# Workbench Top Bowling Alley



## Seymour188 (Nov 20, 2018)

Hello!

I have a length of bowling alley (7x2 ft) that I want to use as a top for a woodworking bench. It's very solid, strips of 1.5" maple, but there are little gaps between some of the strips, making it not very smooth. I thought of using wood filler and an oil or shellack finish, but unsure whether that would be a good work surface. What do you think?


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## miner217 (Apr 10, 2020)

Hi, Seymour 188,

I had something similar to this issue (grooves from T&G Brazilian Cherry flooring) and I cleaned out the crevices and grooves as well as I could and then floated the top on a perfectly level surface with two-part clear epoxy used for bar tops. It looks awesome and holds up pretty well even with moderate use. I hope this helps. 

Ad removed


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Yep, I'd do the same.....*

The unsightly appearance would bother me, but not really affect the work surface in any way. So, I would either run a V groove router bit down them using a straight edge guide down the interfaces or a circular saw set to 3/16" or so, also on a guide. Then pour an epoxy clear coat on the entire surface as suggested above. For a real "fancy" look, make a wider dado with the router and set in contrasting wood strips, like Walnut. :surprise2:

I made a 2 1/4" thick X 36" wide X 7 ft workbench top from various lengths of hard Maple using epoxy as the "glue". A friend owns a custom door shop and he ran the piece through his 42" wide belt sander to flatten it out, beautifully. It's almost to nice to use, so I keep it free from abuse as much as possible. It is so heavy one person can't manage it alone. 

:vs_cool:


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

My workbench top is 2x6's laid on their sides. Certainly there are groves/ slots there. On top of the 2x6's I have a sheet of 1/8" Masonite. Very smooth top now. Easy to change when dirty or other reason.


George


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Unless you completely tear it apart and reassemble, I would not use it. I have work on many bowling tops and there not stable...Use it for a bar top or something....


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## Seymour188 (Nov 20, 2018)

@Rebelwork -- In what sense are they unstable? Mine is 3" thick and each strip is glued and nailed to the one next to it. The joints themselves are tight, they're just a bit splintery near the top where glue has come out.


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## Seymour188 (Nov 20, 2018)

@GeorgeC -- Yes, your suggestion is prudent. I've resisted putting an sheet of MDF on top because I really like the look of the maple.


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

back around 1987, I came across a bowling alley that was being 
torn down. I got a pickup truck load of wood for $50 but it was
mostly splintered and cracked like yours. I made sooooooo many 
cutting boards from it because that was all it was good for.
if you can get a table top out of it, I wish you all the best.

.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Seymour188 said:


> @Rebelwork -- In what sense are they unstable? Mine is 3" thick and each strip is glued and nailed to the one next to it. The joints themselves are tight, they're just a bit splintery near the top where glue has come out.


Your table , do as you please....


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## gmercer_48083 (Apr 9, 2016)

I have heard that some bowling alleys were assembled with nails or steel pins. You might want to check for this with a metal detector... if you plan for dog holes. Steel plays nasty on drill bits.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Nails? what nails ..... Duh?*



Seymour188 said:


> * ....* In what sense are they unstable? Mine is 3" thick and each strip is glued and nailed to the one next to it. The joints themselves are tight, they're just a bit splintery near the top where glue has come out.





gmercer_48083 said:


> I have heard that some bowling alleys were assembled with nails or steel pins. You might want to check for this with a metal detector... if you plan for dog holes. Steel plays nasty on drill bits.



Too bad about the nails. :sad2: 

They would seriously ruin a drill bit for the dog holes. Maybe there's a pattern rather than randomly scattered through out the top, so you could locate them then dodge them? If not then you could use "T" tracks just set flush with the top. :surprise2:


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

I'm trying to figure the glued part. When we get older bowling alley sectioned there is no glue. If this top has glue it has been taken apart at one time or has been rubbed in glue. 


I've got many pictures from an old phone that I put on amazon photos, just trying to figure out how to re down load the photos...phone went into security mode and can't open it yet...the pictures show the process of turning a section into restaurant tables. There is really good money in this...


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## Seymour188 (Nov 20, 2018)

After looking at it again, I'm not sure it is glue. The sides of the strips have a tongue and groove profile and what I thought was glue only extends from the top of the strip to the tongue (see image). Perhaps it's years of varnish?? Not sure. 

I think I'll try a very small V-groove router bit and follow one of the seams. If it's as splintery as it seems on top, I may have to change plans. Perhaps the Ikea countertop is the better choice.

And yes, the nails and the dog holes are also a challenge. This piece was originally twice as wide but I split it with a friend because I have a tiny workspace. The nails are quite impressive -- good steel with a spiral profile. An angle grinder was the only thing that would cut them.


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## JohnGi (May 9, 2019)

I built some countertops out of salvaged bowling alley lanes a long time ago. They were about 2 1/2" thick, hard maple, with a tongue & groove profile between pieces, and fastened together with a lot of nails. They are not stable as is. I through bored them edge to edge with a ships auger working from both edges to the middle and installed threaded rods which allowed me to draw the slabs tight. Yes, I hit a number of nails and had to chew through them lengthwise a bite at a time. I had to sharpen the auger several times and wore it out by the time I was done. The bolts needed to be tightened from time to time.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Bowling ally flooring is liken accordion after time. The junk gets pushed in over time from sanding,etc and eventually after they hit there limit there replaced.

