Experimental wooden bowling pin is machine turned maple. The pin is cut in half vertically and marked in ink with diameters and other numerical markings. These were used during the invention process of the automatic pin setter machine developed by the donor's grandfather Fred Schmidt. In the late 1930s, Schmidt patented "a method for picking up and re-setting bowling pins through the use of mechanical suction cups." Schmidt first went to the Brunswick Corporation but was turned away. Without financial backing, Schmidt sold the rights to his invention and American Machine (AMF) bought the patents. It took them until 1951 to perfect the design and create the first pin setting machine based on Schmidt's patented design.