Great stuff Calico. Thanks for sharing.

Nice

Nice work, I've had good luck with pbl balls. Is there another high gloss option for magnet games?

Thanks for posting this. I will definitely give the Pinbits balls a try the next time I purchase balls for my non-magnet games.

Join us next week for electron microscope pictures.

Very interesting comparison.

Very interesting, thanks for doing this. So in the end, it doesn't seem to matter which type you buy if you plan on using them for a while.

Nice

this is great. i was looking to purchase 100 new balls to replace all of them in my machines (even the newton balls).

since they all look about the same after being played, i think i will stick with the Pinball Life ones since i can stop over there and pick them up. (save on the shipping costs)

how often does one generally change the balls (or do you just toss them in the tumbler?)

In a previous post, Calico had mentioned that the finish on the PBL pinballs seemed to vary quite a bit. I presume he used one of the better ones for this test.

Last week I put four new Marco Silverjet Premium balls in my Metallica Pro. I had to replace them with the Stern originals. Ball search kicks in. Magnetic problem.

What about using standard steel ball bearings from someplace like McMaster Carr?
http://www.mcmaster.com/#9528k41/=o1w0ze
I wonder how they would compare?

Great work Calico thanks for posting this! Pretty important to remember that Chromium Steel Pinball should not be used in pins with magnets as they become permanently magnetized faster than the non chromium balls. I know you mentioned that but just wanted to re emphasize it.

I'd imagine they magnetize over time as well, for games with magnets. They're alloy steel balls, hence ferrous. Probably ok to use in games without magnets, though. They did say they have a highly reflective finish, too.

Thank you very much for taking the time to test this, take photos, post, etc. Very informative. -J

Nice Job, to confirm and solve the "ball debate"!

Because the ball is a sphere, how would one know what direction to put it in the demagnetizer?

Put it in wrong and you could make the magnetism stronger...

Remind me not to put my balls in the demagnetizer!

I don't think even my urologist studies balls this much.

Great work though. Very interesting pics.

Mike

Agreed! I missed this when originally posted. Wish I had seen it earlier.

Thanks for a great post.

Very cool thanks for posting

????? errr.... no. Joking, right?

I was actually thinking about doing this but the stage on my tool is small so I would have to cut one to get it to fit. I could also analyze the composition using Auger spectroscopy to see if they are similar makeup.

Demagnetizers work by creating a strong alternating magnetic field so the ball would be magnetized one way (it doesn't matter which way), wiping out whatever magnetism and polarity it initially had, then magnetized the opposite way - 60 (or 50) times a second (they just use 60Hz or 50Hz line power). Then the field is gradually diminished, either by decreasing the current going into the demagnetizer (some demagnetizers do this) or by increasing the distance between the demagnetizer and the ball (i.e. walking away from the demag holding the ball or vice-versa).

So the initial polarity and magnitude of the magnetism doesn't matter - it gets overwhelmed by the demagnetizer's AC magnet field which then slowly decreases to 0 leaving the ball unmagnentized...

This is how old CRT screens got demagnetized (using a "degausser"), how tape heads and tape deck metal gets demagnetized, etc.

_{Post edited by yonkiman : removed <i> </i> tags since they didn't seem to work..}

I used to use one of those to demagnetize (and thus wipe) reel to reel tape when I was a student at UC Santa Cruz. They probably dumped all that stuff, they were transitioning from analog to pure digital while I was there. Glad I got in at the tail end and got to experience both!

Great study. Loaded Pinbits chromium balls in all my non-magnet pins.

I have a demagnetizer from the old 2" 24 track days (they used to call it a hummer) and although it can erase tape, it can't for some reason, demagnetize a screwdriver.

My magnetized screwdriver seems to be less magnetized now... Any way to recharge the magnetism?

So what do we think this means in terms of how OFTEN we should replace balls in our machines?

You can draw the blade of the screwdriver on the magnet of the speaker several time (one way) and it will magnetize it.

Very interesting, thanks for posting this.

It would be very interesting as a follow up if you could polish the used balls in a tumbler to compare how they turn out and also how they fare after another 100 games.

I recently polished a set of fairly nasty used balls, including one with rust spots and "faceting" / out of round. The results were very impressive, the none faceted balls came out gleaming with a mirror finish. Unfortunately, the faceted balls were still out of round (and not usable), but much shinier!

In most cases, polishing balls after several hundred plays restores them to perfection, but it would be interesting to see them under your microscope.

I use a Berry type ammunition tumbler with walnut media and Novus 3, tumble for 2-3 days.

( I also polish new balls get give them a mirror finish before using them, saves money by not buying the mirrored finish balls )

1st pic: Used ball
2nd pic: Polished used ball

3rd pic: Faceted dirty rusty ball
4th pic: Polished still faceted ball

image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg

Thank you.

2-3 days? Wow! That may explain why my results were not as good. I thought a few hours would be ok. Maybe I'll try again...

yup, just goes to show. Piss money way on expensive balls, and if you play them, they will end up just like the cheap ones within a couple of games.

That settles it, I need to get a tumbler.

Thank you for a great review/comparison. I must disagree though that all balls look the same after 100 plays. In absolutely every picture, new through 100 plays and up to 100x magnification I can spot the better ball which seems to be the Pinbits, the Silverjets come in a close second and the PBL are not in the same class. Also the "New" picture looks as if the SJ's might still have the surface coating or dried oil/lubrication on it. Let me point out what I see and see if you can see it too. But first let me ask if the oil/lubricant was cleaned off the balls first? Perhaps Pinbits cleans theirs prior to shipping. I agree that after 100 plays all the balls scratch, but look at what I refer to as the "haze factor", which are the micro-fine scratches, In every picture Pinbits has the least scratches, SilverJets second, PBL a distant 3rd. Also look at the light that is reflected off the balls while all of them have some distortion the PBL's stand out as the most uneven.

I frequently tumble my balls with Blue Magic and inspect them under a lit magnifying glass, chipped or dented balls get thrown away as do balls with excessive "haze factor" after polishing, but honestly I seldom replace balls "just because".

As Fytr mentioned I too would be interested in how they look/perform after tumbling, chromium being harder I would imagine they would need to be tumbled longer or because of the increased hardness perhaps they wouldn't polish out completely. But to my naked eye based on your research I can see the difference very clearly. I would also like to know if there is a weight difference.

Arizona Bruce
AZB