HEP This Week

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#983 5 years ago

flynnibus

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
TAF parts are out of the tumbler after running a few days.
[quoted image]
This is what was worth or needed to be saved and these are the results.
Before
[quoted image]
Afters
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

For that single, long tumbler pass.. what's your preference for media? Walnut + additive? I've been a bit disappointed at times with my tumbler passes.. which I've followed up with the buffer wheel... but would love to skip that extra step as much as possible. I've heard corn media works better for polish, while walnut has more 'cut' or more coarse.

Those pieces look fantastic for just a tumbler pass..

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#1066 5 years ago

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Quoted from brenna98:
Where did you get the transparent pop bumper bodies? I know www.pinball.center/en has them, but it doesn't look like they ship to the USA.
Edit: Think I found it: http://pinball-mods.com/oscom/game-specific-products-star-trek-the-next-generation-pop-bumper-body-p-42.html?utm_source=pinside&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=BumpBody&utm_content=p42

Yes, Zitt imports them from pinball center

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#1103 5 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Home Depot I think.
You can probably order them in bulk somewhere which is my next plan as I started using them more and more on my black cabinet games.
First time using only black screws in them as well this time around.

I noticed the screws and was like.. just another HEP touch

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#1370 5 years ago

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So what's the end state here Chris, you are adding the light boards to a non-LE game to simplify the PF? I thought you were taking an LE and moving it into a stock cabinet vs the LE-beast... and removing the light boards.

Confused

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#1409 5 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I sand it off.
There have been times in the past that I used chemical strippers but you still end up sanding the glue off so it is a messy extra step.
I will go over it when I strip the head in a bit.

Chris, do you find it's your choice of primer that enables you to get the fine finish without more filler work on the cabinet? I see references to 'high fill' primer, etc but don't see it as often in the non-auto home finishes, etc.

I have a perfect finished surface.. but I really didn't like the amount of work it took to get there. Wondering if the primer type is the deltas

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#1412 5 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Not really if helps some but primer can only do so much so the perfecting starts at the ground floor.
You have to strip it with proper technique so you don’t make more work for yourself.

Yeah, I used heat and the decal came clean, but after sanding, the top surface of the ply would open and become porous.. rather than just smoothing like a solid wood would do. Even at 220 or 300+ grit, it would have these pockets in the surface. It worked a lot more like those red toned 1/4" project panel pieces do.. rather than a solid plywood. I skim coated the thing to fill and flatten, but it was a lot more work vs just the 'spot patch' I see most getting away with. The skim, sand, prime, sand... then still not be happy and prime, sand, sand was more than I really cared for

My other lesson learned was.. if you bother flattening the cabinet... do ALL the surfaces. The places you don't, sure stand out afterwards.. even if they were just factory finish (like front edge of the head, etc)

Thx for taking the time for Q&A along the way Chris

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#1420 5 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I wish I knew how to post a gif here

The trick with animated GIFs on pinside is when you upload the photo, change the attach dialog to 'original size (no rescaling)'. Then GIFs stay intact and will show with animation. Or post to youtube and link

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#1421 5 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
They will send me another

It doesn’t bother me that mistakes happen I make them too but when the label with a Picture doesn’t match the contents it is just hard to understand.

Ironically I just had a mispick with them too last week. First time in a long time... I do love their fast turnaround.. Maybe some new help in the aisles

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#1516 5 years ago

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Quoted from TheJerol:
You're kidding, right?
That thing should be condemned...

Just looks filthy... the usual suspects on the pf actually look pretty decent from the one photo

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#1548 5 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
None of these are a knock against CPR it is just my experience putting the part into use and having s game play well not just look nice.

I've found them receptive to updating their templates if they know it's a general issue. No one will doubt your # of cycles to validate your findings

Since they are working towards small batch production for on-demand.. having these fixes rolled back into their templates would greatly help the future.

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#1591 5 years ago

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Quoted from j_m_:
is it just me, or has anyone else ever wondered why the side channels do not fill up the entire side of the translite glass? blocking the light would be a lot more effective if the channels ran the length of the glass on the top and bottom and just between on the sides, rather than the 1/2" gap that exists on the side channels

You can't get them completely flush without notching the back to not interfere with the adjacent piece. The backside is longer than the front. Thus, there will always be a gap, and they probably make one size to fit many. Remember, backglasses and translites all would vary in sizes. Stern has been uniform, but many before were not.

