Chat Areas
[Bowling Lanes]
[Chat with the Pros]
canoga at [Jan 3 20:01:32]: For new pinsetter mechanics I suggest long analyzing sessions watching the movements and the alignments to finally be able to just look at the pinsetter and see abnormalities that are causing the current problem.
canoga at [Jan 2 02:25:58]: Did you know that bowling pins need to be rested and checked? Well the widest part of the pin gets crushed and mushy and with rest it gets hard and flies good again but the neck brakes and we must drop check the pin on concrete.If we hear a ring to the sound of the dropped pin its ok ,a dull thud is thrown out. A pin may sound bad to a bowler as the ball strikes it but a check of the pin as stated above it the judge.Happy New Year!
canoga at [Dec 30 20:25:34]: The mechanics rebuild everything on the pinsetter except for the detector.The detector is a mechanical brain for the machine. Using cams and cam followers that are timed to a circle of 360 degrees the detector must know if a strike was thrown and if an out of range pin is present and if a spare shot is needed. It must also know when to sweep the deck clean of dead wood.
canoga at [Dec 27 20:25:42]: Moving deck cracks at the spotting finger so the pin is always off spot now you got to remove the deck and heli-arc well I've got a fix that has lasted 10 years.Make an expanding nut and bolt tool and expand it to close the crack enough to bring the pin back on spot.
canoga at [Dec 25 19:51:42]: If you ever have a main breaker power outage and dont have the fuse you can use solder strips.For 24 lanes use 9 strips. 8 will melt so you are in a safe range at 9.I know I know, why would any house be without the fuse?&@% happens.Merry Christmas
canoga at [Dec 24 12:47:18]: Ball damage is impossible to totally eliminate because parts fall out of the machine,pins knock the ball off the return tracks, nails show after resurfacing,screws loosen up in gutters ect. Only once have I seen a ball actually break in two large pieces we're talking scratches mainly and most houses will repair the ball free.The mechanics are glad to know right away when damage occurs so only one ball is effected.I've seen whole teams damaged from lane nail exposures.Yeah! for synthetics.
canoga at [Dec 23 20:01:44]: Seasons Greetings app,I'll send you a personal message soon because I dont have experience with the new machines and I'd invite anyone that does to tell us in here.I think the A-2 is an awesome machine and with the new parts they come out with it just keeps getting better.
app at [Dec 22 19:14:30]: canoga, looking into opening new center ( 12 to 16 lanes). have you had much hands on with the new Brunswick or new AMF machines?? got any comments on their performance compared to A-2's?
canoga at [Dec 22 18:40:37]: For the newly hired mechanic there is always alot of orientation involved.Knowing where the most used tools and parts are, and procedures that change from house to house as well as normal duties even the pecking order all must be known because Bowling centers are run very orderly no matter what you may think or see.
canoga at [Dec 21 20:04:35]: Mechanics need superior manual dexterity when it comes to bolt extraction,wiring,part placements,rethreading ect. Knowing the machine isn't enough.
canoga at [Dec 19 17:01:58]: Hi Guest,um,about .4 oz--haha,but seriously I don't know. Physics and bowling are inseperable,.4 oz changes something I'm sure.Some spring tension pressures on the pinsetter can cause problems if not correct to .1 oz, so go figure.
guest at [Dec 19 01:15:54]: I have a question about topweight in a new ball. I have a choice of getting a new ball for my wife with either 2.0 oz or 2.4 oz topweight (ball weight 14 lbs). What is the difference?
guest at [Dec 18 21:34:07]: HELLO ANYBODY HERE
canoga at [Dec 18 12:59:28]: Turret clutch tip,The time delay gear on the turret clutch must spin freely on its own shaft or you will not get the index after the five pin.Use a self locking nut or jam nuts on the shaft. Also check the index lever bell crank for out of round mounting hole or loose nut as well as the roller bearing that rides on the time delay gear lobe and check the time delay gear lobe.
