Gatecrasher's Pinball Hardware - Vid's Review

Thanks for the info. Looks like good stuff.
I love a review that involves a micrometer

Very cool and thoroughly documented!

Thank you.

Thanks vid. I have a question, I just got the Space Shuttle bg remake and I think it's 1/8in., do you know if it is? This is the first place I've seen that has the ss lift trim that came on the game. Is it gatecrashers.com?

Thanks for posting that info! And where did you get that awesome Micrometer if I may ask? Way cool. I am terrible at measuring....that looks pretty foolproof for fractions!

The Chinese must be laughing right now; "Americans, they are converting fractions rather than moving decimal points. They will make excellent slaves....."

Hey thanks for the review there Vid. I thought you'd like the parts. To the best of my knowledge, I am currently the sole producer in the world of all of these parts.

I'm not getting rich off any of this and won't be quitting my day job any time soon but I like to think I am filling a void out there for parts that you just can't find anymore.

One thing to note about the coin door bolts is that they are supplied with a bright finish as seen in your pics. This resembles the zinc finish the originals had but if you want a chrome-like finish they can easily be buffed using metal polish and a rag by hand or on a wheel. Very easy to do and they will never rust.

If you notice most old backglass lift channels are rusted in the glass groove. This is because over their 40 year lifespan the backglasses have been repeatedly cleaned with spray cleaners and water and it all runs down the glass and lays in the groove of the lift channels. Over time this rusts the lift channel and tends to damage the backglass artwork too. That's why so many OEM backglasses are damaged in this area.

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If you buy a new CPR backglass, it only makes sense to get a new lift channel & edge trim set for it too. Why put a scabby one onto a pristine backglass that set you back several hundred dollars? Also, after 40 years the PVC plastic edge trim is brittle and ready to crack. It seems like a no-brainer to me to invest a few dollars in a new plastic edge trim set to protect your investment. Not to mention they will fit nice and snug again and are exact copies of the originals.

Originally Bally and the rest of the pinball manufacturers used cold-rolled steel and nickel-plated most of the metal parts. The cheapest plating possible and not meant to last a lifetime. My parts are meant to last and the best part is if they ever do become scratched or anything, they can easily be re-polished and will look as good as new. Can't do that with the cheapo nickel-plated stuff.

Professionally, I am an engineer working in the plastic injection molding industry. I am also a Journeyman Toolmaker which helps in the design and construction of the tooling for parts like these.

My current specials to Pinsiders are:

> For every backglass lift channel you purchase I throw the matching 3-pc. plastic edge trim in for free.

> Also, for every five 3-pc. plastic edge trim sets you purchase I throw the sixth set in for free and you can mix 1/8" and 3/16" sizes if you want.

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Thank you...thank you...thank you. I've been looking for over a year for the lift channel for my Space Shuttle and when I got my new glass I was bummed because I thought I'd have to put a plastic one on it. You saved the day. I'll pm you.

Not to split hairs, but I believe that is a caliper.

That's some nice lookin' hardware, that is for sure!

I have been using these parts for years now. Excellent stuff, well made, reasonable prices, and Gatecrasher is a pinball enthusiast, too. Can't go wrong with these parts. Really helps add to a nice restoration.

One more thing, tell Gatecrasher that Eight Ball Deluxe is a lousy pin, and see what happens

Hey!!! Quit talking and start chalking!

Actually they are "calipers".

A plurale tantum (Latin for "plural only"; plural form: pluralia tantum) is a noun that appears only in the plural form and does not have a singular variant for referring to a single object. These are used in English for objects that function as pairs or sets (glasses, pants, scissors, clothes, electronics, bagpipes, genitals). Many languages have pluralia tantum, such as the Latin word Kalendae, the Russian word den'gi [деньги] ("money"), the Swedish word inälvor ("intestines"), or the Dutch word hersenen ("brains").

In English, some plurale tantum nouns in fact have a singular form, but one that is used only attributively. That is, phrases such as "trouser presses" and "scissor kick" contain the singular form, even though it is considered non-standard to say "a trouser" on its own. A word may have definitions which are pluralia tantum. The noun glasses (corrective lenses to improve eyesight) is plurale tantum. The word glass (a container for drinks) may be singular or plural.

