Building a Cheetah!

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10

#1 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Just picked up a partially populated playfield to turn my Flight 2000 donor into a Cheetah. Haven't seen anyone create a Cheetah yet, so here goes!

All the boards and working parts of this F2K were used to re-build a different F2K about 10 years ago. The busted boards have now been repaired and it's time to donate again to this effort.

Already have a BGresto backglass on order. I have two extra 3-bank drops and the different style trough parts in-hand.

I'll make the light panel myself but not stencil the cabinet at this time...no space, equipment, or skills for that right now.

Anyone have some Cheetah tear down pictures I can use to see details of what is missing from the project playfield?

Thank you

Cheetah pf and F2K (resized).JPG

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1

#2 3 years ago

GEE

Pinslot

Pinside member

Interesting project.

#3 3 years ago

EMS

Patient on the rotisserie. Here’s the back of the playfield. I knew it was missing all solenoids and assemblies which can come from the donor. Bought a new complete 3rd left flipper. Third pop bumper parts to be ordered yet.

Has the lamp wire harness but not the solenoid or switch portion. I snagged a complete Big Game harness off ePay for this occasion.

Any other glaring things that I’m probably not seeing because it’s not there?

B9C94A52-2012-40F9-911E-48EA8CB46E27 (resized).jpeg

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1

#4 3 years ago

CAE

play_pinball

Pinside+ Frequent

6y 131K 2,074 38 34

Looking forward to following this. I want to do this someday when CPR releases repro playfields. I’ll have to make my own harnesses but it’s doable.

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#5 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from play_pinball:
Looking forward to following this. I want to do this someday when CPR releases repro playfields. I’ll have to make my own harnesses but it’s doable.

Yeah, I was going to wait for the CPR repro until a local Pinsider reached out with the used playfield.

I was planning to make my own harness too. Now only need to make half a harness.

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1

#6 3 years ago

237

slochar

Pinside member

7y 86,550 6,903

missing 2x spinners
couple of plastics
5 bank memory drop
2x3 bank drops
the pop lower guts at least the plastic hoops are there though that's the hard part..... I probably have the guts somewhere I'll have to look when I get a chance
3x flippers
3x slings
apron
upper loop wire forms.... original was 2 straights, but you can replace this with a black knight upper right loop one for smoother action
and the harness.

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#7 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from slochar:
missing 2x spinners
couple of plastics
5 bank memory drop
2x3 bank drops
the pop lower guts at least the plastic hoops are there though that's the hard part..... I probably have the guts somewhere I'll have to look when I get a chance
3x flippers
3x slings
apron
upper loop wire forms.... original was 2 straights, but you can replace this with a black knight upper right loop one for smoother action
and the harness.

Thanks for the detailed inventory slochar

The only two things I think I don’t have covered by the donor pin and purchases so far are-

1- pop bumper below pf guts for one unit. Lotta hardware, plates, yokes, coil, switch, spoon, etc. missing. Couple people said that this stuff was available at PBR but their website says otherwise. If you have some of that would be great. Old and used is fine! Please let me know when you get the chance.

2- upper loop wire forms. Gonna need to look at some pictures to see what they are. Hopefully not unobtainable. The BlackKnight ones are available though?

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#8 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

See what wire forms you're referring to (W1 and W2) at the loop.

Also noted that three others are MIA:
Two W1 inlane wire forms
Ball launcher W3

Maybe they can be made if not laying around in someone's parts bin?
It's a good start...I'm sure other things will needed

Cheetah wireform.pdf

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#9 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Did some searching and some people have used the wire bending jig from Marco to make their own wire forms. Anyone have experience with that?
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/77-8593

They offer a kit with various size piano wire. Anyone know the diameter needed off-hand? Might be better to get more of the right size than a variety that isn't enough of the one needed.

