Bowling Alley Sideboard With Wine Storage

Here's how to take some pieces of old bowling alley and turn them into some beautiful furniture. These bowling alleys are usually made out of hard maple and can be used for just about anything.

Step 1: Prep the Bowling Alley

The blocks that I found on craigslist were covered in carpet glue. The first thing I did was scrape off all the glue using a scraper. The next hurdle were all the nails keeping the boards together. Using nail pullers, pull all the nails and separate all the boards. Next, clean all the boards up with a cabinet scraper or chisel.

Now you can line up all the boards and shape them into your piece of furniture.

Step 2: Glue Up the Butcher Block

Glue the boards back together and use lots of clamps. When you're done, you can run them through a planer and get them smooth. Then just cut your pieces to length.

Make sure to have a cute puppy inspect your work when done.

Step 3: Assemble the Legs and Table Top

Notch out the top with a router to fit the legs. Do a lot of test fitting to get everything just right.

Next drill holes in all the parts to accept 1/2" dowels.

Step 4: Make the Carcass

Cut all your pieces out of maple plywood. Use maple strips to put a nice edge on the plywood. Use a router to cut dados for extra strength in the carcass. Use threaded inserts and some bolts to give a lot of strength.

Step 5: Drawer

Use a router to make the shown dados to make a simple strong drawer. Follow the directions that come with your drawer slides.

Step 6: Wine Storage!

Measure your opening and divide it up to fit the size wine bottles that you want. The wine glass holders are made with a router and a bevel bit. Then they are glued to another strip of poplar. As you can see they hold a glass quite nicely.