Bowling Alley Workbench

[climb.on]

I did this project last summer and just finally getting around to share the process. I needed a 10' workbench 30" deep for my restored Lista & Lyon cabinets. Pretty tough size to come by in butcher block. I found a guy selling sections of bowling alley. I'm particularly fond of restoring old stuff, so this is right up my alley (thanks, I'll be here all week).

I wanted 10' long section and butcher block gets REALLY expensive over 8'. This is fir, with a thick hard maple edge I added to the front. Bowling alleys are only maple for the first 8 feet or so and again I needed 10' so I went for a pine section. Funny thing about these is they are not glued together. They are nailed together dry. Then they have thick pieces of oak 2x4 again nailed to he bottom to keep it together. So I routed in 3/4"x4" pieces of white oak to stabilize it. They are 42" wide and I only needed 30 inches, so I just split it apart. Came apart really easily. I used Bona Mega floor finish. This thing is incredibly heavy, it is everything for 2 strong guys to handle. Maple in this size would be ridiculous. It was a really fun project. I'll make a separate post sometime about restoring the Lista and Lyon cabinets, but they turned out great too.

 

[ken w.]

I made a bar top out of an old bowling alley that was going out of business.It came out awesome.

 

[climb.on]

Here are the pics!

 

[climb.on]

A few more.

 

[tool_scrounge]

Looks great!

 

[Vbwiley92]

Great job!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[jhnlngn]

Very cool!

 

[Ghost11]

Awesome

 

[Empty Pockets]

Impressive. Great Job

 

[Jim Diesel]

I agree with all the others, looks great mate.

 

[shoot summ]

Very cool!!

I grew up, and worked in a bowling alley in my younger days, also met my wife of 35 years there.

I eventually plan do build a desk out of some surplus lane material when I can find some.

 

[drivesitfar]

CLIMBON: very nice. great idea that you inset the 1 bys for support to keep the boards nice and tight for years to come. also what did you end up paying for a piece that long if you want to share, but not required because whatever you paid it looks like the right piece for your shop?

great set up and have you decided which vise or vises you are going to mount on it? might I suggest looking at the vise stands thread for a few ideas that might give you options so you won't have to drill holes in your new bench top? here's the link in case you haven't seen it yet.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252799

I wonder how long you will keep that bench clean and ready to use? I seem to have FLAT SURFACE DISEASE because as soon as I clean a bench off I set stuff (****) back on it almost the same day to clutter it up.

cheers

 

[fatfillup]

Flat surface disorder here also


That did turn out great and the shop looks awesome.

I had a piece of bowling alley for years and never used it and don't even remember what I did with it. Wish I had it now


FFS,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,flat surface syndrome

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Flat+surface+syndrome

 

[FJ 432]

This is mine that I'm working on for my Lista cabinets.

 

[Rewind97]

I did this project last summer and just finally getting around to share the process. I needed a 10' workbench 30" deep for my restored Lista & Lyon cabinets. Pretty tough size to come by in butcher block. I found a guy selling sections of bowling alley. I'm particularly fond of restoring old stuff, so this is right up my alley (thanks, I'll be here all week).

I wanted 10' long section and butcher block gets REALLY expensive over 8'. This is fir, with a thick hard maple edge I added to the front. Bowling alleys are only maple for the first 8 feet or so and again I needed 10' so I went for a pine section. Funny thing about these is they are not glued together. They are nailed together dry. Then they have thick pieces of oak 2x4 again nailed to he bottom to keep it together. So I routed in 3/4"x4" pieces of white oak to stabilize it. They are 42" wide and I only needed 30 inches, so I just split it apart. Came apart really easily. I used Bona Mega floor finish. This thing is incredibly heavy, it is everything for 2 strong guys to handle. Maple in this size would be ridiculous. It was a really fun project. I'll make a separate post sometime about restoring the Lista and Lyon cabinets, but they turned out great too.

