Bowling Ball Rack

[Aslan]

BACKSTORY:

So, as many of you know..I have about 15 bowling balls, undrilled, in my closest waiting their 'turn' to eventually get utilized. I got kinda tired of them taking up my entire walk-in closet so as I was doing some spring cleaning I decided to get them out of the closet and put them in a rack of some kind.

OPTIONS:

Now, I saw a video (here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45a_eHBYrI8)) of a guy that made a rack for around $10. BUT…it doesn't look very nice and I wanted something that I could put in my living room that would be at least a little decorative.

I also saw a couple options on sale on Ebay…ranging in price from $40 + $30 shipping to $120 + $50 shipping...and in retrospect…maybe I should have went that route and just done the staining myself…but I like to do woodworking projects from time to time so I figured I'd build my own.

RESULTS:

I ended up designing a rack that would have more stability than the 2x4 ripped to be 2x2s design from the YouTube video by using 4x4s as the main vertical posts but keeping the 2x2s for the rails (because they looked better). I added in the 4" horizontal supports to help with horizontal stability and I reluctantly added vertical supports to the middle to slow the sagging effect from the ball weight on those 2x2 rails.

PARTS LIST:
37" 4x4s (x4)
4" 4x4 horizontal supports (x6)
40.5" 2x2 rails (x6)
4" 2x2 horizonta; supports (x6)
10.5" vertical 2x2 supports (x4)
2x4" brackets (x4)
4 7/8" - 6" lag screws (x24)
4 7/8" - 5" lag screws (x12)
3/8" wood dowels cut to 2 1/2" (x8)
2 1/2" screws (x12)
2" drywall screws (x8)
9/16" screws (x8)
sandpaper
wood stain

ISSUES:

1) Wasn't sure if I wanted to do a 12-ball rack or 15-ball rack. A 15-ball rack would hold every ball in my closet. But…I decided to stick with 12-ball simply because of where I wanted to put it in the living room. You can see some of the balls still in boxes in the corner of the picture.

2) The 4x4s presented a problem because I only had a powered circular saw which made cutting the 4x4s nearly impossible.

3) Initially I was going to use 6" nail spikes on the the 4x4s but this proved too difficult and too noisy given my apartment environment. So I switched to lag screws which was better, but I didn't have a socket big enough for my powered drill so I had to screw this in by hand with a small ratchet which was tough on the hands.

4) The stain came out too dark. I was going for a lighter reddish brown and I ended up with a very dark reddish brown.

5) The top rail doesn't have horizontal supports. I made the gap between rails a bit too big on the top rail and rather than move it in or recut longer 2x2s…I figured it was stable enough horizontally that it would be okay.

6) The top rail also seems to be tilted slightly to the right. The rack itself is level and the two bottom rails aren't tilted but the top is a little off.

http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q616/Aslan2014/93d83184-8f10-430f-97f8-527458c9571b_zpsvqdfvuw6.jpg (http://s1166.photobucket.com/user/Aslan2014/media/93d83184-8f10-430f-97f8-527458c9571b_zpsvqdfvuw6.jpg.html)

As for cost/time…it cost right around $100 total. So, cheaper than had I bought a decent/nice one on Ebay…but more expensive than a cheap online version or the garage version seen on the YouTube video.

For me, it took about 8 days of occasional work. But half of those days were staining, drying, staining, drying…and really you could take the other 4 days and easily make them 2 if you have larger time blocks per day to work on it and a better stocked garage/workshop.

[Blomer]

Looks good! Nice job! Wish I was that handy!

[RobLV1]

When my wife and I first moved to Vegas, we bought a two-story house, and I kept my bowling balls in the closet under the stair case. This did not make my wife happy. Three years later, we moved to a one-story house, and my wife suggested that the third bedroom should be my "bowling room." The first thing that I did was to have shelves built to store, bowling balls, dvd's, books, and cd's.

If anyone can tell me how to add the picture, I would greatly appreciate it.

[NewToBowling]

Looks nice. Great job

[jab5325]

Nice job Aslan.

What Ebonite ball is that on the middle shelf? It's the last one on the right.

[Aslan]

If anyone can tell me how to add the picture, I would greatly appreciate it.
The "best" way is to register for an account at photobucket or imageshack. That way you can post pictures there and link directly from the thread. You just go there, sign up (photobucket I think is still free), download pics from your computer into your album on the site, then just click on one of the links that have the HTML code...then use the "insert image" button above and when it asks for a http address, you paste the link...and picture should magically appear!



