Some Pinsetter mechanic stuff I did recently

[Phonetek]

I haven't had much to post about in a while, not much exciting going on at the lanes these days. Mostly just people bowling with Groupons. They come in, get their free pizza and pitcher of soda and bowl for an hour or two and they are on their way. No leagues to speak of or any ringers coming in. That said it's given us time to do some well needed extensive pinsetter work.

Project 1

I did my first pit rebuild last week. It's a solid 3 hour job. You have to climb inside and be able to bend like a pretzel to get at some of the stuff in there. Although it's the most difficult work to do on a pinsetter it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. The hardest thing is getting to huge rollers to cooperate getting them out. You have to stuff them into the adjacent pinsetter which can be quite a challenge. Ours was because that lane was in use at the time and we took this on during cosmic so we did the work with flashlights. Luckily you can just slide it under the carpet in that lane with minimal interruption to it. Trying to maneuver the carpet out with the ball pit board inside is the most difficult thing about it.

Putting the new carpet in is equally challenging, it's awkward and heavy. You have to do it while straddling it. Being tall like me doesn't help a bit. Having two people makes life much easier. I wouldn't wanted to do it alone. The key is to have the new carpet rest outside the box for a couple weeks prior to installation so it's relaxed when you put it in. While you do these you replace many other things along the way like bearings, pins, brackets and some misc. items that get beat up or worn out. In the end it's very satisfying to turn it on and watch the nice fresh carpet running smoothly and quietly.

Project 2

I had to remove, rebuilt and install an entire ball lift assembly. This has a mess of belts, pulleys to deal with first of all. Most of which you have very little room to get at them. Once all that is done then you have to pull the assembly out which is heavy and long. You have to lift it out and put it on top of the machine then teeder it down off the back. Again, bulky and awkward. Once it's on the bench it's pretty simple and straight forward. It's essential to have the proper tools like pullers and a come along. The main thing that wears out is bearings and belts on these. It's a matter of replacing the worn parts and properly lubricating everything.

Installing it isn't all that bad really, it's easier to lower back in than it was lifting it out. Once everything is lined up you just have to check the belt height for the lift to make sure the clearance isn't too much or it won't pick up the balls. You have to crawl in to check the clearance looking through the ball door. After that you turn it on and just chuck a few balls down the lane to make sure they come back on the pair. If your clearance is right and all your belts are running straight then your golden.

Well, that's all I have to report for now. In the upcoming weeks it's more of the same with the two projects until all 12 lanes are done. Come August the lanes are getting cut, resurfaced and certified. After that, all new pins! Whoohoo!

[djp1080]

Keep up the "Good Work"!
Sounds like way too much work for a guy like me. Your a dedicated guy and I can feel that you love every minute of it especially when it's done.
We're going downtown for lunch with my son and his fiancé this afternoon. It'll be a ten minute walk to the restaurant. It'll be a killer due to the temperatures today.
There's a PBA tournament at Parkside Bowl in Aurora going on this weekend. I may try to get over there on Sunday if I can...

[GrumpyCatFace]

I think Mike Rowe did “project 1” on Dirty Jobs. It looked like quite a process.

[bdpeters]

nice that they are at least keeping you busy in the slow time of year.

[Phonetek]

Yes, they did it on Dirty Jobs but there is a lot more to it than they could show in a hour show. Not to mention all the goofery. Today I had the honor of replacing a spotting assembly which in the end had I had to adjust all the cups and spot all the pins. It took as long as the pit did. It wasn't heavy work but a lot of squatting and twisting into a pretzel.

A bit cumbersome but it was satisfying to see it drop all the pins without as much as a wiggle perfectly on spot. Wish I could bowl on that lane knowing how perfectly they are setup. After seeing what's entailed and knowing just how far off they were before I doubt too many lanes in any center are REALLY on spot. After looking closely I know that right now that lane is the only one we have that's perfect at this time. It's a lot of work and we only have 12 lanes. I couldn't imagine what a 40 lane + center would be like.