I put o a clamp on them and compress them after there blown out several times. I cant completely mash them but have to decide how much and wrap them with maple.at this point they can be epoxied...


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*So, how are they made?*

Are they made/assembled on site by nailing boards side by side, without glue, then finished with a floor sander afterwards? If they are not glued, then your post above makes sense. I guess if I wanted to use one I'd glue/epoxy it to a piece of 3/4" Birch plywood and then run it through a wide belt sander at a cabinet shop. Then I would epoxy the top after cleaning out the joints with V groove bit and router. You can't saw each board apart because of the nails.

:sad2:
A quote from the video: It folds up like an accordian ....


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## DrRobert (Apr 27, 2015)

Yes it can make a good workbench. The wood is extremely stable, but needs to have very good support.

In retrospect from the one I made, I strongly recommend you take it apart and remove all the nails, then glue back together.

The top will have to be flattened.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Here are few photos after all the cleanup...


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

I'll have to find the photos before the clean up after they first come off the truck..


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## Scurvy (Apr 12, 2013)

Seems like there are better options for a workbench top -- this will be no slam-dunk.


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## Joe Lyddon (Mar 13, 2007)

Seymour188 said:


> Hello!
> 
> I have a length of bowling alley (7x2 ft) that I want to use as a top for a woodworking bench. It's very solid, strips of 1.5" maple, but there are little gaps between some of the strips, making it not very smooth. I thought of using wood filler and an oil or shellack finish, but unsure whether that would be a good work surface. What do you think?



To really do it right, I'd RIP the strips apart, cleaning the surfaces of each strip, and Glue it all back together again with good Clamping pressure.


I would check to be sure there are NOT metal connectors in there first!


Before gluing back together, it would be better if you could run them through a thickness planer or sander to get ALL surfaces looking better!


Should end up being a very nice bench-top!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Nails, nails and more nails ......*



Seymour188 said:


> -- In what sense are they unstable? *Mine is 3" thick and each strip is glued and nailed to the one next to it.* The joints themselves are tight, they're just a bit splintery near the top where glue has come out.





Seymour188 said:


> ...........
> 
> And yes, the nails and the dog holes are also a challenge. This piece was originally twice as wide but I split it with a friend because I have a tiny workspace.* The nails are quite impressive -- good steel with a spiral profile. An angle grinder was the only thing that would cut them*.





JohnGi said:


> I built some countertops out of salvaged bowling alley lanes a long time ago. *They were about 2 1/2" thick, hard maple, with a tongue & groove profile between pieces, and fastened together with a lot of nails. * They are not stable as is. I through bored them edge to edge with a ships auger working from both edges to the middle and installed threaded rods which allowed me to draw the slabs tight. * Yes, I hit a number of nails and had to chew through them lengthwise a bite at a time. I had to sharpen the auger several times and wore it out by the time I was done. * The bolts needed to be tightened from time to time.





Joe Lyddon said:


> *To really do it right, I'd RIP the strips apart,* cleaning the surfaces of each strip, and Glue it all back together again with good Clamping pressure.
> I would check to be sure there are NOT metal connectors in there first!



OK, let's be clear, it is made by nailing each separate strip to the previous one, possibly No Glue, and getting them apart is all but impossible! Watch this video:






To make the top stable I would sand the bottom flush and clean it with a rough 60 grit pad or belt. Then glue it to a flat piece of 3/4" plywood or counter top particle board after cleaning out in between the grooves as best you can. You can bend it apart slightly to open up the grooves, blow out any dirt or dust, then clamp it back together, before gluing it down. Then you can run your router and V groove bit down each joint line or set a circular saw to 3/8" deep to avoid hitting the nails, and cut a thin or full width kerf between them. These kerfs would get filled with the epoxy bar top floated on the top as a final finish. 



OK..... that's a lot of work, BUT it's still less than making one from scratch as I did. It will be a BEAST to lift or move about, that is for certain. My maple top is 2 1/2" thick by 30" wide by 84" long and requires two strong men to move it. 



As a previous post described, you can make a router sled to level it and take the top down in thickness, maybe 1/8" or so to remove as much of the unsightly lines between the pieces rather than kerfing or grooving. Again, that's a good bit of work, but probably the best way to go in my opinion. Since the top is so heavy, you won't be trucking it off to a cabinet shop for a run through the wide belt sander, like I did. Mine was glued/epoxied right in the door makers shop on a 48" wide by 8ft cast iron assembly table which was very flat. So all we had to do was roll cart it over to the sander and flip it a few times to get both sides flat. Then I loaded it up and trucked it to my shop where I gave a few coats of poly.


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## Seymour188 (Nov 20, 2018)

@Scurvy I tend to agree with you. I think I'll use an Ikea laminated oak table top (I have 2) for the workbench top. I can always take the bowling alley apart later -- it is possible with a pry bar and angle grinder, but a LOT of work.


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