Second YouTube video posted
Hello everyone, just a few minutes ago I uploaded our second video to YouTube. This one highlights the current ball return. Yes, I say “current” because I am already designing a new ball return track to replace the existing one. I told you that I was always trying to tweak and improve things didn’t I? 🙂
Here is an overview of the current ball return: The pinsetter (person, not machine) picks up the ball from the pit and places it on the ball return track. The track is a flexible plastic track that I believe is used for sliding patio doors. I am always thinking about bowling stuff. I go to a home improvement store and I may see something that is made for something else completely different but to me it’s “Hey, I can use that on the bowling lane!”
It works pretty well but the track is a bit narrow so I had to put guides on each side of it to keep the ball from falling off the track. It works pretty well but I am not happy with it aesthetically and I have had to make some adjustments (the ball was wanting to come off the track near the ball return rack). If you look in the video you can see how the ball actually wore some paint off the wall at the front of the return rack. I have since made the adjustments but since it is so tight where the return is (between the side of the lane and the wall) it is a pain to try and get to it to make adjustments, so I am redesigning it.
The new design incorporates side-by-side 3/4 inch PVC pipes spaced farther apart than the current narrow track is. This will eliminate any chance of the ball falling off to the side and will eliminate the need for the guides and will look much nicer and perform better.
I also had some issues where a bowler who rolled the ball really hard would sometimes have the ball rebound back onto the lane. I have restructured the pit floor from being perfectly flat to having a decline. I also took out the super-thick cushioning at the back pit wall that was also contributing to the rebounding of hard shots and made a new pit curtain out of a heavy duty rubber mat that should work much better. I will post pics when I get it all finished.
Here is the new YouTube video. A special thanks to my film crew (my daughters) for helping me record the videos. Also, my apologies as my camera is having problems with recording sound. So long for now bowling fans.