So... I had an adventure with bowling alley lanes... I would carefully check it over before comitting.

I got a "really good deal" on some a couple of year back but found a few things out that made it less amusing.

  • Yes there are a LOT of nails
  • Not all of it is as nicely glued as what Ned found. The stuff I got isn't really glued at all (at least not usefully, there may be some glue residue still in there somewhere, it had been outside for a couple of years under a tarp so.. well yeah...); in order to use it I had to pull it all apart, scrape it and re-glue it. Did I mention there were a LOT of nails?
  • Not all of it is as clean edged as the stuff Ned got. Mine is T&G which means largish holes between the end of the T and the inside of the G. Not a problem for some uses but worth considering.
  • There are at least 2 and often 3 different "types" of lane. The run up is usually a thinner (1" or so) hardwood, the "landing zone" (sorry my bowling terminology is non-existent) which is usually a thicker (maybe 2") hardwood (often maple) - this is the sweet spot of the lane if you can get it and finally the runway which is often something softer (this is mostly what I got, it was old growth vertical grain fir but once you pulled it apart I'd have been better off spending my time digging ditches for spare change.. sooo many nails).

I'm betting that at 2" thick its either landing zone (in which case its possibly worth something) or runway in which case I'd have to think pretty hard before dealing with it.