Small Scale Bowling showcases and documents what has been about a 25 year on and off project to develop and build a small scale bowling game for the home. I originally designed it as a 1/3 scale game. In the early 90's I changed it to 1/2 scale. This was a big improvement indeed and really made a difference.
This game uses free standing bowling pins, the pins are not suspended in any way. The pins that I'm using on my game are about 14 years old, made from poplar and painted white. They are still holding up but are definitely showing their age.
At one time I wanted to build an automatic pinsetter. Yes, a crazy idea indeed. About 20 years ago I had actually gotten quite a bit done on this, building bits and pieces, proto-typing various mechanisms.
I never liked to think of this game as miniature or hobby bowling. Those names just don't capture the essence of what I was really striving for: a truly realistic small scale bowling alley for the home.
I felt that the game would not only be great fun but could also be a valuable educational tool, to understand the physics of the game, to establish consistency in the body mechanics. Over the years as I've used the game I've been able to see and appreciate the differences between the full size game and my 1/2 scale game. However, many of the fundamentals still apply: hand-eye coordination, follow through, consistent release.
So, what is Small Scale Bowling all about? It's really about my big, small bowling project - from its inception to where it is now, stories, history and some pictures and maybe a video or two of the game in action! In addition, what's next for the game? As you'll see, I have revived the 1/2 scale automatic pinsetter project. It's slow going, but I am making progress.
