Anyone build their own bowling lane?

[AZBowla]

Our little chat box got me thinking about this. I know there's no way in hell I could do it simply because I live in a little tiny apartment and don't have room for a 70 foot long lane, but if the day came when I could buy a house with a big basement, I was thinking maybe this could be done. Nevermind getting a pinsetter or a ball return, I would be fine with rigging together a manual pinsetter (really it would be a bunch of big PVC pipes that I could stand the pins up in and then lift up out of the way to set them up, sort of like the plastic rack is used when playing pool). For a ball return, just roll it back up the gutter for the player to pick up, then when it's your turn to bowl the other player goes down to the other end and acts as the pinsetter and ball return guy, etc. It would sort of work like the half scale bowling lanes people have built (search half scale bowling on youtube and you'll see these), but mine would be full size. A simple computer program and a used computer could be set up in back for the person playing "pinsetter" to enter the scores - I can write that myself and have the output displayed on a monitor somewhere on the wall or something. If I really wanted to get fancy I could network two computers together so you could enter names and start new games etc from the front computer and that would then be read by the computer in the back, but I digress...

Am I crazy (yeah probably) and how much would it cost for just the wood and gutters? Could a synthetic surface be used so that there wouldn't be a need for oil? I just think that would be so awesome if anytime I wanted to go bowling all I had to do was walk down to the basement, turn on the lights and go for it. That'd be so friggin' sweet.

[75lockwood]

LOL!!!! i Love how i made a joke about this this morning in another thread, now here it is!
:cool:

[scottymoney]

I would love to do it if I had the room, but I wouldn't do it unless I had a working pinsetter. Call me lazy but it would just not be fun having to walk down and set them up everytime. And I know the wife isn't going to do it even if she is bowling with me.

[75lockwood]

I would love to do it if I had the room, but I wouldn't do it unless I had a working pinsetter. Call me lazy but it would just not be fun having to walk down and set them up everytime. And I know the wife isn't going to do it even if she is bowling with me.

That's what having kids is for, geeze

[AngeloPD]

here you go, pretty pricey imo but comes with a pinsetter already
http://www.fusionbowling.com/pricing/

[striker12]

not bad prices for lanes but problem where the heck am i going to get that kind of money from.

[75lockwood]

here you go, pretty pricey imo but comes with a pinsetter already
http://www.fusionbowling.com/pricing/

How about Bowling boards gives away one of these instead of a ball? LOL

Look's really cool, definitely interested, now all i need is to rob a bank truck

[billf]

I saw a tow truck hooking up to an armored car yesterday. If only I knew lol
My dream is to own a bowling alley and now it looks like that would cost over one million just in lanes never mind land, building, etc. Come on Powerball, Bill needs the winning ticket (next jackpot is 120million).

[GoodGorilla]

I heard that Lebron James has a lane in his house.

[AZBowla]

Well if I wanted to blow 100 grand then sure, I'd call up those fusion bowling guys, but come on, 80% of that cost has got to be the pinsetter and the ball return, and 18% is the labor to have it put in. I bet if you just built the lane yourself using synthetic materials and rigged up a manual pinsetter you could get the whole thing done for a couple grand, tops. Yeah walking down each time and setting the pins up would be a pain, but if it meant having my very own bowling lane for a couple grand, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I'd like to see a cost breakdown that shows how much the wood is, how much the surface is, how much for the gutters, etc. The half scale guys can build their lanes for about $500-$750 and that includes the little half size pins and bowling balls, so a full size set up can't cost that much more. If you know where to go, you can get old pins for free from many bowling centers.

Bill, if you ever do hit that jackpot and build your own bowling center you should have a grand opening night of free bowling for all us forum members to come down and congratulate you on your win. If I ever win that kind of money, I don't think I'd own my own bowling center, but you can be sure I'd have a nice big game room in the basement with two brand new lanes with ball return and pinsetters in it just for me. And an entire DV8 arsenal of balls to go with it!