Wire forming starter kit includes a #77-8593 Wire Bending Jig and (10) 1-foot pieces of wire of the following wire gauges:

.031 inch diameter wire (2 pieces x 12 inches each)
.040 inch diameter wire (2 pieces x 12 inches each)
.051 inch diameter wire (2 pieces x 12 inches each)
.063 inch diameter wire (2 pieces x 12 inches each)
.080 inch diameter wire (2 pieces x 12 inches each)

Best way to make clean cuts? Thanks for any input on that.

wire bending jig (resized).jpg

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1

#10 3 years ago

JEC

bluespin

Pinside+ Frequent

Johns Creek, GA

7y 141K 9,126

Don’t forget that you’ll have to make a light board for the head.

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#11 3 years ago

JEC

bluespin

Pinside+ Frequent

#12 3 years ago

WOT

Atari_Daze

Spd

Houston, TX

7y 141K 10,052 7

OP
Quoted from emsrph:
Did some searching and some people have used the wire bending jig from Marco to make their own wire forms. Anyone have experience with that?

Used successfully once to make very simple ball guides, with only two bends.
Tried multiple times unsuccessfully to make complex things like gates.

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1

#13 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from bluespin:
Don’t forget that you’ll have to make a light board for the head.

Yes, I was going to try and make my own. I have a picture of the light board insert that I was going to work from to try to make a template. I did a proof of concept with my F2K in Photoshop and it might work.

Unless someone steps up with a more accurate drawing. Please and thank you!

0AAF0629-FDC3-435A-A6D3-05551DE2602F (resized).jpeg

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#14 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from Atari_Daze:
Used successfully once to make very simple ball guides, with only two bends.
Tried multiple times unsuccessfully to make complex things like gates.

Okay, so there’s some hope for me. Is the wire size in Classic Stern‘s a standard size? Misplaced my calipers and need to buy another.

Best wire cutting tool? Dremel with cut-off wheel or some kind of small bolt cutter pliers?

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1

#15 3 years ago

WOT

Atari_Daze

Spd

Houston, TX

7y 141K 10,052 7

OP
Quoted from emsrph:
Best wire cutting tool? Dremel with cut-off wheel

Being a pretty stout stainless, I used the Dremel.

Not sure about sizes. My stock is in storage, pretty sure someone will be able to chime in before my next trip that way.

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1

#16 3 years ago

OLO

Agent_Hero

Pinside member

8y 78,600 1,658

Good luck on this endeavor! Here's a worthwhile upgrade while you have the playfield out:

https://pinballreplacementparts.com/products/stern-cheetah-replacement-lamp-boards-take-555-sockets

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#17 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from Agent_Hero:
Good luck on this endeavor! Here's a worthwhile upgrade while you have the playfield out:
https://pinballreplacementparts.com/products/stern-cheetah-replacement-lamp-boards-take-555-sockets

Thanks. I just cleaned up those sockets and also the strip up the middle. If I wasn’t successful I’ll go with that 555 board.

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8

#18 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Changing out the light sockets and using a tip I read from a Pinsider.

Putting a label on the pf and wire so I don’t need to look back at the schematic or pictures to figure out where the wire goes. Only takes a couple minutes and saves me time on reassembly.

C8BB2649-2AA1-43A5-AC6C-DE954DA59458 (resized).jpeg

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#19 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Worked really well for my F2K full swap. Here’s the carcass

1ABC4270-12A2-4B7D-B16B-50CDA48D7729 (resized).jpeg

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#20 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

With the ultimate goal of eventual swapping to a CPR repro pf when it comes out, I was thinking of putting all solenoids, pop bumpers, flippers and drop target assemblies on connectors...

Some people think this connector adds a failure point?

Should 0.093 be used or are 0.062 pins okay, current carrying ability?

Discuss.

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2

#21 3 years ago

WOT

Atari_Daze

Spd

Houston, TX

7y 141K 10,052 7

OP
Quoted from emsrph:
Some people think this connector adds a failure point?

Should 0.093 be used or are 0.062 pins okay, current carrying ability?

I don't think it's a new failure point. I do this on my restorations now just like HEP. I think old machine makers didn't do it to save assembly time and a few bucks per machine?

I standardize on one size, the larger one. I'm not a huge oem counting fractions of a cent over 10s of thousands of machines.

But those are just my 2 cents.

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#22 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from Atari_Daze:
I don't think it's a new failure point. I do this on my restorations now just like HEP. I think old machine makers didn't do it to save assembly time and a few bucks per machine?
I standardize on one size, the larger one. I'm not a huge oem counting fractions of a cent over 10s of thousands of machines.
But those are just my 2 cents.

