Replies

1. 
   TomT226 | Aug 27, 2008 07:42pm | #1

   Great idea.  Long as it doesn't smell like old bowling shoes...

    

2. 
   ctsjr | Aug 27, 2008 10:04pm | #2

   Nice.  And you can finish it with spare varnish... :)  Tom

   "Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
1. 
   heartwould | Aug 27, 2008 10:41pm | #3

   Count a strike for you . . .

3. 
   nazard | Aug 28, 2008 12:00am | #4

   Pic 1:  I bet it took some balls to slice through that!

   Pic 2:  Nice work.  Neat as a pin.

   -nazard (who should know better....)

1. 
   Ray | Aug 28, 2008 12:40am | #5

   It took several cheap carbide blades, gloves, and safety glasses.  The fireworks were spectacular.  Those are hardened nails, about 1 per foot in each board in a bowling alley.  I used a couple of crowbars to split off a 24-in. slab and a dremel tool to score the nails.  Broke the nails off and ground them down with a 6" angle grinder.  Those $1,000 workbenches at Woodcraft are worth every penny after all this work :-)

1. 
   flairwoodworks | Aug 28, 2008 03:41am | #6

   Ray,

   So if you were given the opportunity to build a bench from a bowling alley, would you or wouldn't you?Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com

    - Success is not the key to happines.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

1. 
   Ray | Aug 28, 2008 03:59am | #7

   I did, it's a great bench, but I wouldn't tackle something like that again.  It also cost me a ripped tendon in my elbow from wrestling the slab around :-(.  It's finally healed, but took a long time.

   Edited 8/27/2008 9:01 pm ET by Ray

1. 
   flairwoodworks | Aug 28, 2008 04:01am | #8

   Ray,

   Let me rephrase that.  Was it worth the effort?Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com

    - Success is not the key to happines.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

2. 
   Ray | Aug 28, 2008 04:35am | #9

   Well, it kept me out of the pool hall for quite a while :-)  family joke, we live in a really small Southern town, don't even have a tavern within 50 miles.

   Quite a learning process, I still haven't finished the tail vise, but still chipping away at it, and I'll need a heftier base, but yes, it was worth it.

3. 
   flairwoodworks | Aug 29, 2008 08:45pm | #10

   Ray,

   Heftier base?  Check out mine.  http://flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!2B3CECCE825F255A!423.entryChris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com

    - Success is not the key to happines.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

4. 
   Ray | Aug 29, 2008 09:13pm | #11

   WOW!  That's quite a base.  I'd have to cut down the old pecan tree in the back yard to get a piece of wood like that - - SWMBO wouldn't be happy with that.

   I sealed the underside of my bench and let it sit for a week before flattening the top - so far so good.  Since it's a section of bowling alley, I screwed 2 maple strips across the bottom too - those angle irons looked so tacky :-)

   Edited 8/29/2008 2:15 pm ET by Ray