[75lockwood]

Well if I wanted to blow 100 grand then sure, I'd call up those fusion bowling guys, but come on, 80% of that cost has got to be the pinsetter and the ball return, and 18% is the labor to have it put in. I bet if you just built the lane yourself using synthetic materials and rigged up a manual pinsetter you could get the whole thing done for a couple grand, tops. Yeah walking down each time and setting the pins up would be a pain, but if it meant having my very own bowling lane for a couple grand, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I'd like to see a cost breakdown that shows how much the wood is, how much the surface is, how much for the gutters, etc. The half scale guys can build their lanes for about $500-$750 and that includes the little half size pins and bowling balls, so a full size set up can't cost that much more. If you know where to go, you can get old pins for free from many bowling centers.

Bill, if you ever do hit that jackpot and build your own bowling center you should have a grand opening night of free bowling for all us forum members to come down and congratulate you on your win. If I ever win that kind of money, I don't think I'd own my own bowling center, but you can be sure I'd have a nice big game room in the basement with two brand new lanes with ball return and pinsetters in it just for me. And an entire DV8 arsenal of balls to go with it!

If Bill wins he needs to fly us all to his new bowling center! LOL

as far as building goes, the lane deck isn't as easy as you would think a lot goes into it. a pinsetter would be easy enough to build, i would just rig it with enough pins for an entire game and have an arm sweep all the down pins out of the way. or... you could take the 5 pin bowling aproach and put all the pins on strings so you can simply stand them back up after being knocked down....

[Juice]

If you were willing to do a lot of the work yourself and didn't mind handscoring, you could do a lane for less than 8 grand.

[75lockwood]

If you were willing to do a lot of the work yourself and didn't mind handscoring, you could do a lane for less than 8 grand.

First, i don't believe we have met, WELCOME TO THE BOARDS!!!

second, why 8 grand? if you handyman it i'm sure you could do it a lot cheaper :p


string pin method, use an old motor to rig up a ball return, forget about oil, weak balls only lol......

[Davec13]

I have looked at home lanes before and the price I was quoted was $180K. That was for 2 custom lanes with all the bells and whistles. After getting over the sticker shock I started looking smaller scale. There is an arcade version that's almost half scale and I have seen them at auction for substantially cheaper than $180?K There around $20,000 brand new. I didn't have the space the last time I saw one at auction. Now I do. Here is a link to the arcade versions. http://www.bmigaming.com/games-sports-bowling-mini-bowling-lanes.htm

If you look on youtube there are plenty of home alleys from 1/4 scale all the way to full scale.

[AZBowla]

Oh if I were to ever do this, it'd be full scale. I want to be able to use my actual bowling balls and practice under real world conditions. Mini bowling is fun and all, but it's just not the same.

Man, I was looking over those fusionbowling set ups in their gallery - whoa, that is classy, San Diego! If I ever hit the lottery, I'm calling these guys up as soon as I have the money in the bank. Those set ups are SWEET! Drool, da-rool! I need a bib when looking at that site. I SOOOO want one of these someday!!

[Davec13]

Just get a job with google and hang out at their employee relaxation center.

http://www.murreybowling.com/Murrey_Bowling/Bowling_Alley_Photo_Gallery_files/shapeimage_6.png

[AZBowla]

Just get a job with google and hang out at their employee relaxation center.

HA! If I had one of those at work I'd get fired for never getting anything done, and my GF would leave me because I'd never come home!

[billf]

It wold be cool if on the weekend before the grand opening we had a huge bowlingboards members only bowling marathon party. I bet I could fly everyone here, hotel and food for less than one pair of lanes lol
Then as an excuse to travel I could visit people on here and give lessons. My dream center would have 2-4 lanes in the pro shop with a CATS system for coaching, ball reviews and analyzing for ball purchase. An ID card would unlock the door to the gym so employees and the high school team can have a private place to work out. There would be lots of room too for people and equipment. I have even toyed with the thought of having an aisle on the side of each pair of lanes so you would only have to worry about lane courtesy with the team you're paired with. I decided long ago that kids under working age would bowl a certain amount of games per day for free and those of working age could with a pay stub or paper showing at least 10 hours a week of volunteer work. The center would sponsor the high school team and the youth league. What better way to get kids hooked than free bowling? I'm hoping to win enough that I wouldn't have to worry about the center making money but rather be a fun place for adults and kids.

