Matthews, NC
Quoted from flynnibus:Chris, some questions
1) on the wire guides... I wonder if you could get like a scroll saw blade and maybe run it in the holes to pre-cut some of the grooves? The barbs on those posts look quite big.. I wonder if a 'middle ground' might help in that if you reduced the size of the barbs (without removing them entirely) could help by reducing how much they displace, while still offering their original purpose. Because the groove portion is still going to be a high risk area as you reinstall (or future removals). Will you try to remove some of the clear from the barb 'line' like a star rollover before reinstall?
2) People are having a real problem with the recent POTC playfields from Mirco with the clear being soft and being excessively pushed into mounts by the clamping force of screws/posts. I noticed in your spirit staging, that you got some pretty noticeable mounts even in your staging work.. and from here, it didn't look like just wood movement. Did you notice anything soft or more pushing of the clear on these vs other PFs? In one example, someone could even push their finger nail into the finish on a POTC field.
1)The scroll saw is too risky because it could create more damage but I have ground the barbs down on other builds with ease.
It works well for assembly purpose but with a game like this that is so dependent on wireguides for ball travel the concern would be if they started loosening over time so I prefer to have the full anchor of it in place.
Ultimately you can’t solve or reinvent every single thing so you try to use a thoughtful approach and accept some trade offs. The wireguides are supposed to be a one time install so the hope is once they go in officially they are not coming out.
On the preassembly I only seated them through the first layer so I still have some good wood to anchore into during final assembly.
2)Yes I would say this clear did seem softer than I would expect at this stage but by premounting,then fully shaving it down and then adding my own finish those concerns and issues are solved but the puckering of the finish around post etc and softness is most attributable to overly thick coating IMO.
I don’t know what Mirco uses nor how much so to take the guess work and unknowns out I am removing as much as possible and finishing with something that I do know exactly what it is and how much is applied. This helps me feel confident about when to assemble and how it should hold up as far as I can control it. If there are issues at the ground floor though it will still help but not be a magic bullet.