Very nice!!! Almost too nice to work on!!! There is a bowling alley in my town that has been closed for almost 2 years now......I'm waiting on the day it gets sold and maybe I can pick up some "alleys"!!!

If I'm lucky enough to get some I'll be contacting you climb.on!

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: just an FYI. I've been looking for bowling alley lane sections for a while now and if not stored correctly they warp or can separate easily so BEE CAREFUL when buying some.

I found some 8 foot sections yesterday on Craigslist that were only $100 and even my bad old eyes could see the bend in them on the picture and no mention of it on the ad. I did ask that mom of the owner that called me back and she said that when they were transported her son had to remove some supports in the back that was keeping them straight. they have 16 sections so I might drive up to look and see if any of the pieces in the bottom of the pile are still straight, but then I still need to do something like Climbon did to keep them straight if using for a bench.

just thought i'd mention that finding some isn't all that easy and Climbon did an amazing job restoring his.

 

[KMScott]

climb.on yours looks great and a great addition to your work shop. I also made a work bench out of a bowling alley. The alley was maple the whole length of the alley and picked up one complete lane. Nailed together just like yours. I use it every day and it has held up very well.

 

[DWise]

About 30 years ago a friend gave me an old maple shuffle alley top that was 20 inches wide, 3 inches thick and 20 feet long. I added a 2X4 front edge and 2X6 back edge. Bolted the back edge to each wall stud and used 4X4 front legs. Bench is very solid and has served me well all these years.

 

[Bill Bowman]

Great job!

 

[Roberts210]

Outstanding job!!

 

[climb.on]

CLIMBON: very nice. great idea that you inset the 1 bys for support to keep the boards nice and tight for years to come. also what did you end up paying for a piece that long if you want to share, but not required because whatever you paid it looks like the right piece for your shop?

great set up and have you decided which vise or vises you are going to mount on it? might I suggest looking at the vise stands thread for a few ideas that might give you options so you won't have to drill holes in your new bench top? here's the link in case you haven't seen it yet.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252799

I wonder how long you will keep that bench clean and ready to use? I seem to have FLAT SURFACE DISEASE because as soon as I clean a bench off I set stuff (****) back on it almost the same day to clutter it up.

cheers

I paid $280 for it. It was no steal, but as another member mentioned, they are not easy to find. This guy is near River Falls, WI and he has a ton of it, at least he did as of 8/15 when I bought mine. Great guy and the work he has put into getting these sections to his warehouse and stored properly, makes it a wonder how he doesn't have to charge even more. The maple sections maxed out at 9' and cost a bit more. They had the arrows in them too, which I thought was really cool looking. I thought about arrow inlays on one end and pin spots on the other, but I just didn't have the time. I spent a lot of time in bowling alleys as a kid and this idea has always appealed to me. It was a fair amount of work, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

This is the cleanest, the bench has been, since the moment I set it on the cabinets! Flat surface disease...love that one. And I've definitely contracted it.

Not sure which vise just yet. I really want to move both the tall Lyon cabinets to one size and have an open end to the bench, but that requires moving all my upper cabinets and shelf above them and that's not happening anytime soon. So I will just wait and let those two vises fight it out to see which one wants a permanent home on that bench more.

 

[Redboy]

That's a great looking bench! And I love the cabinets, too... I'm on the hunt for some secondhand Lista, but the competition around here seems pretty fierce! :-/

 

[drivesitfar]

Climbon: FSD is hard to cure, but looking at a clean bench like that you might want to keep the picture you started the thread with close by to remind you sometimes. I hear you on the places to put a vise(s) so i'll just mention again that there are other options for vise mounts besides on gorgeous bench tops. if you have the space might I suggest you build a small welding table like I'm trying to if I can get my neighbor (welder) to get off his new motorcycle. here's the link and we finished his bench and since I don't really have the space yet I haven't seen the need to ruin his fun. soon hopefully i'll have another FLAT SURFACE.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=280441&highlight=welding+table+drives

BTW I and I'm pretty sure all of us love your cabinets. just curious if you have a preference of makers between Lyon and Lista. both top quality and I've never owned a Lista, but have plenty of Lyon that are AWESOME.