[75lockwood]

Just get a job with google and hang out at their employee relaxation center.

http://www.murreybowling.com/Murrey_Bowling/Bowling_Alley_Photo_Gallery_files/shapeimage_6.png


*starts writing resume...*

[75lockwood]

It wold be cool if on the weekend before the grand opening we had a huge bowlingboards members only bowling marathon party. I bet I could fly everyone here, hotel and food for less than one pair of lanes lol
Then as an excuse to travel I could visit people on here and give lessons. My dream center would have 2-4 lanes in the pro shop with a CATS system for coaching, ball reviews and analyzing for ball purchase. An ID card would unlock the door to the gym so employees and the high school team can have a private place to work out. There would be lots of room too for people and equipment. I have even toyed with the thought of having an aisle on the side of each pair of lanes so you would only have to worry about lane courtesy with the team you're paired with. I decided long ago that kids under working age would bowl a certain amount of games per day for free and those of working age could with a pay stub or paper showing at least 10 hours a week of volunteer work. The center would sponsor the high school team and the youth league. What better way to get kids hooked than free bowling? I'm hoping to win enough that I wouldn't have to worry about the center making money but rather be a fun place for adults and kids.


This sounds AWESOME!!!!! please let bill win the lotto PLEASE!!!!

[AngeloPD]

This sounds AWESOME!!!!! please let bill win the lotto PLEASE!!!!

well, not only hope for Bill. if anyone win from this forum, lets all do Bill's idea and name the alley after him! lol

[75lockwood]

well, not only hope for Bill. if anyone win from this forum, lets all do Bill's idea and name the alley after him! lol

I'm in! where ever this super center is built, I'm so moving in! :cool:

[Juice]

why 8 grand? if you handyman it i'm sure you could do it a lot cheaper :p

Sorry, my fault. I meant full scale. You can pick up a reconditioned a2 anywhere from $3k - $4k, some of the centers that are closed/closing are all but giving the lane beds away.

[noeymc]

heres a idea once we get this ally lets put rooms on the 2nd story and we can just live there and become the best bowlers in the world

[75lockwood]

heres a idea once we get this ally lets put rooms on the 2nd story and we can just live there and become the best bowlers in the world

Yes, i'd like to reserve my room :D

[noeymc]

ok so all we need now is someone to hit the lotto then we all will move there and bowl forever =D bills bowling ally has a nice ring it could become a chain lol

[75lockwood]

ok so all we need now is someone to hit the lotto then we all will move there and bowl forever =D bills bowling ally has a nice ring it could become a chain lol

sounds good to me. Bill! go win the Lotto! NOW!

[noeymc]

yea bill dont make me send 75 down there and make you win it


your rapper name is 75cent

[75lockwood]

yea bill dont make me send 75 down there and make you win it


your rapper name is 75cent

so i'm 150% as cool as 50cent? LOL

[noeymc]

yes sir 50cent aint got nothin on u homie

[madhav1A]

in begining every body needs their own lane,i thought the same but where to get the space,money

[AZBowla]

I don't have the space or money for a full size lane, but what about a practice surface for releases and such? I was wondering how long of a "lane" I would need to work on my approach and the release. I'm thinking if I had a simulated lane surface long enough to go a foot or so past the first arrows that would be good for practice. It could just be a sheet of laminate that I would lay on the floor, and then place a large padded box to catch the ball in at the other end. Anyone ever build something like that?

I also found a 1/10th scale set of pins and a ball (more like a marble, lol) at the dollar store the other day so for fun I'm going to make a scale lane to go with them. It'll be about 5 inches wide by 6 feet long, lol. The kids will love it. I'll put up a pic when I get around to getting this done.