In most forms of English, quantifying a plurale tantum noun requires a measure word, for example "one pair of scissors" instead of "one scissors".

Hey, I'm a Civil engineer, not a Mechanical engineer. We measure in feet and hundreths. We mostly use 100 foot tapes to measure stuff. But yeah, you're right..................

Gatecrasher- Your stuff looks great!

Would it make sense for CPR to sell these lift channel & edge trim set for you? It could come as a bundle and I am confident a fair fraction of customers would go for it!

So this dude I knew back in school who had a testicle removed (artery to it got twisted) ... did he have a genital? Or can he no longer use that word to describe his bits n pieces?

Hey MustangPaul, did you end up getting this ? I have a CPR Space Shuttle backglass also and need a new lift channel and edge trim . Was it 1/8 inch ?

Gatecrasher, do you ship to Canada ?

He does ship up north. I got a set of carriage bolts for a Bally Mystic and a lift channel for my High Speed. Both were great.

Thanks, was shipping expensive ?

Shipping was very reasonable, $15 or so.

Whatever the Post Office charges is all I charge. I don't make any additional money from shipping charges unless it's a large order and then I might charge a couple dollars more for the cost of a big PVC tube or some other special packaging. I ship worldwide but the majority of my stuff ends up going to the big three pinball countries:

1) USA
2) Canada
3) Australia

Thanks Gatecrasher. Would you know exactly which lift bar and edge trim i would need for a CPR Space Shuttle backglass ? The glass itself is 1/8 thick. How do i contact you to order ?

I make trim for both backglass thicknesses (1/8" and 3/16"). You would obviously need the 1/8" kit.

My trim is Bally style but fits other brands of pins too. The bottom metal lift channel and top plastic edge trim pieces are 28.5" long and the two side pices are 24.5" long. You should measure your backglass to see if any pieces will need shortened. I think the two side pieces might need cut.

I can cut the metal lift channel and plastic trim to shorter lengths for free for you if you know what sizes you need. Or you can do it yourself (it isn't that difficult).

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Ok, I will put this here so other know. I just checked my space shuttle and the lift bar is indeed 28.5 inches long. Sides are shorter but the plastic edge trim is easy to cut. Will send you a PM to get this ordered.

I purchased multiple lift channels from gatecrasher in the past. Top quality products at reasonable pricing. Very fast shipping. Highly recommended.

Great Pinball Limited has endorsed this lift channel & plastic trim product for years. I can speak to the kit included with glass sales. It's just to much of a added hassle (ship to Canada to go back to USA) & increases the risk in shipping glass. I would prefer you buy direct & maybe more of his product with the order. I have purchased a bunch of the plastic & stainless lift channel over the years. Great shipping & product!

Gatecrasher gets my thumbs up, too. Mine was the same experience as others have reported - great products, great prices, and fast to ship.

Keep up the good work!

Yep, all are top notch products, just used one of the bally lift channels on a backglass just last week.

Appreciate the fact he ships to Australia too. Always thought Australia must have been about the third biggest country for pinball collectors...

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This thread came up recently and looked super useful, so bumping it up so everyone else can see it again too.

While I'm at it, what's the best source for Bally coin doors for 1980 era games? Mystic, Flash Gordon, etc.

I saw that Marco had Bally coin door skin available.....

Huh, interesting idea for on the cheap facelifting I guess.

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-3444

I have not see new or remanufactured doors available for the Classic Bally games. Ebay has NOS ones once in a great while, but they go for crazy money.

Is there a web site for gatecrashers parts or do you contact him through his email ?

Use his email. No website....yet.

Question on the lift channel install - do these just press on dry, or do you use some sort of adhesive or ??

I plan on using one of these when I finally get around to my Bally Old Chicago overhaul & buy a glass from BGresto

Roger that. Thanks Vid

Huh, seems like they'd probably sell well if someone could do them.

Sticky side facing the channel I would assume.