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guest at [Dec 4 21:06:07]: hello!
canoga at [Dec 4 19:19:03]: From the wierd file;"Dancing Pin".One night I got a 180 call which means "usually" the machine is waiting for pins.Well what I saw I'll never forget.A bowling pin was spinning around on the motor to gear box "V"belt and standing in the turn pan. When I removed the pin it had black marks on it from the "V" belt at the top and 3/4 the way up which made it look like it had hair.I couldn't put it in another machine cause it was too marked up.
canoga at [Dec 3 18:35:05]: 15/16 open end wrench,allen set,flat head screw driver,one complete scissor assembly.Now if you can't change a scissor in 5 minutes during league you can stand there and add pins all night cause the machine won't pick them up.
canoga at [Dec 2 12:04:59]: Bowling machines hold 260 averages and lately touring pros are winning with 240 averages WOW! It's taps that keep such talent from constant perfection.Taps are single or double pins left after the first ball of a frame.Causes,many and uncontrollable yet these forces help to equal out the playing field thus making the game winnable for more than just one.
canoga at [Dec 1 20:22:15]: To explain ck for the others I'll put it this way,when you hold a 190 average for two years and go to Pro school, you should be entitled to comps. because you are,"Good for the Game",as a Professional of the sport of bowling.
guest at [Dec 1 17:31:11]: hello folks
ck at [Nov 30 15:03:49]: I'm not completely negative. For a holiday, the lanes were EXTEREMELY scorable and I whacked them. It was a beneficial session. Could you check with Mike about the PBA policy if there is one and get back to me? So's to eliminate the confusion in the future. Stay online with your tips. They are good! ck
canoga at [Nov 30 12:01:34]: Hi ck,Wow,Mistakes will be the death of us wont they.Ummm please let me apologize for the staff and the condition of the house.I'll bet your next visit will be most enjoyable.
ck at [Nov 29 00:17:52]: Canoga, like your tips. BUT...1)why was it when I was practicing on 29-30 there today I got a ton of gunk on all the balls I used during a seven game session? 2)I believe lane 30 has a loose lane panel or two. You can hear the ball tick going down the lane. 3)(Not your problem) Question of the year. After inquiring as to whether a special rate exists there for PBA members (I was told there was), the desk lady emphatically said that she was not aware of it. After explaining what PBA meant with empahsis on Professional, she still said no. Fine I said, give me 29-30. (I had seven free game passes saved up.)Whereupon she asks me if I need shoes.
canoga at [Nov 28 19:04:53]: How do you return a frozen TURKEY that has been thrown down the bowling lane?I saw people on TV hurling TURKEYS at the pins and of course thought about the mechanic. Tell them in advance,mechanics,your sick on Thanksgiving.
guest at [Nov 27 17:42:33]: Lift rod adjustments are impossible if the rods are bent after many years.Watch the ball as it goes up,is it in contact with the center of the ball wheel all the way up?If not then you may have to add an extender to the clapper box and shim properly. The heigth of the rods are critical to grab the ball and the spring rod must not be too tight.The type of anti-spin you use should not push the ball off the center of the ball wheel as the ball enters the lift rods.
canoga at [Nov 26 13:15:41]: So many fine points to pinsetter mechanics when it comes to the fastening and loosening of the parts.Soldering,welding, even rigging all must be done in exacting highly skilled ways. Torque,clips,springs,washer types also add to the integrity of the fastened parts.
canoga at [Nov 25 18:33:04]: A pin has slid into a position that the machine can't deal with, we call this an out of range,now you ask the desk to help. The mechanic looks for any dead wood and pulls on the O.O.R. lever and holds it back till the rake hook stays up then,if dead wood,turns machine off to remove the dead wood then turns the machine back on.
canoga at [Nov 23 19:06:15]: Wooden ball channels or gutters tend to crack through at the front of the pin deck.I have repaired them and gotten 6 years plus more life by drilling holes along the crack at both sides like shoe laces and lacing heavy wire through the holes and then fiberglass over.
canoga at [Nov 21 11:53:25]: Hello to Mike Durbin,ESPN announcer.Hey Mike,I used to watch your dad Bill bowl at Jewel City Bowl in Glendale Calif.
canoga at [Nov 19 15:50:52]: What was I doing?Respotting the 1,3,6 spare shot. Thanks W.D.I.® for the cool bowling picture,I want more please. If you want to send W.D.I.® a message then copy/paste, Maybe you'll get to go bowling with Wilma Flintstone too.
canoga at [Nov 18 13:15:57]: what am I doing when I... trigger pin gate,second cycle,reset,second cycle,reset again put pin in 1,3and 6 bucket,pull 180 lever,second cycle,untrigger pin gate,wait till ball is thrown before leaving.
canoga at [Nov 16 18:49:50]: Black outs or power outages can be as simple as a bad deck light to a state wide power outage which we had a few months ago in calif.After checking all reasons for a Black out and finding nothing,the last resort is to jog the machine through one cycle by manually engaging the motor contactor relay with a non-conductive tool.
greenie at [Nov 15 18:08:01]: Remember,good mechs are a dime a dozen,great mechs have a PM program in place!