What Ebonite ball is that on the middle shelf? It's the last one on the right.
Thats an Ebonite Warning Sign. Not sure if thats gonna be the first ball out of the bag for arsenal #3 (2016 debut) or if I'm gonna add a more aggressive ball or two and use it as a ball down option.

http://www.bowlingball.com/images/product/large/10056_1_.jpg

I like the idea of having a couple pearls, a hybrid, and a solid. OR...a couple solids, a hybrid, and a pearl. My current arsenal has a hybrid, solid, and 2 pearls. Arsenal #2 (late 2015 debut) has 2 solids, a hybrid, and a pearl. Arsenal #3 so far only has the Warning Sign and the Track300A...a hybrid and a pearl respectively...and both are quite weak overall. I'd like to add some less aggressive ball down options to the Warning Sign like a Rotogrip Rumble and a Lane #1 Stealth Bomber or Columbia300 Smackdown...but both the Bomber and Smackdown are discontinued...so I'll have to find another option there. If I can't find a suitable hybrid by the time I'm ready for this arsenal...I may just use the Warning Sign as the hybrid and use one of my pearls, probably the Defiant Edge, as my 4th ball.

However, the next arsenal I'll be experimenting with 15lbs...so if I "fall in love" with 15lbs...then I might just wholesale the Warning Sign, 300A, and the other 4 16lb pearls I have and stick with 15lbs. Or, flip side, I hate 15lbs and get rid of that entire bottom shelf. But I doubt I'll hate 15lbs since I used to throw 15lbs just fine. Most likely I'll see no real difference and continue to switch back and forth with no noticeable difference.

[vdubtx]

If anyone can tell me how to add the picture, I would greatly appreciate it.

Easiest way and not have to sign up for an account, is to go to imgur.com. You can upload a file from your PC using button at top of screen that says "Upload" and after you tell it what picture you want it will give you a url that looks like " url " without quotes to be directly pasted into a post on pretty much any forums.

[vdubtx]

Duplicate

[bowl1820]

If anyone can tell me how to add the picture, I would greatly appreciate it.

See thread:How-to-insert-a-image-into-your-post:

http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads/10202-How-to-insert-a-image-into-your-post

[bowl1820]

A suggestion:

The edges indicated here:

http://s5.postimg.org/l8v3ba5qf/Ball_Rack_suggest.jpg

if not already should be beveled or rounded over, if not they can produce dents in a ball left there over time.

http://s5.postimg.org/4z9im4kg7/ball_rack_example_bev.jpg

[Mike White]

A suggestion:

The edges indicated here:

http://s5.postimg.org/l8v3ba5qf/Ball_Rack_suggest.jpg

if not already should be beveled or rounded over, if not they can produce dents in a ball left there over time.

http://s5.postimg.org/4z9im4kg7/ball_rack_example_bev.jpg

Even beveled, they can produce "dents" in the ball.

Better would be a flat "normal" shelf, with a urethane ball ring under each ball.

http://www.innovativebowling.com/products/images/ball%20rings.jpg

[bowl1820]

Even beveled, they can produce "dents" in the ball.

Yes, but not as fast as that sharp edge will and actually it would be a flat spot.

If you want to get fancy you line the edge with something like felt to cushion the ball.


Better would be a flat "normal" shelf, with a urethane ball ring under each ball.
Not necessarily better, I've seen balls left in those rings and ball cups overtime develop ring shaped dents also.

But it would cost more having to buy the rings.

[ralphs007]

Looks good! Nice job! Wish I was that handy!

There's nothing really hard about this project, it's just a basic frame.

[Aslan]

A suggestion:

The edges indicated here:

http://s5.postimg.org/l8v3ba5qf/Ball_Rack_suggest.jpg

if not already should be beveled or rounded over, if not they can produce dents in a ball left there over time.

http://s5.postimg.org/4z9im4kg7/ball_rack_example_bev.jpg

I actually did sand down the edges a bit…but maybe once I get a new dremel I'll go over the edges again.

I think there's always a danger whether left in boxes or on a rack that the balls could develop dents or cracks or even shrink. I just gotta hope I can move them around enough in the meantime and eventually use them fast enough that I don't experience that.

[Hampe]

You could also maybe try some kind of safety foam or something like that. The kind they use to child proof sharp table edges and stuff.

[Jessiewoodard57]

Nice looking storage rack Aslan

[Aslan]

HA!!

He said "nice rack".

Yeah, my only real regret is I really needed a longer drill bit and more powerful wrench for the lag screws. And I still need to sand/round the horizontals. And I feel I could have gotten similar results for a lot less $$$ had I used 2x4s and 2x6s versus 4x4s and 2x2s. And I'm annoyed that the top shelf is uneven so all the balls roll to one side. The bottom and middle are level, but I screwed up on the top.