canoga at [Dec 16 13:59:59]: GungHo nut polishers arn't adjusters and they don't make it run.GungHo clean freeks don't clean they tell others to get that done.If a pinsetter can't be dirty then why are they always unclean to the GungHo nut polishers that say clean and then leave the scene.
canoga at [Dec 13 19:22:56]: Steel cables control Deck movement,Scissors and Jams. The deck jam control cable can stretch and cause wobbling pins delivered to the bowlers as well as off spot and not detect deck jams.Too tight and the machine won't turn on.If you cannot adjust the deck cables then change the deck jam control cable and try and adjust again.
canoga at [Dec 11 18:34:10]: The most dangerous fire hazard in a bowling center is in the front power lift under the lane surface.Vacuum there and any spark from the control box wont start a fire.The same goes for under the shaker board.
canoga at [Dec 10 19:52:37]: Christmas wish list:Something to deaden the noise from the pin wheel and louder pin noise when 10 go in the pit and more silly bowling movies and a mechanical strap on arm.
canoga at [Dec 9 16:01:57]: Here's a tip for changing shaker board covers in no time, simply do it from the back by loosening the curtain at the ball pad and leaning in over the ball pad, after lowering the rake sweep and turning off the power.
canoga at [Dec 9 15:56:35]: Here's a tip for changing shaker board covers in no time, simply do it from the back by loosening the curtain at the ball pad and leaning in over the ball pad, after lowering the rake sweep and turning off the power.
canoga at [Dec 7 20:08:43]: You can read more messages by changing the get back 30 above to a higher number.
canoga at [Dec 7 20:08:03]: You can read more messages by changing the get back 30 above to a higher number.
canoga at [Dec 7 20:00:23]: You can read more messages by changing the get back 30 above to a higher number.
canoga at [Dec 5 15:19:58]: Lets see if we can put a hyperlink within this message. pba.org link OH,Hello there guest
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... 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.
greenie at [Nov 14 19:59:13]: did not see a post for today so I thought I would add one from an ex-bowling mech and now Golf Mech...On the old Radaray foul detectors from AMF the magority of problems are caused by vibrations caused by ball impacts, if your light is adjusted correctly and you still have problems check underside of circuit board and you will probably see some cracked solder joints- a magnifying glass helps here- they will appear as small circles around component leg,resoldering will fix 99% of the problems.
canoga at [Nov 13 17:57:14]: If you are experiencing interlock probe hang-ups,double dumps 180's with full decks,no index after the five pin then try running the machine with 17 pins only and adjust later when safe.
canoga at [Nov 12 19:18:48]: Thank you for the nice message about perceptions,or lack of, when it comes to Pinsetter mechanics.It was told to me once that after a league meeting the owners would give the bowlers a tour of the machines and explain the difficult work behind the game.That is good for public relations but when the league is started its,sticky approaches,dead wood,spills ect. things that the porters must do and the mechanic is mostly forgotten. Working behind the scenes isn't so bad as long as the machines are off so we can work safely but they'r on and we risk injury constantly and it does get tiresome.
canoga at [Nov 11 13:26:07]: Do you really want to hear about electrical troubleshooting? To make a long story short,when checking wires make sure they are disconnected at both ends so your reading is true. Remember also that you have machines that do work so get readings from them if in doubt.HAPPY Veterans day!
canoga at [Nov 8 18:25:41]: How many times can you resurface a lane without lowering the elevator assembly?Well,The answer comes from the pin transfer from the shaker board,if it's slow,lower the elevator. Then lower the shaker board at the ball wheel to get a steeper angle and the pins will file into the pin wheel faster and the shaker board will lay under the lane surface according to the rules.
canoga at [Nov 7 19:55:21]: Too many inexperienced mechanics working on the machines for too long and not enough money spent by the owners and then you get a condition I'll call "CLUNKER",where all the machines need a major over-haul.The signs that your bowling center is a "CLUNKER" is unhappy mechanics.