Good input. Thx

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#23 3 years ago

JEC

bluespin

Pinside+ Frequent

Johns Creek, GA

7y 141K 9,126

OP
Quoted from emsrph:
With the ultimate goal of eventual swapping to a CPR repro pf when it comes out, I was thinking of putting all solenoids, pop bumpers, flippers and drop target assemblies on connectors...
Some people think this connector adds a failure point?
Should 0.093 be used or are 0.062 pins okay, current carrying ability?
Discuss.

Has cpr announced that they’re making this title or are you hoping that they will in the future?

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1

#24 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from bluespin:
Has cpr announced that they’re making this title or are you hoping that they will in the future?

They are working on it now and it’ll be a just a few months...

Edit- see post #253 https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/classic-stern-cheetah-club-its-fast/page/6#post-5931805

A lot of thanks to TractorDoc for making this happen!

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2

#25 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Finished cleaning all inserts and changed sockets.

Went with insulated 18 gauge wire with solder lugs instead of stapled braid.

Got the fancy striped wire from Remington Industries. They often have clearance spools. Got 313 feet for $11.40 shipped.

BA2ACF32-F4BB-4285-BD62-BF91B1AD75A5 (resized).jpeg

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1

#26 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Use my temperature controlled station to work on boards but not for under the playfield. I use a light weight 25w pencil for those jobs.

How do you know when you’re soldering too much....when your tip is reduced to a nub.

51241D1C-11E6-4B4B-9084-A1F2C161AE4C (resized).jpeg

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1

#27 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Not much playfield work accomplished today. Ordered some parts.

Tested and cleaned a bunch of bulbs to go in the new sockets.

Built a little box that has a 44, 555, 89 socket powered by a phone charger that stores inside. Put in an LED to show when power is on. Testing goes really fast and is independent of having a game powered up.

562C9266-CEB6-44BD-84FD-05A834C76E50 (resized).jpeg

CB09DF02-33D2-4625-AFA1-F8454CC0CF5B (resized).jpeg

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#28 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Put up a wanted ad for the missing under pf parts of one B-695 Thumper pop bumper. I know the yokes can be printed at Shapeways but the whole base is bare and there are several obsolete parts that are needed.

Used, dusty, dirty, rusty, smoky, stinky is fine as long as they still work.

Thank you

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-thumper-b-695-pop-bumper-parts

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2

#29 3 years ago

BJB

BrianBannon

Pinside+ Frequent

St Charles, MO

11y 81,400 1,031 40 14

OP
Quoted from emsrph:
With the ultimate goal of eventual swapping to a CPR repro pf when it comes out, I was thinking of putting all solenoids, pop bumpers, flippers and drop target assemblies on connectors...
Some people think this connector adds a failure point?
Should 0.093 be used or are 0.062 pins okay, current carrying ability?
Discuss.

Chances of you ever having to remove these mechs again are pretty slim. IIRC, after 28 playfield swaps spanning 16 years I have had to replace one broken drop target, thats it. Thousands of plays, games brought to shows, some placed on location for months. One broken drop target. It just seems to me to be an unnecessary step and yes I think it does add a new failure point.

If anyone really believes that more connectors are a good thing, work on a Gameplan game sometime.

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1

#30 3 years ago

237

slochar

Pinside member

7y 86,550 6,903

I have pop bumpers (I'll have to look for the coil stops) No topside rings though (this is what I bought them for to get the plastic rings)
I have the plastic mounts attached to them as well as 2 switches. They are likely all from Af-tor which is the same pop parts which is why 2 of the switches have scoring switches as well.

I don't have any more of the Black Knight round ring for the upper middle spinng. I probably do have 2 of the other wire guides if you get me the sizes. It plays much better with a rounded one though, it's smooth no matter where it hits, the dual wires one side sits above the other and sometimes you'll get a reject from that side if it hits it just right.

Oh I probably have some spinners laying around but they're not going to be mint by any means.

Quoted from BrianBannon:
It just seems to me to be an unnecessary step and yes I think it does add a new failure point.