[dnhoffman]

What a fine piece of craftsmanship to compliment your aesthetic collection.

[fortheloveofbowling]

What a fine piece of craftsmanship to compliment your aesthetic collection.

To paraphrase Slim Pickens from Blazing Saddles...... You use your tongue prettier than a 20 dollar wh**e.

[JasonNJ]

I had no idea the balls could dent, will they dent in bowling cups as well? That is what I used to store my balls.

http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Bowling-Ball-Cup/dp/B00A4NK3GE/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1450293503&sr=1-1&keywords=bowling+cups

[fokai73]

I use plastic free standing shelves you can get at home depot ($14-$29) and free standing metal ones too ($19-$39 depending the size. I have plastic and urethane ball cups, but if you go to the plumping section at home depot and find 4" rubber o rings, they are way cheaper than the ball cups and work fine.

but since I down sized, I still used these shelves in my storage unit now for my RC trucks and crawlers, another hobby I still do about the same time I started bowling. Bowling 83' and RC 84'......

[Aslan]

The trick is to have something soft enough not to damage the resin balls, but strong enough not to sag/bend the shelves/horizontals.

I tried to use the 1.5x1.5s because they were cheap and I thought they'd stain better than the 2x2s. But that might of been a mistake because they were much flimsier and split easily. To counteract the sagging from the ball weight, I had to but the center support in and under the middle (underneath) is a small 2x6 to even further prevent sagging. I figured the 4x4s, as expensive and heavy as they are...and they don't stain particularly well...but with this being earthquake country...I didn't want a small quake to knock the rack over.

[dougb]

Nice work!

[AlexNC]

HA!!

He said "nice rack".

Yeah, my only real regret is I really needed a longer drill bit and more powerful wrench for the lag screws. And I still need to sand/round the horizontals. And I feel I could have gotten similar results for a lot less $$$ had I used 2x4s and 2x6s versus 4x4s and 2x2s. And I'm annoyed that the top shelf is uneven so all the balls roll to one side. The bottom and middle are level, but I screwed up on the top.

Still a nice project. Always nice to do stuff on your own vs pay someone or buy it.

Regarding the lag screws, you may have better luck in the future using construction screws instead. They are easier to get in and are actually stronger than lags - have begun to replace lag screws/bolts in many applications.

[Aslan]

Still a nice project. Always nice to do stuff on your own vs pay someone or buy it.

Regarding the lag screws, you may have better luck in the future using construction screws instead. They are easier to get in and are actually stronger than lags - have begun to replace lag screws/bolts in many applications.

No. I'm very proud of it. The only reason the lag screws were so problematic was I was trying to essentially hand assemble 6"lag screws through a 4x4. At first I tried it with no starter hole drilled...that was gonna be impossible. So I drilled starter holes, but my longest drill bit was only about 3". So the last roughly 3" I was trying to ratchet that lag screw into the wood...using my old ratchet set I got as a kid that had about a 4" handle. My hands hurt so bad I had to take 2 days to just finish the lag screw part to give my hands a rest.

It's why I get so annoyed with Bob Villa and the Home and Garden networks. One minute he has a perfectly drawn up plan, then 2 minutes later he has all the pieces of a Grandfather clock cut and ready for assembly....then by the end of the show he has a $4000 grandfather clock fully assembled. Meanwhile, any project I'm involved in takes two weeks and ends up uneven.

[Tony]

No. I'm very proud of it. The only reason the lag screws were so problematic was I was trying to essentially hand assemble 6"lag screws through a 4x4. At first I tried it with no starter hole drilled...that was gonna be impossible. So I drilled starter holes, but my longest drill bit was only about 3". So the last roughly 3" I was trying to ratchet that lag screw into the wood...using my old ratchet set I got as a kid that had about a 4" handle. My hands hurt so bad I had to take 2 days to just finish the lag screw part to give my hands a rest.

It's why I get so annoyed with Bob Villa and the Home and Garden networks. One minute he has a perfectly drawn up plan, then 2 minutes later he has all the pieces of a Grandfather clock cut and ready for assembly....then by the end of the show he has a $4000 grandfather clock fully assembled. Meanwhile, any project I'm involved in takes two weeks and ends up uneven.

Bob Vila invested a lot of money and time in buying tools and learning how they work or hiring people that are experts to do the work. I doubt it he has 30 bowling balls in his house, but I have no doubt he has plenty of drill bits , and power tools. Probably an air compressor and impact driver that would make short work of those lag bolts.
Given that, you made a pretty decent bowling ball rack !
If you want to annoy Bob back, invite to come out bowling with you :)