[75lockwood]

I don't have the space or money for a full size lane, but what about a practice surface for releases and such? I was wondering how long of a "lane" I would need to work on my approach and the release. I'm thinking if I had a simulated lane surface long enough to go a foot or so past the first arrows that would be good for practice. It could just be a sheet of laminate that I would lay on the floor, and then place a large padded box to catch the ball in at the other end. Anyone ever build something like that?

I also found a 1/10th scale set of pins and a ball (more like a marble, lol) at the dollar store the other day so for fun I'm going to make a scale lane to go with them. It'll be about 5 inches wide by 6 feet long, lol. The kids will love it. I'll put up a pic when I get around to getting this done.

if you just want to work on form and and even consistency you only really need a lane that goes just past the arrows, after that you could just put some pillows or maybe even rig up a ball return. it would be neat to build something like this. (i still don't have enough room) LOL

[AZBowla]

if you just want to work on form and and even consistency you only really need a lane that goes just past the arrows, after that you could just put some pillows or maybe even rig up a ball return. it would be neat to build something like this. (i still don't have enough room) LOL

If I really had the money to do this right, I'd build a lane as you described, along with a motion capture system of some sort (such as an xbox kinect, there's been a good amount of homebrew stuff made with those) and then write a computer program to read how fast the ball was moving, how many revs, etc and then use that information as inputs into a bowling sim. You could then see the results on the screen as the virtual ball takes over and travels down the lane where your actual ball left off. Imagine the possibilities for pro-shops, home enthusiasts, etc. I wonder how hard it would be to build something like that... hmmmmmm......

[noeymc]

we found the the computer guy for bills bowling lanes =D

[AZBowla]

I'm thinking this would still be at least a grand to put together the prototype. I would need a kinect, a dedicated PC, a flat panel TV and then the actual lane surface and ball trap. It would have to all be built into a cabinet of some sort so it could absorb the impact of the ball and not damage the PC and monitor mounted above the lane.

Just imagine the possibilities though! I could even have the computer simulate different balls based on the bowlingball.com perfect scale so if you wanted to know how you'd do with a new ball, you could just tell the program the weight and hook rating of the ball and get a good idea of how it would work for you. This would be quite the project!

[scottymoney]

In all that you have said AZ, being an IT guy and doing my own techy stuff. The hard part is the program. I am sure building the lane and the ball "catch" system would be easy. Getting it to translate to the SIM system is the tough part.
It is a great idea and a similar idea to the golf simulators.
I am going to take to Google and check there has to be something like this idea already.

[scottymoney]

Damn those Chinese always making things happen!
http://yaokun.en.made-in-china.com/product/VbyxJrRDveUY/China-New-Bowling-Simulator.html

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/533864462/china_screen_simulated_bowling.html

[75lockwood]

Damn those Chinese always making things happen!
http://yaokun.en.made-in-china.com/product/VbyxJrRDveUY/China-New-Bowling-Simulator.html

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/533864462/china_screen_simulated_bowling.html

I've bowled on one of these before, Playdium has them. there ok, but not accurate at all, from what i could tell it only translated to the sim based on where the ball hit the backmat, if you tried to hook on it it would end up with a corner hit

[AZBowla]

In all that you have said AZ, being an IT guy and doing my own techy stuff. The hard part is the program. I am sure building the lane and the ball "catch" system would be easy. Getting it to translate to the SIM system is the tough part.
It is a great idea and a similar idea to the golf simulators.
I am going to take to Google and check there has to be something like this idea already.

Yep, but as Lockwood said, they're made by guys who are obviously not bowlers, so when you hook the ball the program has no idea what you're doing. Plus the one you found is $15K. That's a bit outside of my budget at the moment. They look friggin' sweet though. If money were no object, I'd buy one of these as the starting point for this project. Of course, if money were no object I'd also live in a mansion and would probably have my own actual bowling lanes, lol!

