# The Oddest, Strangest Model Of Them All...



## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Hi guys!

Doug here, and I bet you have never in your life, seen a scale model of:

A bowling pinsetter! Am I right? I may be the first. In 1992 or '93, I had hurt my back, and a friend had turned 100 little wooden bowling pins for me on his lathe. I painted half of them white, and 20 had Brunswick Crowns, and the other had AMFlight rings. They were an inch and a half tall, so they were exactly 1/12th scale.

Well, I built a cool little lane with the right kickbacks, all scaled down to 1/12th. The amazing thing was, I got a job at a 63-lane house that had the old Brunswick A-2 pinsetter. During my two-year stay there as a mechanic, I drew plans for a 1/12th scale model. I didn't care if it was piece for piece accurate.

My goal was to make a machine to spot/respot pins, and set a new rack as accurately as possible. This then led me to a new job at an AMF house. Needless to say, I scaled down the 82/70 to 1/12th scale. Here are a few pix:

























Doug


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Looks pretty nice! Makes me think of when I use to bowl a lot of 12 pin at the Lonsdale Bowling Alley in North Vancouver, B. C. back in the 1990's. Too bad it's gone now!


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## Icediver (Jun 7, 2002)

Well I must admit, that's something you don't see everyday. Very nice. Now have fun making some bowling balls and the ball return.
Regards,
Brian


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## Frankie Boy (Feb 28, 2002)

MadCap Romanian said:


> Looks pretty nice! Makes me think of when I use to bowl a lot of 12 pin at the Lonsdale Bowling Alley in North Vancouver, B. C. back in the 1990's. Too bad it's gone now!


12 pin??! I've never heard of 12 pin bowling.


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

Wow. That is something completely different. Very detailed and realistic. Thanks for sharing it with us. You've modeled something unique I'd think.


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

That's actually pretty cool!


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Now that is _way different!!!!!!_:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Cloudminder (Mar 4, 2009)

Very cool.


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Icediver said:


> ...Now have fun making some bowling balls and the ball return.


Did it!  The balls were ball bearings, and the ball return was installed right there in the middle.

Thanks guys! Sure makes me miss them. They were lost. However, I started a new project. The AMF 82/70 in 1/6th scale! Here is what I have made so far out of K and S Brass:


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Actually that's pretty cool. I just like seeing the imagination and skill people put into coming up with stuff like this.


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## hal9001 (May 28, 2008)

_*STEEEEERIKE!*_ (someone had to say it...) Looks good. Any chance of showing some close ups of the *AMF* machine?

HAL9001-


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## Rotwang (May 25, 2011)

I used to be a pin mechanic, and I still have a scar on my arm to prove it!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Yup, that's definitely different! Excellent work!


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## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

Now that's something you don't see every day. Really cool! :thumbsup: 

Sean


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

hal9001 said:


> Any chance of showing some close ups of the *AMF* machine?


Sure! Here is what I have:


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Guys, I am really flattered by the kind words. I am currently working on the spotting table and sweep mechanism called the "pantograph". The real table looks like the following pix:

Doug


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## PRE-SCENES 2 (Aug 16, 2005)

I'll be following this thread. Like what you've done and what I've seen so far. Best of luck with the rest of the project. :thumbsup:


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Thanks, Pre'...!

I've purchased an engineer's scale rule, and am working on getting a 6-foot by 7-inch plywood board for the lane, and a 6-foot by 10-inch plywood base. True 1/6th scale would make the lane 10 feet long, but I don't have the room for it.

The sweep and pantograph looks like this:


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

All of that will be made from brass stock from K and S. The bar itself will be styrene. The idea is, to get all the linkage to fit together, and work. I figure by using a Dremel, and cutting the brass as shown below, it should be a breeze!


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

The sweep, when it is at the furthest rearward travel, looks like this (frame partly removed for clarity):


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Notice the bend in the main arm at the 11 inch mark. Ya have to eyeball that, as I have no idea what the exact angle is. Ya probably have to cut the edges so it won't kink. Then silver-solder it for strength. I dunno. We'll see how we get on.

Doug


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## BOXIE (Apr 5, 2011)

Fantastic work on an unusual subject but obviously close to your heart.


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Thank you Boxie! My reasoning is, by posting this here, it might inspire others to model things they have wanted for so long. ANYTHING can be scaled down. Just to give you an idea how far I've gone:


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Yeah, that is a 1/6th scale American Standard "Compton" from the late fifties/early sixties. It works JUST like the big one. Water actually comes out of that little hole to start the siphon, just like the real one.

That's not my current project though. I just wanted to show you how "odd" I can get! I made that from ceramic, following the manufacturer's blueprint I got way back when. I "slip cast" it in plaster of paris molds.

OK, back to the pinspotter....

Doug


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

As far as building a 1/6th scale lane goes, I am thinking of building the Brunswick "A" model the way I did before. We don't have a bowling center up here in Augusta. Not nearby anyway. This is the real machine:

Doug


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

The real AMF 82/70 sweep can be seen here in the down, "guard" position. Notice the pantographs on either side. Then look at my model. Got it darn close!


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Really, the pinspotter is several machines in one. A true Rube Goldberg device! A real interesting project should be the back end. I won't be making a pin wheel (called the pin elevator). Just a tray where the pins will be delivered by the conveyor. This is the real one, There is about a six inch drop from the pin deck to the rolling carpet belt:


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Just to show you the difference between Brunswick & AMF, here is the Brunswick A-2 pit, with the pin elevator removed:


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

The pit floor actually shakes, and the pins move to the back center, to fall into the pin elevator wheel. Both machines are very efficient.

Doug


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## Alien (Sep 5, 2001)

Just found this thread.
Fantastic work:thumbsup:

I also love that little scale model toilet.
Is it made by that famous Japanese bathroom company 'Minishitsu' ? :wink2:

Alien


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Mini-sh...--Haaa hahaha! Yeah! That's it! Hee hee! It's also done in 1/6th scale, so the little mechanic will stop going in the sink! 

Doug


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## Jafo (Apr 22, 2005)

Def not one ive ever seen before. thanks for sharing


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Thank you Jafo! I have another model or two in the design stages. One you have definitely never seen! I'm a twisted puppy! Not normal. They don't, and _never will_ make models of the things I like. So, I make 'em _myself_. And I make 'em _work!_

Hee hee! You wait'll I tell you my next project! It is..._not normal._

Doug


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

How about...this?



















This is a view the public rarely gets:










Now...what scale. That will determine how many floors...

Doug


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Ya know, there is not much info on building a model elevator! LOL! It's one I'll have to eyeball. Plastruct makes a T-shaped rail that is perfect for guide rails. I need to go to the local State House here, and get the elevator maintenance guy to let me take pictures inside the shaft.

Those have a pulley on top that cuts the speed in half. I gotta look at it again. The Annex is a six-story building nearby with a bank of five elevators that share the same shaft and the whole thing is LIT! It looks like a vertical _train_ station! LOL!

Still doing research! It has its...UPS & DOWNS...(groan)!

Doug


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## phrankenstign (Nov 29, 1999)

Radiodugger said:


> Mini-sh...--Haaa hahaha! Yeah! That's it! Hee hee! It's also done in 1/6th scale, so the little mechanic will stop going in the sink!
> 
> Doug



Just tell the little guy not to adjust his glasses right after flushing. I did that last year, and PING!.....one of my lenses popped out and fell right into the toilet as the water flushed away! The thought of faking it (like little Ralphie in A Christmas Story) actually went through my mind, but the blurriness scrapped that idea quickly!


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