 

[climb.on]

Good idea on keeping a photo of when it was clean to remind myself. Only problem is it will also remind my wife what it looked like!

I have new and old Lyon as well as new and old Lista. The new Lista and Lyon both use the same exact tracks (same brand name) and they are buttery smooth - love love love them. I like the flush front fit of Lista drawers. Lyon has a kind of cool Art Deco look and Lista looks good all lined up - I do like the overall look of both. Lyon has 25"x25" drawers (inside). Lista 24" x 24"(inside) and the only time I found that matters is when trying to find liners to fit the 25" size - a bit more limiting. The older versions of both are also very nice, the drawers just aren't' quite as smooth.

I was curious so I just added it all up, I am right at about $100 per drawer (36) including freight. Add the bowling alley bench top and the whole setup cost me about $4000 plus another few hundred for paint, finish and drawer liner material. Oh and all the cabinets were loaded with plenty of dividers. Not the best deal in the world, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

One tall Lyon and the two bigger Lista's are new brand new scratch & dent units from eBay. The small Lista is local CL find. The other Lyon was also eBay as I wanted it to match the scratch & dent unit. Only change I would make if I could would be to have a couple more deeper drawers. I just love them all. Lista or Lyon...Ford or Chevy.

I have a couple old and rough bench height Vidmar's in storage (local find and a steal) that I will restore one of these days...perhaps they will become a base for a nice welding table. I don't imagine they are really much different than the older Lista and Lyon cabinets though.

 

[southalabama]

Looks good. About 20 yrs ago dad turned down a stack of bowling lanes.

I still regret his decision.

Those tops look awesome.

 

[climb.on]

That's a great looking bench! And I love the cabinets, too... I'm on the hunt for some secondhand Lista, but the competition around here seems pretty fierce! :-/

I just noticed you are in the Twin Cites too. You are right, even beat industrial auction cabinets I have seen go easily for $100/drawer and I haven't seen many ever come up. I did score 2 bench height Vidmars last years for $100 each...including all 8 coats of paint. That restore should be interesting!

 

[racinfarmer]

I just noticed you are in the Twin Cites too. You are right, even beat industrial auction cabinets I have seen go easily for $100/drawer and I haven't seen many ever come up. I did score 2 bench height Vidmars last years for $100 each...including all 8 coats of paint. That restore should be interesting!

No kidding. Lista/Vidmar/Equipto/etc. is pretty brutal to find around here (Minnesota).

 

[maintenancemike]

That's a great looking bench! And I love the cabinets, too... I'm on the hunt for some secondhand Lista, but the competition around here seems pretty fierce! :-/

There's a brand new lista technicians toolbox
On CL Madison, WI. I bought the other one about a month ago. It's a white double bank. I'm just about finished with my bowling alley top and have a brand newish wilton vise on that.

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

 

[dkroth]

I'll bet that smelled wonderful!

 

[drivesitfar]

Climbon: great information on cabinets. I agree the quality on all 3 of those companie's cabinets are AWESOME (Lista, Lyon and Vidmar) and you can probable add Equipto and a few others.

I picked up a 550 pound Lyon cabinet about 4 years ago that has 5 shelves in it. I moved it by myself from a huge warehouse that was moving their headquarters and didn't need it to a garage I was leasing and thought it would never move until I found out a few months later the owner was selling and moving to Kentucky. so I moved it again by myself to a storage unit and have moved it again to a bigger storage unit where it's been for a couple years now. I bet my wife will have me buried in this one even if i'm cremated. there is always a few seconds in the moving it by myself where I really have to pay attention during the tipping on and off the trailer.

the amazing thing about this cabinet is that the shelves are bolted in place and are so stout I've actually had 2000 pounds of gym weights on EACH shelve so I've had 10,000 pounds inside this cabinet at times. I think you might need to keep your eye out for one and i'd post a picture but it's on another computer. i'll take one if you like and post it because it's just full of vises now if you want some more color to your thread. otherwise keep your eyes open for one and I think Stronghold (?) is another company that makes a similar cabinet.