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#1593 5 years ago

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Quoted from jj44114:
The decal wrinkles because the bolt holes in the decal were too small. Bolts when driven in twists the decal.

They will also wrinkle/distort if the bolt is pulled in enough to deform the wood. The bolt head, not just the decal in the the bolt space, will work the decal just as much.

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#1651 5 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Now the edges are ready to finish.
[quoted image] On a straight black cabinet a oil based paint pen is used.
[quoted image]
The bottom edge is left natural wood for a more authentic look[quoted image][quoted image]

Pure.. cabinet.. PORN

I'd still love to see this done in real time to understand how you manage to sand the decal edge without it wanting to tear/move/buckle

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#1684 5 years ago

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based... stenciled... and first clear all in the same afternoon....

blown.gif

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#1807 5 years ago

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Quoted from orangegsx:
What do you do with the old cabs? Just depleted my fun fund but in the future If you would sell/ship one I’d like to find a WW cab that doesnt have a hole in the side of it from a forklift.
This thread is awesome btw. Your attention to detail and craftsmanship is inspiring. Not just with pinball related stuff either.

he used to offer them up to people from time to time... but ultimately found the process more hassle than gain and now he trashes them. I still hope some of the better ones still find their way out of the dumpster

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#1927 5 years ago

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Quoted from Mitch:
Surprised you dont use a ratchet crimper much easier to use

the red arrows ARE ratcheting crimpers.. and the good types

crimpers (resized).jpg

The other two pair are probably his goto for round pin crimps. Tool on far right is a self tensioning wire stripper.

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#2201 5 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Sanding complete time to polish.
[quoted image]
11 sheets of paper used at a cost of roughly $2 per so $22 to sand it which might be a surprise to some people [quoted image]

all dry too? I guess that's why you have the hole versions.. but this fine stuff seems to clog so easily when dry..

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#2278 5 years ago

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What happened to the hep molex all the coils design here for dr who?

Good to hear the feedback on the coil wraps. I wanted to use them but just couldn’t justify the cost... your feedback makes that decision easier

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#2732 5 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Just a little bit of wood grain to deal with
[quoted image][quoted image]

So what's your preference on that kind of situation? Keep sanding, or fill with another shot of primer, or filler?

You moved past it quick..

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#2745 5 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
TSPP cabinet is just about ready to rebuild.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

heyy.. we wanted to hear how you finished those edges on such a busy pattern like that!

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#2900 5 years ago

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Chris, with you redoing the cabinets in those heavy restores... have you considered swapping the games to slide rails vs the pivot point for the playfields? Would seem like a great upgrade for those designs.

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#3219 4 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
That is great.
I wish I had some wooden sawhorses.

The concept still works.. they aren't nailed to the saw horses. The nails act as extension posts that rest on the sawhorse top side edge.

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#3240 4 years ago

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Quoted from pinballinreno:
TZ's reset really easy even if all the boards are rebuilt and connectors are perfect.

not really

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#3243 4 years ago

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Quoted from TxJay:
LOL, you have been on PinSide for 6 years and you aren't aware of how Chris does things? Where have you been?

Sorry.. this series of photos is not normal HEP level.

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#3322 4 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
The solution to this will be to thoroughly sand and then lightly reclear.
By doing that I will also get the advantage of sealing up my drill holes and newly made t nut recess. .

Will those lines disappear without touch up colors ?

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#3486 4 years ago

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Quoted from ToucanF16:
Can’t wait to see what’s in store for Centaur. Anything special planned?

Endless weeding... that's what

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#3526 4 years ago

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Dangit... now I wish I kept some scrap from the delays around to use as test subjects for sanding!!

Chris, why require the wife assist to hold the decals vs simply securing the decal with clamps or tape? The method I follow from sign folks is basically the same, but secure a 'hinge' point with clamps or tape (vs holding at far edge). Securing at the hinge point also reduces the run over which the decal must stay straight or resist moving.

I also found how I trimmed the backing paper made a big difference! If not cut cleanly.. little bits could work their way back onto the decal (from the backing itself) when the backing paper of the secured side is allowed to retreat back to the decal. Cutting the backing paper made the most debris for me.. which all had to be careuflly cleaned before applying the loose side.

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#3532 4 years ago

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What's your preference for dealing with the gap of the coin door? Do you put in some reliefs into the decal before placing? Or do you place it all intact as one piece and just trim after? Some people use backing in the hole to prevent sagging..