If anyone really believes that more connectors are a good thing, work on a Gameplan game sometime.

I'm with Brian on this, I don't add connectors that aren't needed. It's your game though, you do what you want. If you are the type of person that likes to take the stuff out a lot to inspect it, rebuild it multiple times, etc. go for it.

A lot of the issues with added connectors come from people that frankly have zero idea how to make a proper crimp. I bought a Dolly Parton that the guy had recrimped all the connectors, and they were all done wrong. Especially if you don't use the ratcheting tool with the proper die, the crimper that you do twice on each connector pin is the easiest to screw up the crimp (the little ears are supposed to fold over into a UU shape - the incorrect way just has them flopping horizontally over each other.

He was proud of his job but when I arrived to pick up the machine it didn't work. He was all worried about it and was swapping SDBs etc. I didn't really care because I knew I was going to redo it all anyway.

20201030_113324 (resized).jpg

Post last edited 3 years ago: “added pic ”

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#31 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from BrianBannon:
Chances of you ever having to remove these mechs again are pretty slim. IIRC, after 28 playfield swaps spanning 16 years I have had to replace one broken drop target, thats it. Thousands of plays, games brought to shows, some placed on location for months. One broken drop target. It just seems to me to be an unnecessary step and yes I think it does add a new failure point.
If anyone really believes that more connectors are a good thing, work on a Gameplan game sometime.

Yeah, don’t want to add extra work putting in the connectors or dealing with any ongoing issue with them. Only thing is I’m planning a swap to the repro pf, probably not too far from when this used one is all assembled.

Guess I could try moving everything over without unsoldering all the coils. Someone showed how they slid the entire harness with all components connected from one playfield to another.

Maybe just use connectors for all four drop target banks. Thx

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2

#32 3 years ago

SJK

kickabit

Pinside member

Milwaukee, WI

11y 52,550 135 10

OP
Quoted from emsrph:
Did some searching and some people have used the wire bending jig from Marco to make their own wire forms. Anyone have experience with that?
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/77-8593
They offer a kit with various size piano wire. Anyone know the diameter needed off-hand? Might be better to get more of the right size than a variety that isn't enough of the one needed.
Wire forming starter kit includes a #77-8593 Wire Bending Jig and (10) 1-foot pieces of wire of the following wire gauges:
.031 inch diameter wire (2 pieces x 12 inches each)
.040 inch diameter wire (2 pieces x 12 inches each)
.051 inch diameter wire (2 pieces x 12 inches each)
.063 inch diameter wire (2 pieces x 12 inches each)
.080 inch diameter wire (2 pieces x 12 inches each)
Best way to make clean cuts? Thanks for any input on that.
[quoted image]

I’ve been using the K&S mini bender for my ball guides. It was much easier to work with to make 90 degree bends than the Marco one. I use stainless steel wire and they polish up really nice. A Dremel cutting wheel works well for cutting since the wire used for Stern games is pretty thick. I also grind the ends to give them a bit of a point. I could measure the sizes for Cheetah guides if you need them.

B4A131C5-FAA8-4494-BDA0-1841D6AA7B2C (resized).jpeg

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#33 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from slochar:
I have pop bumpers (I'll have to look for the coil stops) No topside rings though (this is what I bought them for to get the plastic rings)
I have the plastic mounts attached to them as well as 2 switches. They are likely all from Af-tor which is the same pop parts which is why 2 of the switches have scoring switches as well.
I don't have any more of the Black Knight round ring for the upper middle spinng. I probably do have 2 of the other wire guides if you get me the sizes. It plays much better with a rounded one though, it's smooth no matter where it hits, the dual wires one side sits above the other and sometimes you'll get a reject from that side if it hits it just right.
Oh I probably have some spinners laying around but they're not going to be mint by any means.

