Looking for info on bowling lane worktop

[Scott H in Wheaton]

I'm moving into a different 2 car attached garage (20x20) in June in the sw suburbs of Indy.
House was built in 2004. Garage walls are already insulated, but I will need to panel or drywall over 2 of them. Thinking of 1/2" plywood or 1x6 planks with an overlapping joint.

Before I move in I would like to "epoxy" the floors and install a new workbench.

Workbench will be made from 3 Harbor Freight 44" bottom boxes and covered with either butcher block or bowling alley lane. I'm planning to take the wheels off the boxes and set them on 2x4 frames.

Looking for tips on the boxes, benchtop, source for benchtop, and installation. Thanks!

 

[matt_i]

Personally I'd make a welded box tube steel frame for the underneath. This will be rock free forevermore.

I looked at some bowling alley recently, when I took my kids bowling. It looks kinda rough on the edges and appears full of nails. This was the pine part of it and not the maple which was out of stock. My personal preference is for the maple for a workbench surface. I thought I recalled that Ikea might have some maple-ish butcher block pieces to buy. I also recall Grizzly (the green bear) had some although not sure if that's still a thing.

Good luck with your build.

 

[BPJOOP93]

I heard the lanes are Full of nails.

 

[Scott H in Wheaton]

I heard the lanes are Full of nails.

I believe that would be true through the center, but the top surface should be clean and smooth...don't want bowling balls hitting nail heads.

 

[bdbecker]

If you want a continuous surface for your bench top, the tough part will be finding sections long enough. Whenever I see someone selling bowling alley, have already cut them into 6-8' lengths. If you want a continuous surface, you'll have to take the sections apart, pull all the nails, resemble, and run the new section through a planer (assuming you want a smooth top). My buddy did his kitchen countertops using bowling alley, and while they turned out really nice, he said if he knew how much work it was going to take ahead of time, he would have just bought butcher block pieces in the lengths he needed.

Also, I should mention, my buddy's father-in-law builds custom kitchens and cabinets, so he had access to a lot of high end equipment to help him along the way, including a gigantic planer that he could run his pieces through.

EDIT:
That's not to say you shouldn't do it, just be prepared for a fair amount of time and effort. You might be time/money ahead looking for something like this:
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll...illiamsburg-Butcher-Block-Co.-MABB12/10012578
http://www.perfectplank.com/maple_butcher_block_tops.html

 

[Scott H in Wheaton]

If you want a continuous surface for your bench top, the tough part will be finding sections long enough. Whenever I see someone selling bowling alley, have already cut them into 6-8' lengths. If you want a continuous surface, you'll have to take the sections apart, pull all the nails, resemble, and run the new section through a planer (assuming you want a smooth top). My buddy did his kitchen countertops using bowling alley, and while they turned out really nice, he said if he knew how much work it was going to take ahead of time, he would have just bought butcher block pieces in the lengths he needed.

Also, I should mention, my buddy's father-in-law builds custom kitchens and cabinets, so he had access to a lot of high end equipment to help him along the way, including a gigantic planer that he could run his pieces through.

EDIT:
That's not to say you shouldn't do it, just be prepared for a fair amount of time and effort. You might be time/money ahead looking for something like this:
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll...illiamsburg-Butcher-Block-Co.-MABB12/10012578
http://www.perfectplank.com/maple_butcher_block_tops.html

Thanks for those links, I will check them out. A guy on Craigslist a couple hours away has a 12 ft Hard Pine lane for $300 and a 12 ft Maple for $500. Both are 42" width, but I'm thinking only 20" on top of thos HF tool chests. He said he would rip to size for $20, giving me two 12 ft benchtops.

 

[jack stand]

For some reason I think they have a through bolt across them every so often.
Years ago I scrounged some racket ball court walls. Iirc it was like >1" thick "masonite". Very hard & heavy, but perfect for a bench top.

 

[mcmlvif100]

You might check this thread / link

The Bowling Alley workbench build

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352270

Lots of background info and a nice bench build using bowling alley for the top.

 

[wssix99]

Here you go. These guys are on the far south suburbs of Chicago and get in all sorts of reclaimed wood from time-to-time. Bowling alley, gym floor, bleachers, boardwalks, etc.
http://www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com/gym-floor/

 

[j p smith]

Here are a few pictures of mine with storage rack behind the boxes.

 

[wssix99]

Here are a few pictures of mine with storage rack behind the boxes.

 

[fivespdcat]

Bowling alley is tough to work with and is not as solid as you would think. It's held together with hundreds or thousands of unbelievably hard nails that my sawzall would only scratch with a Diablo blade. It's not solid like a normal butcher block top since the nails good it together and mine had thick angle iron to give sine rigidity. Once that was removed it would roll up almost like paper. It's a hell of a lot of work.

After getting that out of the way, if you're still convinced to do it here are a few tips.

-when cutting using a carbide demo blade on a circular saw. I like the Diablo demon. It could cut the nails in half length wise. Be prepared to go through more than one.
-if refinishing, you're in for a treat. Mine had a finish that was almost impossible to remove even with belt sander loaded with 40 grit paper. It laughed at me.
-if you don't plan to support the bottom side with the angle iron you'll have to dowel the top as much as possible. As you can probably guess this also ***** due to the aforementioned hardened nails
-it's a lot heavier than you think
-if the alley has been resurfaced a few times there may be nails near the surface. That may kill the clean look and any power tools you use to prep the surface
-edges are pretty ugly, you'll either fill holes or edge band it

All of that being said, my countertops look awesome but it was way more work than i expected. Probably would've been better to pay the premium and buy new or search for real salvage butcher block.


Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

 

[Scott H in Wheaton]

Bowling alley is tough to work with and is not as solid as you would think. It's held together with hundreds or thousands of unbelievably hard nails that my sawzall would only scratch with a Diablo blade. It's not solid like a normal butcher block top since the nails good it together and mine had thick angle iron to give sine rigidity. Once that was removed it would roll up almost like paper. It's a hell of a lot of work.

After getting that out of the way, if you're still convinced to do it here are a few tips.

-when cutting using a carbide demo blade on a circular saw. I like the Diablo demon. It could cut the nails in half length wise. Be prepared to go through more than one.
-if refinishing, you're in for a treat. Mine had a finish that was almost impossible to remove even with belt sander loaded with 40 grit paper. It laughed at me.
-if you don't plan to support the bottom side with the angle iron you'll have to dowel the top as much as possible. As you can probably guess this also ***** due to the aforementioned hardened nails
-it's a lot heavier than you think
-if the alley has been resurfaced a few times there may be nails near the surface. That may kill the clean look and any power tools you use to prep the surface
-edges are pretty ugly, you'll either fill holes or edge band it

All of that being said, my countertops look awesome but it was way more work than i expected. Probably would've been better to pay the premium and buy new or search for real salvage butcher block.

Thanks for the tips, and I think I will be better off getting a 12' Maple or Cherry Butcher Block countertop from Lumber Liquidators for around $350. There is a store about 45 minutes from the new house.

 

[36truck]

I've dealt with bowling alley lanes a few times for bench tops. As has been said before they are held together with lots & lots of nails. Also very heavy to move around. 8' is about as long as you want to move by hand longer than that fork lifts come in real handy.
If you can get them cut to what you need they make for a great work surface. They are heavy & don't move. My Dad and a friend of mine have bowling alley bench tops for years and hold up great.