This is my collection of more unusual Bowling related items...
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All images on these pages are Copyright 1998, James Willing unless otherwise noted.
Click on any image to view a larger version (usually around 640x480)
Dreams...
How many serious bowlers can honestly say that they have not entertained as least briefly the thought of how nice it would be to have their own pair of lanes?
Space becomes an issue, as well as cost. The equipment is expensive! Or at least if you are stuck on having the most modern equipment available. But with a little effort and some creativity...
I actually had a pair of AMF 82-30 pinspotters (w/5850 chassis) about ten years ago that I picked up for a couple of hundred dollars from a house that was upgrading their machines. I actually had one machine reassembled in my workshop and was tinkering with it when I lost the other machine and all associated parts/spares/etc. in a warehouse accident. (sigh) I kept the remaining machine for about a year then sold it to another local house for parts. And so the dream languished...
Fast forward to 1998... I'd been looking into some new ventures, and started looking back into the bowling industry just to see what was going on. Prices had not changed much from 10+ years ago (still about $15k for a pair of 82-70's), but word came to me that two more small local houses were going to be closing down (see the 'Memories' page for details) which got me to thinking about taking another shot at finding some machines.
I knew (casually) the owner of the first house, and dropped in to speak to him about the impending closing. He confirmed it, but was not inclined to discuss any deals on equipment. (all or nothing he said, altho I knew of a number of other local operators who had offered to buy him out and had been turned down). So, I decided to wander over to the other house...
When I wandered in, it was apparent that my information was a bit dated. Where the scoring tables and settees once were was now a bar, the gutters (channels for the 'PC' crowd) had been covered over, and pool tables and such sat upon the lane beds. I guess I looked appropriately puzzled as the lady behind the bar said "you look like you were looking for a bowling alley..."
A brief introduction followed along with a discussion where I was referred to the property owner who was also the operator of the former bowling alley. I contacted them and found that they were planning to have a crew come in within the month to start tearing out the pinspotters which were now hiding behind a new rear wall in the building. "Tearing out" quite literally, as it had been contracted to a metal recycling company for removal and salvage.
Another discussion ensued and we hit upon the agreement that I could pull out as much of the equipment as I wanted as long as I was done and the gear was off the premises before the salvage crew was scheduled in. This gave me a little over two weeks...
Now, in an ideal world you have access to the backend of a center through a double wide 6.5 foot door, and the pinspotters come out in two large pieces on a dolly or forklift. This was however (as usual) not an ideal situation... In the time since these pinspotters were installed, a new building had gone up immediately to the rear of the former bowling alley, and the only access was now a single wide standard exterior door at the corner of the building. So in short, in order to save these machines they were going to have to come (completely) apart! (well, at least I've done this before!)
BTW: for the benefit of those who have not read thru the 'Memories' page before arriving here, I should point out that the machines being discussed here are first run 1954 vintage AMF 82-30 pinspotters w/'latch' chassis, and were the first automatic pinspotters installed in the state of Oregon. This only added to my resolve that at least one set of these units needed to be preserved somehow...
A crew (of unsuspecting friends) was assembled, trucks and trailers readied, and tools gathered. Access to the building was arranged and we set to work. (if you want all the gory details, let me know and I'll add it later...) In all, it took about 4 days of sessions 6 to 12 hours long with from two to five people at a shot to pull out one complete pair of machines (formerly lanes 9 and 10), and one additional single machine (formerly lane 11) for spares. Number 12 had already been largely demolished by the building maintenance person in order to get an idea what it would take to remove them...
Today the machines are stored in (yet another) warehouse. And again I'm making room in my workshop for an assembly project... Found some scoring tables under (!) the building in rather sad shape, but salvagable. The ball returns were long since gone however, so something else to find... Lane beds come much later (no space at present). But the tough part is out of the way...
The dream begins again...
The technology behind the Masking Unit...
In the course of my various dealing and efforts, I manage to get to crawl around in some rather interesting (to me at least) and unusual places. Most reciently, prior to the closing of Beaverton Bowl I got the chance to have a good crawl around the AMF 82-70ss pinspotters in use there.
So, for those of a comparitively more modern bent (remember, the 82-70 was introduced in 1962), here is a tour of the inside of a more commonly seen pinspotter: (pause over any image for a brief description)
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More to come...
Other...
More to come...