I've been looking for a Lyon tool cabinet for 5 years locally and have yet to find one and have only seen one in a member's shop otherwise they are non existent around the PNW.

did I mention I really like your bench?

also good luck with the FSD and posting a picture above your AWESOME BENCH might help you.

DK: I actually stop in at a Cedar mill just to say high to the owner and smell the fresh cut cedar. he says he can't smell it any more unless some OLD GROWTH comes in and he cuts that and then his senses are alive again. pine isn't a bad option though.

 

[climb.on]

Thank you sir - I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out. I am familiar the Lyon and Stronghold cabinets you are talking about - pretty awesome. I have not had a chance to buy one yet (or even see one in person), but I keep an eye open. A nice alternative to the Stronghold type cabinets, that I couldn't pass up...these cabinets I found on eBay last summer for $70 each. No typo. I paid $200 each including freight from east coast. They are (60" x 60" x 28") each w/ four 400# capacity drawers. They are absolutely HUGE! I simply don't have space for them in my garage/shop right now, but when I build a shop someday (and have 15' of clear wall space), they will be ready. It's basically 120 sq/ft of flat surface! I wish I would have bought more. They guy had a ton of them I think, and was basically giving them away at that price.

 

[mike_paxton]

About 30 years ago a friend gave me an old maple shuffle alley top that was 20 inches wide, 3 inches thick and 20 feet long. I added a 2X4 front edge and 2X6 back edge. Bolted the back edge to each wall stud and used 4X4 front legs. Bench is very solid and has served me well all these years.

Great suggestions and pics on using the bowling alley lanes for making work benches!!!

DWise:

I never thought about using an old maple shuffle board top to make a bench top.

Now I'm kicking myself, as a buddy had one in a bar in eastern Ohio which needed removed, but I couldn't figure out a good use for it at the time, so passed on getting it.

Mike

 

[bpj71]

I know it has been said...but really awesome job.

 

[drivesitfar]

ClimbOn: those cabinets look sweet.

like you I can hardly wait for the day when I have my own big shop/garage to have my stuff in too. here's a shelving unit I found and the guy said it wasn't like any shelving unit he'd ever seen. he was only asking $75 and I hate moving it because it's harder to move than my 550 pound Lyon. as you can see it holds a TON of weight and I've had 1500 +- pounds on each shelf and it didn't even creak.

did you print a picture of your clean bench yet and put it above your new bench?

 

[cgrutt]

That's great! Awesome job.

 

[LennyTheLizard]

NIce Job. Thanks for stating the finish. I've had my bowling alley bench built for quite a while, but still haven't finished it. It's 32' long x 30" deep, inspired by Steve-O's HF tool box bench.

I have an old square piece of 3/4" ply that I keep handy, so if I want to do some really dirty work or beat the H*ll out of something I just place that on the bench first.

 

[climb.on]

NIce Job. Thanks for stating the finish. I've had my bowling alley bench built for quite a while, but still haven't finished it. It's 32' long x 30" deep, inspired by Steve-O's HF tool box bench.

32'! Wow, that sounds awesome! You have to go to a flooring contractor to buy the Bona products. Some dealers won't sell it to the general public (contractors only), but call around and you'll find one that will sell it to you on a cash account. I have found that commercial finishes are usually quite superior in quality and ease of application. Definitely the case w/ Bona the Mega product. I had first used it for a hardwood floor install I did in my daughter's nursery and was so impressed, I decided to use it for this as well. If it's designed to hold up to floor traffic, it's gonna be good for a workbench too. And this stuff self-levels so nicely, there is no need to spray it for a smooth coat.

 

[LennyTheLizard]

Seems like I never finish a project, they just keep morphing into different things.

Not intending to highjack your thread, but here is the bench build if your interested.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252477