Quoted from BlackCatBone:Hey gutz, what technique did you use to remove the spiral nails in post #205 from 8 months back? You had a photo of the nails and plates. Those nails are murder to get out on Bally's bingo games, and I've only ever been able to salvage a plate or its nails, but never both. I'd like to remove all the hardware on the wood rails of my Skill-Roll and could use some tips. Thanks.
I tore that machine completely apart and refinished the wood, so your approach might differ if you are not going to that level of effort.
Remove the handles/shafts out the front of the machine and remove the playfield out the back of the machine. Take a socket with an outer diameter the same size as the handle through holes, from the inside of the machine tap the socket with a hammer to loosen the washers. With just enough of the spiral head exposed, I used a staple puller hand tool to pry up the spiral nails. Do the bottom one first then the top, so the washer doesn't spin down and scratch the wood. I also had a thin scrap of plexi to pry against so the wood or metal wasn't damaged.
The 5 cent plate is much trickier and might damage the wood (I wasn't too concerned since I was already refinishing the wood). I used a thin putty knife and worked the edges of the plate up from the wood, using the plate to pull up the spiral nails. With just enough of the spiral head exposed, use the staple puller to pry up the nails. I used the plexi scrap again to not cause further damage to wood or metal.