I think the Kinect would be key for this project, as it is easily obtainable, relatively inexpensive and you can download a windows based SDK for it. I'm sure with some tweaks I could have it reading the arc and speed of a bowling ball in a day or two. Without getting into the specifics of it, it would simply be a matter of taking a series of images of the entire lane surface as the ball is thrown and comparing them in the program. The program could identify the ball in each image and based on where it is on the lane in each image, it could calculate the speed of the ball and based on the arc it has as it travels across the lane bed, extrapolate where that arc would end in the virtual world. Add some 3D models of the lane, the pins, a ball and plug the appropriate values (weight, speed, arc, etc) into a physics library and Bob's your uncle. I'm simplifying this big time of course, but that's the basic idea.

PC hardware is also relatively cheap to obtain. You wouldn't need a real powerhouse of a machine to render the graphics and read the data from the kinect. As for a lane bed, if I got lucky I might be able to find some old lanes for sale online or I could just buy a sheet of laminate flooring for the lane surface, that should be good enough to simulate the front part of a bowling lane. The most expensive part honestly would be a flat panel monitor big enough to span the lane like the Chinese one has.

As for programming, that's where I'd come in :) That's what I went to school for. I currently work more as a data analyst than a programmer but I have written several PC games and have even written an app for Android. If I had the hardware I could get the software to talk to it, no problem. It would just take me a few days to get it all talking and to get the physics down.

All I lack is the money to make it happen. Sigh. Maybe in a year or two I can scrape together the funds for something like this - I currently have too many other priorities for my money at the moment. Until then, it's just a dream. :)

[J Anderson]

I think the Kinect would be key for this project, as it is easily obtainable, relatively inexpensive and you can download a windows based SDK for it. I'm sure with some tweaks I could have it reading the arc and speed of a bowling ball in a day or two. Without getting into the specifics of it, it would simply be a matter of taking a series of images of the entire lane surface as the ball is thrown and comparing them in the program. The program could identify the ball in each image and based on where it is on the lane in each image, it could calculate the speed of the ball and based on the arc it has as it travels across the lane bed, extrapolate where that arc would end in the virtual world. Add some 3D models of the lane, the pins, a ball and plug the appropriate values (weight, speed, arc, etc) into a physics library and Bob's your uncle. I'm simplifying this big time of course, but that's the basic idea.


Not going to be much of an arc in 15 feet of lane. I think the system would need some way to measure axis tilt and rotation as well as rev rate to predict the virtual backend reaction. Still a great idea!

[75lockwood]

Yep, but as Lockwood said, they're made by guys who are obviously not bowlers, so when you hook the ball the program has no idea what you're doing. Plus the one you found is $15K. That's a bit outside of my budget at the moment. They look friggin' sweet though. If money were no object, I'd buy one of these as the starting point for this project. Of course, if money were no object I'd also live in a mansion and would probably have my own actual bowling lanes, lol!

I think the Kinect would be key for this project, as it is easily obtainable, relatively inexpensive and you can download a windows based SDK for it. I'm sure with some tweaks I could have it reading the arc and speed of a bowling ball in a day or two. Without getting into the specifics of it, it would simply be a matter of taking a series of images of the entire lane surface as the ball is thrown and comparing them in the program. The program could identify the ball in each image and based on where it is on the lane in each image, it could calculate the speed of the ball and based on the arc it has as it travels across the lane bed, extrapolate where that arc would end in the virtual world. Add some 3D models of the lane, the pins, a ball and plug the appropriate values (weight, speed, arc, etc) into a physics library and Bob's your uncle. I'm simplifying this big time of course, but that's the basic idea.

PC hardware is also relatively cheap to obtain. You wouldn't need a real powerhouse of a machine to render the graphics and read the data from the kinect. As for a lane bed, if I got lucky I might be able to find some old lanes for sale online or I could just buy a sheet of laminate flooring for the lane surface, that should be good enough to simulate the front part of a bowling lane. The most expensive part honestly would be a flat panel monitor big enough to span the lane like the Chinese one has.

As for programming, that's where I'd come in :) That's what I went to school for. I currently work more as a data analyst than a programmer but I have written several PC games and have even written an app for Android. If I had the hardware I could get the software to talk to it, no problem. It would just take me a few days to get it all talking and to get the physics down.