I'm with Brian on this, I don't add connectors that aren't needed. It's your game though, you do what you want. If you are the type of person that likes to take the stuff out a lot to inspect it, rebuild it multiple times, etc. go for it.
A lot of the issues with added connectors come from people that frankly have zero idea how to make a proper crimp. I bought a Dolly Parton that the guy had recrimped all the connectors, and they were all done wrong. Especially if you don't use the ratcheting tool with the proper die, the crimper that you do twice on each connector pin is the easiest to screw up the crimp (the little ears are supposed to fold over into a UU shape - the incorrect way just has them flopping horizontally over each other.
He was proud of his job but when I arrived to pick up the machine it didn't work. He was all worried about it and was swapping SDBs etc. I didn't really care because I knew I was going to redo it all anyway.[quoted image]

One assembly (or just one set of bottom side parts) would be fantastic!

I’ll measure the W1, W2, and W3 wireform hole spacing this afternoon.

Do you have a picture of the BK round ring set up?

Gonna recycle the two spinners from my F2K. Pf has one so should be ok on those.

I have the ratcheting crimper but after I re-pin or recreate what is missing of the harness I won’t look forward to doing any extra crimping. See my above response to Brian. Most likely just put the drops on connectors.

Appreciate everyone’s input and expertise. Thx

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#34 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from kickabit:
I’ve been using the K&S mini bender for my ball guides. It was much easier to work with to make 90 degree bends than the Marco one. I use stainless steel wire and they polish up really nice. A Dremel cutting wheel works well for cutting since the wire used for Stern games is pretty thick. I also grind the ends to give them a bit of a point. I could measure the sizes for Cheetah guides if you need them. [quoted image]

Great information, I haven’t purchased the bender yet. I’ll look into the K&S.

I can measure the hole spacing of the missing wire forms on the playfield but what thickness of wire do you use?

Maybe I’m overthinking it but in fabrication, is there a trick to figuring out how much length is lost in the bend or just trial and error to get it to come out the right finished length?

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#35 3 years ago

JEC

bluespin

Pinside+ Frequent

Johns Creek, GA

7y 141K 9,126

Quoted from slochar:
missing 5 bank memory drop

IPDB lists five classic Sterns with 5-bank drop targets. Is a memory drop bank one that requires you to hit the drops in sequential order, like Nine Ball?

Which of these is a memory drop target bank?
Cheetah
Freefall
Hot Hand
Lectronamo
Split Second
Stingray
Trident

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3

#36 3 years ago

SJK

kickabit

Pinside member

Milwaukee, WI

11y 52,550 135 10

Quoted from bluespin:
IPDB lists five classic Sterns with 5-bank drop targets. Is a memory drop bank one that requires you to hit the drops in sequential order, like Nine Ball?
Which of these is a memory drop target bank?
Cheetah
Freefall
Hot Hand
Lectronamo
Split Second
Stingray
Trident

Trident has a 5-bank memory drops

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#37 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Here are the measurements I took- only approx since my calipers are on order-

Up by spinner loop
Left side of loop (W2) = 1 7/16”
Right side of loop (W1) = 2 3/8”

Ball catapult (W3) = 3.5”

Two by the In Lanes (also called W1 but measure different than the upper W1) = 2 3/16”

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#38 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from bluespin:
IPDB lists five classic Sterns with 5-bank drop targets. Is a memory drop bank one that requires you to hit the drops in sequential order, like Nine Ball?
Which of these is a memory drop target bank?
Cheetah
Freefall
Hot Hand
Lectronamo
Split Second
Stingray
Trident

Yeah, I don’t have a complete 5 bank target bank yet although I am still looking.

I did pick up a front, top and bottom along with a reset bar from a 5 bank.

I think I can take the sides, levers, coils and part of the back from the F2K target bank and build the 5 target bank. Only thing to cut down or source would be the rods that stretch from side to side. There’s a brass one and a steel one. Wish me luck.

Plan B was to get a Meteor 6 bank and see if it could be shoehorned in there or cut that down. Someone from overseas did answer my wanted ad but was asking $165 for it and I passed.

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1

#39 3 years ago

IBS

ibis

Pinside+ Frequent

Winter Haven, FL

11y 63,150 805 18 1

OP
Quoted from emsrph:
Not much playfield work accomplished today. Ordered some parts.
Tested and cleaned a bunch of bulbs to go in the new sockets.
Built a little box that has a 44, 555, 89 socket powered by a phone charger that stores inside. Put in an LED to show when power is on. Testing goes really fast and is independent of having a game powered up.
[quoted image][quoted image]

Your going through all this trouble and not installing brand new bulbs?

