mold of it. The fingers you see were then cast in the mold. It dries tan and that's why they look wooden. It can be tinted though if someone wanted to. As for the fingers, they come out of the mold nearly ready to use. I only have to do some light trimming to get everything to move freely. Down the road if I find these wear too much at the pivot point, I can always add a bushing into the mold prior to casting. I would then have metal to metal contact.

[Stevejt66]

How are you desigining the pinsetter? Is it going to be like an 82-70 design like Andy's??

[coasterp]

How are you desigining the pinsetter? Is it going to be like an 82-70 design like Andy's??

That is up in the air at the moment. I originally planned on building something like the old Mendes magnetic machine but early testing showed it would not work well. I then changed direction to incorporate respot cells in place of the magnets as I'm shooting for something fairly simple from a mechanical perspective. I pretty much have that machine worked out in my head and have actually started writing of the PLC program, although I already have changes I want to make. That machine will function based on height like a Brunswick A-2 does. If I can get the cells to work like a 82-70 cell does in regard to being able to detect if a pin is there, then I think I'm going to go a different direction. I would build something a little more like a 70 but with what I hope will turn out to be simplified machanicals. The part I'm working on now will determine if I can go the 70 route. It is the piece that will open and close the fingers. I just don't know if I can get a pivot section, plus metal contacts and a connection point to actuator linkage into such a small area. I'll update as soon I have have some goodness to show.

[theultimateandy]

I have never heard of Alumilite, something else for me to play around with. Looking good so far on the scissors. I would like to see what you come up with on the respot pin detection. The scissors were a big enough challange for me let alone trying to figure out a way for the scissors to detect a pin. The concept is pretty simple, but implimenting it would have been a bear for me. Are you using Arduino boards for control?

[coasterp]

I have never heard of Alumilite, something else for me to play around with. Looking good so far on the scissors. I would like to see what you come up with on the respot pin detection. The scissors were a big enough challange for me let alone trying to figure out a way for the scissors to detect a pin. The concept is pretty simple, but implimenting it would have been a bear for me. Are you using Arduino boards for control?

Not using the Arduino boards. I am using a micro-PLC made by allen-bradely. It is a PICO controller. Right now I have been watching the bay for the one I want to pop up but no luck so far. At worse, I'll just buy a new one. I have programming software and appropriate cables I can borrow from work.