All I lack is the money to make it happen. Sigh. Maybe in a year or two I can scrape together the funds for something like this - I currently have too many other priorities for my money at the moment. Until then, it's just a dream. :)


Id like to add another idea....

Motion capture is used in many sports already to help athletes work on proper mechanics, why not bowling, a mo-cap suit + a ball with the stickers on it, half a lane with arrows that show exactly how you hit your target, the software would show you issues in your form and what you most need to work on....

i would love to engineer this, but my programing skills are sub par, the algorithms would be easy enough, but i would need an actual coder....

anyone wanna team up and make this?

[noeymc]

get a patten

[75lockwood]

get a patten

hold your horses, its just an idea atm lol

[75lockwood]

o i hate you usbc http://www.bowlingdigital.com/bowl/node/4126

[AZBowla]

Not going to be much of an arc in 15 feet of lane. I think the system would need some way to measure axis tilt and rotation as well as rev rate to predict the virtual backend reaction. Still a great idea!

Yeah, that'd be tough to do. I think the best we could hope for would be a "best guess" sort of extrapolation where the program would assume a typical axis tilt and rotation/rev rate for whatever style you tell it you are, but if you know those variables you could plug those in for each player and make the simulation more accurate.

It would be a ton of fun to work on this but it'll be a while before I can do it - got the holidays and a bunch of other higher priority expenses to factor in first. I can work on figuring out how much it will cost to build and research how the kinect works for free though, so I'll start there. Just as a rough guess (and doing all the labor myself) I figure I could build one of these for about $1500 or so, and that's buying everything new rather than scouring craigslist or ebay for the equipment needed.

[AZBowla]

Id like to add another idea....

Motion capture is used in many sports already to help athletes work on proper mechanics, why not bowling, a mo-cap suit + a ball with the stickers on it, half a lane with arrows that show exactly how you hit your target, the software would show you issues in your form and what you most need to work on....

i would love to engineer this, but my programing skills are sub par, the algorithms would be easy enough, but i would need an actual coder....

anyone wanna team up and make this?

That'd put a lot of pro's and coaches out of a job, lol...

I'm not looking to replace a good coach or anything like that. Just a way for bowling nuts like me who would go bowling every single day all day if they could to get their "fix" between trips to the local bowling center. ;)

[75lockwood]

That'd put a lot of pro's and coaches out of a job, lol...

I'm not looking to replace a good coach or anything like that. Just a way for bowling nuts like me who would go bowling every single day all day if they could to get their "fix" between trips to the local bowling center. ;)

fair enough, i'm just thinking of it as a good way to track the ball going down the lane to calculate revs, speed, and as such where it would end up in X oil conditon...

[AZBowla]

fair enough, i'm just thinking of it as a good way to track the ball going down the lane to calculate revs, speed, and as such where it would end up in X oil conditon...

Yeah that's the sticky part. Making it real world accurate and able to factor in all the different oil patterns etc. This could get really complicated really fast. I'm talking like you'd have to have a variable array for each piece of wood on the lane so you could tell the program that board X at the Y foot mark has Z amount of oil on it and now that the ball has rolled over it A amount of times then B% of that oil has moved to board C at foot mark Q and... you get the idea. I'm not looking for something that dead-on accurate. This is more of a "hey, check this out, I can go bowling in my house" type of thing. Think of it almost like a home karaoke machine but for bowling. It would probably make you look a bit better at the game than you actually are, so that it would be more fun.

[75lockwood]

Yeah that's the sticky part. Making it real world accurate and able to factor in all the different oil patterns etc. This could get really complicated really fast. I'm talking like you'd have to have a variable array for each piece of wood on the lane so you could tell the program that board X at the Y foot mark has Z amount of oil on it and now that the ball has rolled over it A amount of times then B% of that oil has moved to board C at foot mark Q and... you get the idea. I'm not looking for something that dead-on accurate. This is more of a "hey, check this out, I can go bowling in my house" type of thing. Think of it almost like a home karaoke machine but for bowling. It would probably make you look a bit better at the game than you actually are, so that it would be more fun.

yes indeed it would get extremely complicated lol