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#40 3 years ago

JEC

bluespin

Pinside+ Frequent

Johns Creek, GA

7y 141K 9,126

OP
Quoted from emsrph:
Yeah, I don’t have a complete 5 bank target bank yet although I am still looking.
I did pick up a front, top and bottom along with a reset bar from a 5 bank.
I think I can take the sides, levers, coils and part of the back from the F2K target bank and build the 5 target bank. Only thing to cut down or source would be the rods that stretch from side to side. There’s a brass one and a steel one. Wish me luck.
Plan B was to get a Meteor 6 bank and see if it could be shoehorned in there or cut that down. Someone from overseas did answer my wanted ad but was asking $165 for it and I passed.

There are lots of parted out classic Sterns out there. The first step is identifying which pins had the memory banks. The second step is to network to find the right parts. If you participated in any of the leagues in your area, network with other players. I have a Trident playfield so I can use that five bank for my pending Cheetah build. I'll post my question in the classic Stern forum.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/price-check-1980-sterns-quicksilver-stargazer-seawitch

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1

#41 3 years ago

HKY

HoakyPoaky

Silver State Pinball

11y 144K 3,672 128

I wish you all the best on this build. Good luck with creating the wiring harnesses.

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#42 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from ibis:
Your going through all this trouble and not installing brand new bulbs?

I find the new bulbs are cheap and burn out fast.

If the old bulbs burn out I’ll change them right away or when I do my upcoming swap. First order of business is to get this game complete. Then I can LED it and perfect it. This pf is only temporary.

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#43 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from HoakyPoaky:
I wish you all the best on this build. Good luck with creating the wiring harnesses.

Thank you. F2K uses a lot of the same wire colors. I will copy from that but I’m sure I will have lots of questions.

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#44 3 years ago

JEC

bluespin

Pinside+ Frequent

Johns Creek, GA

7y 141K 9,126

emsrph Thus Pinsider is making wiring harnesses for classic Sterns and Bally’s. Ask if he’ll be willing to make them for Cheetah.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-wire-and-harnesses

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#45 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from bluespin:
There are lots of parted out classic Sterns out there. The first step is identifying which pins had the memory banks. The second step is to network to find the right parts. If you participated in any of the leagues in your area, network with other players. I have a Trident playfield so I can use that five bank for my pending Cheetah build. I'll post my question in the classic Stern forum.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/price-check-1980-sterns-quicksilver-stargazer-seawitch

Not in league so networking and have placed an ad here on Pinside.

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1

#46 3 years ago

DEN

jibmums

Pinside member

12y 96,900 3,964 16

Terrific idea for a scratchbuild project. Are you going with the black or blue cabinet? (I vote blue!)

Suggestion on bending the wireforms, just use a pliers with some painter's tape wrapped around the edges so you don't dig into the metal. That jig will give you very "soft" bends with too large a corner radius. I've made several wireforms using pliers and never had a problem, and the corners look exactly like the originals.

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#47 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from bluespin:
emsrph Thus Pinsider is making wiring harnesses for classic Sterns and Bally’s. Ask if he’ll be willing to make them for Cheetah.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-wire-and-harnesses

Thanks I did see that harnesses are being remade.

About 40 years ago I had a job in a main frame computer manufacturing company...this included making wire harneses.

I can do this portion of the build and I will enjoy it.

0

#48 3 years ago

OP

EMS

emsrph

Pinside member

12y 75,300 1,352 1

Quoted from jibmums:
Terrific idea for a scratchbuild project. Are you going with the black or blue cabinet? (I vote blue!)
Suggestion on bending the wireforms, just use a pliers with some painter's tape wrapped around the edges so you don't dig into the metal. That jig will give you very "soft" bends with too large a corner radius. I've made several wireforms using pliers and never had a problem, and the corners look exactly like the originals.

Hey good idea with the pliers or maybe in a vise? Just clamp it and bend it.

No cabinet work right now. I’ll just sandwich between other games until I have space and equipment for that part.