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: Thanks greenie for holding me up...PM or Preventative Maintenance Rules. Foul lights are so important to maintaining fair play but keeping them adjusted is a constant vigil.Your right greenie, broken solder joints are virtually invisible so check them first if your adjustments fail.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: You've seen the strange looking screw on the nozzle of your oil gun well that is used to meter (limit) the amount of oil it will release from one drop to wow! too much.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: When you solder don't just stick the parts together you must make sure it isn't a cold joint so "bake" the soldered parts for a few moments.Than means see that the whole area soldered is melted not just at the point of contact.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: The main drive motor heated up on me and the thermal overload reset switch wouldn't reset. I had to put an ice bag on it to get through the night and what happened was the pivot point the motor bounces on had gotten to tight for the motor to bounce.I oiled it up and freed the shaft and over heating stopped.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: Lift rod adjustments are so critical for ball returns.The common mistakes mechanics make, and I mean even the best mechanics, is that the ball must contact the ball wheel all the way up the rods to get the full lifting force.If you watch close as the ball yoyo's in the rods you'll see it is not contacting the ball wheel in the center where the kick pads are.Adjust the rods and you can even add a spring to keep the rods tighter on the ball.Don't forget the counter weight height too because the ball must smoothly enter the rods. If an ancient three dot brunswich bowling ball can be lifted anything can
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: The American Bowling Congress ABC certifies oil patterns on the lane after a 300 game. The oil pattern is created by how the oiling machine is shimmed along the oil roller and oil wick.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: I used to have to clean the lanes nightly by using a long "Key Towel" and hot water bucket of special lane detergent. It was back breaking work and I had to start using another method to do it because i got repetitive stress injury doing it. You start at the 3/4 point to the pins from the foul line spread the detergent on the towel and push through the pin deck and drag to the foul line.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: How many boards is the lane made of? 40 you say, well, there is also a 1/2 board on each edge too.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: The clutch is connected to a worm gear.If you replace the clutch and still don't get the proper movement then check the spline on the worm gear.That spline is probabily worn smooth.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: How do you describe the way your ball moves? Does your ball hook, bend, wrinkle.Is it straight, back-up?Hey don't ask me, I'm asking you...
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: I solved a problem that had everyone stumped for years.It involved the turret clutch. Every whenever it wanted to the clutch wouldn't spin to advance the turret so a pin could drop in the wires and then index for another pin. You'd get a 180 call "needing pins".I finally figured out that the turret clutch was too tight along the center bolt so i backed off the nut 1/8 inch under the clutch pulley.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: Sticky approaches,Sticky approaches does anyone hate falling on their faces? Well theres steel woll, spray, buffing approach, buffing shoes.Dosent anyone just walk on their delivery anymore? I really think sliding up to the foul line isn't as "in control" as a bowler could be.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: Beyond "A" mechanics is what I call a Pinsetter engineer.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: Wood gutters are the first thing that mechanics step on when they need to enter the pin deck during league play to make an emergency repair and they crack all the gutters after awhile.I just remove the gutter at a night shift and drill 1/16 inch holes all along the cracked wood.Then I sew ,like shoe laces, in an "X" pattern all along the crack with bailing wire.Then i fiberglass over the whole repair and paint.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: Customers verses the centers lane man.Hold on there! Drama Drama there is the Drama.Please everyone lets examine the issue. I blame the constant changing lane conditions on atmospherics, use, carry down but not on the lane mans desire to give a better shot or not.I've been a lane man when we ha none at times in my centers and I never rigged any shot and I still got accused of it.It seems that oil with large solids in it is best like "Golden Lane".24 hour centers use it and run pot games and still have a shot in the morning.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: You've seen the Lino-duster the porter drags over every lane prior to the league play. This device has a non-cloth like material that dosen't absorbe or "move" the lane oil but only removes dust and dirt.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: I've replaced many lane boards on the "Heads" which is out on the first few feet of lane surface after the foul line. You have to create a template and use a router to perfectly carve out the bad wood. Then you use a 50/50 resin into the carved out area and put a new piece of wood in.Then you readjust the router and cut down the new board to the lanes surface level. Then you re-paint the raw wood with urethane.New synthetic lanes never need such work. Theres always kick backs along the pin decks that get damaged by the pins hitting them.
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: I had a horror night once when all the bowlers had ball damage.Upon investigation there were nails exposed directly on the ten board that all the Scratch League bowlers were aiming for.We pounded down the nail and fixed 10 balls.Thank you in house Pro-shop!
canoga at [Nov 14 20:28:40]: After lane re-surfacing there is a condition called head blistering.It looks like small black patches of scuff marks.It is caused by not enough urethane.So you must sand the blisters back to the wood color,not too deep, and re-urethane.
canoga as canoga