canoga at [Nov 6 14:47:54]: Here is a project for all you inventor/pinsetter mechanics; since automatic scoring is dependent on seeing a ball for the clutch to engage and that eye sometimes goes out of adjustment,invent an electro-mechanical back-up so I don't have to stand all league and engage the clutch if the eye isn't working.
canoga at [Nov 5 17:40:00]: Ah the good old days when the mechanics used to run all shift because of ball returns.When I first started I found this totally unacceptable so I put a spring from the ball cushion to the lift rods that would push the "spinner" ball into the lift rods.It did such a good job it quickly spawned many Anti-spin devices.
canoga at [Nov 4 19:27:49]: Ball returns and more ball returns even though many new products exist to virtually "Eliminate" the problem.Well it is usually a pin now-a-days that stops the ball from returning and it is usually too rare a problem to bother with correcting.
canoga at [Nov 2 17:08:04]: People ask me, how it is that the machines can handle such pounding?Well they can't really,they handle it because the mechanics are on top of the breakable areas.The ball at the end of the lane hits a large metal and rubber unit that is also connected to shock absorbers but that breaks too.
canoga at [Nov 1 13:02:03]: Quite a nice halloween party last night.The porters had to clean up alot of goulishness.The machines ran great.I think the gremlins took time off of finding things to break.
canoga at [Oct 31 17:18:19]: From the normal procedure file;Swing shift mechanics get the most pressure and must be supported by the other shifts.If a breakdown occurs that lasts more than 15 minutes,drinks are on the house for the bowlers effected.Always give the mechanic on shift birthday cake or whatever you brought haha. Discuss verbally or note what happened on your shift with the next mechanic.
canoga at [Oct 30 12:25:18]: Today is turret day.The biggest cause of machine jams are unadjusted snubbers,halos,index triggers.Pins that file into the turret calmly will not jump out and jam somewhere.
canoga at [Oct 29 17:45:07]: Now back to the real world.Ball returns,the most difficult thing to stop from happening,but I have found that simply cleaning the offending "House Ball" will stop repeat calls.League bowlers are careful to towel off their equiptment but open play bowlers arn't.
canoga at [Oct 28 16:52:56]: What happened to yesterday?I had a major breakdown of my own,CAR TROUBLE,but I still made it to work. Todays Machine Topic;Titanium parts?Diamond bearings? Look at your part usage per year,see what breaks most and get stronger parts made.Is this a dream,too costly,too dificult, These repeat breaks are a waste.
canoga at [Oct 26 14:47:33]: From the "Don't try this at home file".There is a new training thing going around that calls for you to throw your bowling ball into your couch at home.Couch potato "Couch Bowling".
tenpin2 at [Oct 25 22:07:04]: A good mech.. could round off the bottem of all 10-pins ,haha
canoga at [Oct 25 16:53:01]: Does bowling need an apprentice program to train new mechanics?I really don't see any young people comming into the business.Maybe they think bowling will be totally computer controlled and mechanics will be a thing of the past. Well we will always need a person to repair the unexpected.
canoga at [Oct 24 16:30:30]: Message yesterday didn't post?Is it something I said haha. Today's machine note:Safety is from thought and mechanics usually go too fast to think,so slow down a hair and be safe
canoga at [Oct 22 18:37:31]: I work on Brunswick Jet back to A2 and have only seen pictures of the new G10 machine that is in use in Las Vegas. I have no experience with AMF machines except AMF Accuscore. I know Brunswick AS-80 computer scoring. I've done every facet of wood lane repair and dressing. BLA BLA BLA but what really matters, "Does he bowl well?" All I need say is that after being around the likes of Tish Johnson,Glenn Alison,Hobo Booth,and working in such landmarks as Jewel City Bowl,Keystone Lanes and Canoga Park Bowl,I carry an aura that intimidates and weakens opponents, and thats what counts when your at the level that anyone can beat anyone else at any time.
canoga as canoga
