Replies

1. 
   nigelUsa | Dec 12, 2002 01:01am | #1

   From what I understand. The Maple you are after is nailed together and sounds like it was resurfaced with the formica type stuff. To remove the top layers with out distorying the maple.............? Big router with router bit on the side of a straight edge, then sand to clean it up but you might find some nails or other metal showing through after. can you finish the underside? Why not keep it as is and make the workshop benchtop out of it?

   This may be of interest:

   The lane is 41-1/2" wide (plus or minus 1/2" for ABC/WIBC tolerances) and is made up of 39 to 42 individual boards that are 2-3/4" thick. Each board is nailed one on top of the other and then the 41-1/2" wide lane is laid down. The reason for the difference of 39 to 42 boards is that some lanes are made of boards that are exactly one inch wide and some are made with boards that are 1-5/64" wide.

   So if your maple is 2-1/4 thick then is has been sanded many times before the HPL was applied.

2. 
   johnhardy | Dec 12, 2002 01:07am | #2

   I can suggest a way to "get at this layer" (the maple). Use a floor sander and simply take off all of the surface above the maple.

   You next say you'd like to take the layer apart. Why? I suspect it's glued. Even if it isn't ... perhaps it's nailed ... you'd destroy the maple in the process. Perhaps it'd work as a table top or a butcher block (but those are usually end grain rather than surface grain). But I sure can't suggest a way to take the maple layer apart.

   John

3. 
   quatersawn | Dec 12, 2002 02:53am | #3

   You may get the top layer off, but you will never get the boards apart, at least not clean enough to put back together. They are nailed every couple of inches, glued, and hard as rock. This stuff is best suited to be used as is, or floor sanded like suggested earlier. You could try a giant drum sanding place. Of course that might be cost prohibitive. Good luck.

1. 
   TomMGTC | Dec 12, 2002 04:59am | #4

   I have a few sections of old bowling alley and used one to build a workbench. I found it fairly easy to disassemble. It seemed that it was not originally glued together, just nailed. Quite a bit of finish had seeped through the joints and that did form a slight bond but it was easily broken. I numbered everything, cleaned it up, and reassembled it being careful to remove any nails where I would be performing any milling operations. I glued it together and used the existing nails for alignment.  

   Your alley seems to have been reworked before and that sounds like it may be a lot of trouble to work with. I hope to use some more of the sections I have in the future but it really is a lot of work. The results are quite nice though.

   Tom

1. 
   diddidit | Dec 12, 2002 05:56am | #5

   Cool, thanks, keep 'em coming.

   More info: Right now, it is a workshop bench/table, and if I can't do a decent job of recovering the maple it will be again. What of the maple I have gotten off is really nice looking, so it'd be cool to have it in the house as a dining room table. It's too freaking huge in my little 10x20 shop right now, anyway.

   The top HPL/particle board layer is screwed to the maple; the screws are of course under the HPL so routing it away is pretty much out of the question. The maple planks are nailed together, but not glued - loose ones at the edges have fallen away easily. It actually seems kind of loose under the top layer, perhaps as a result of the fire+ water, and the being ripped apart with a backhoe during the demo process.

   I'll see if I can get some pics up tomorrow - gotta take frame grabs from my DV camcorder.

   didI opened the box, and the first thing I pulled out was - well, ya know, it's just surreal being me right now...

4. 
   mike4244 | Dec 13, 2002 03:19am | #6

   Many years ago I worked one job for Brunswick, putting new alleys in. From my limited expierence I would not attempt to take the boards apart. They are not glued, they are nailed every four inches with screw nails, and rosin coated common nails in between the screw nails.

1. 
   TomMGTC | Dec 13, 2002 03:27am | #7

   That sounds exactlt like how mine were constructed. They weren't that bad to get apart though.

   Tom

5. 
   fdampier5 | Dec 13, 2002 06:44pm | #8

   If you are willing to go thru all that amount of work to aquire some maple, Have I got a deal for you!

     You do half of that work on my timberframe and I'll buy you brand new hard maple and let you use my equipment to do anything you want with it.

1. 
   diddidit | Dec 13, 2002 07:54pm | #9

   Actually, that'd be pretty cool. But, alas, I must be a loyal cubicle dweller by day and an attentive father the rest of the time, along with slowly upgrading my crummy little house...

   didI opened the box, and the first thing I pulled out was - well, ya know, it's just surreal being me right now...

6. 
   crt2cu2 | Dec 16, 2002 03:10pm | #10

   diddidit,

   The HPL is probably glued on with the old fashioned form of contact adhesive.  Maybe the layer of particle board is glued on the same as well.  HPL glued on with the old adhesives can be removed relatively easily using lacquer thinner and a thin blade putty knife. Stand the slab on edge, gently pry up a top corner of the laminate, dribble some lacquer thinner between the layers, wait a few seconds and the adhesive should start releasing.  Keep prying,  dribbling lacquer thinner, get a friend to help pull away the HPL and pretty soon that part of the job is done.  The hardest part about removing HPL in this manner is getting a start.  But once started it goes fast.  Another way to remove HPL is via heat.  Steal your significant other's clothes iron, set it to highest heat and apply to the HPL to heat up and soften the adhesive, pry up as before with the putty knife.  This works OK but takes a long time compared to the lacquer thinner technique.  If you use the thinner you may find that it will seep between the maple layers and maybe make them easier to disassemble.  I don't know about the phenolic or particle board layer though,  Maybe that is simply screwed or nailed to the maple and once the HPL is off will be self evident in terms of removal.  Good luck.   BTW, do the thinner technique thing outside and wear rubber gloves as the fumes and drying nature will get to your nose, lungs and hands.