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#3810 4 years ago

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Chris, what's your preference for dealing with the rubber boot on prop rods? It's usually chewed up and worn away. The different liquid rubber products out there I don't know if they actually would get the same elastic feel and thickness as the factory pieces..

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#4000 4 years ago

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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.

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#4002 4 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
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.

Thx for your response. The reaming of the clear before final install I guess is the best final defense.

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
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.

Yeah, the open question is if he's recently changed his process/formula. Many immediately point to lack of curing time.. but I'm wondering if he's shifted his product makeup.. as these finishes are staying more mallable many months later. A formula that has too much flex, etc.

You're an amazing data point because of both your experience and the pure volume of samples that pass through. The spirit PFs are interesting because they are after the initial POTC playfields where the first real widespread reports surfaced... even if they aren't as old as the POTC PFs.

You may want to be safe with the torque on these

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#4110 4 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
To deal with that I reference the old one and make a move able template then relocate it to the new one and drill after some triple checking.[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

So with old finishes.. you just make sure you use nice fresh bits? No scraping away the clear, etc before drilling?

(I need to tackle my TZ 3rd magnet soon...)

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#4365 4 years ago

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Quoted from yancy:
As crazy as that "hose the whole game" method looks, it's genius. My least favorite part of tearing down & shopping an old game like that is my hands turning black every five minutes from the grimy old parts. Hate having filthy hands so I'm constantly washing them during the job. Then when I'm done my fingertips are black for days.

Nitrite gloves.... not hoses

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#4414 4 years ago

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smudges in the branding? say it ain't so!

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#4587 4 years ago

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wow.. I would have feared acetone would have eaten or hazed the ramp. I always keep it away from all plastics as knowing which it reacts with or not can be tricky.

Were you able to source those ramp flaps? Those look too tidy for hand triming... at least my hand trimming

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#4673 4 years ago

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Quoted from PinMonk:
I never understood why making ball guides look like grained/satin stainless was the goal instead of mirror-polishing them. The mirror polished ones resist ball trails better in my experience and look WAY better

Eh? The polished look means any ball trail is immediately seen. At least on grained finishes there is other markings to diffuse the sight of the ball trail.

The grained look is OEM style and isn't as gaudy. Not every surface should reflect spots and glare back at you.

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#4680 4 years ago

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Quoted from PinMonk:
Have you personally done it?

Yes - plenty. At the end of the day, its still the same carbon ball traversing the same contact patch and the material is the same material.

I also don't like the proficiency for the mirror finish to show finger prints.

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#4845 4 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Not sure how much longer I will continue because it has gotten so long and potentially boring but here we go with another week.

its the main reason I visit the site daily! Not boring at all!

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#4846 4 years ago

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Quoted from PinMonk:
If we're still here and engaged to the point we're discussing how much we'd pay for live cam access to your work shop to watch in real time, you are anything but boring to the pinheads in this thread.

forget big brother live feeds... we have HEPlf.com to get going

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#4847 4 years ago

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man.. that BSD is the poster child for "stop calling installing some new parts a 'restoration'". I feel sorry for the folks that paid people to do this kind of work.

Obviously not everyone is doing HEP level work.. but be honest in what you are doing. That's not even a 'refurbishment' let alone 'restoration'.

Thank god HEP can fix up these disasters quicker than the rest of us and get them back into circulation

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#4958 4 years ago

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I like the choice to redo the spots to bigger ones... looks good.

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#5332 4 years ago

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Quoted from pzy:
What in the world is this mess? Haha[quoted image]

someone's repair to the plastic subway that is probably all smashed out at the end...

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#5541 4 years ago

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Given that POTO condition vs others.. why not a fresh cabinet for that one? No DE blank cabinets? Or customer choice?

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#5557 4 years ago

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I'm anxious to see how this one turns out...

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#5927 4 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Spirit 2s apron is a good bit further. Every time I think I can live with it I find a way to make it a little better.
I have previously cleared and sanded and touched up a few times.
This time I have traced it out to paint all the black. The yellow land blue are probably not something I will be able to do much with because the lines are small and cuts tedious enough to make more sloppiness than improvements.
Masked [quoted image]
Blacked out. [quoted image]
Unmasked and cleared.[quoted image]

Given your paint abilities.. why not just paint it like a car with pinstripes? Or ask Jeff to make stencils. The patterns here seem like a mask would do well..?

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#5972 4 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Prepped and cleared for the first time. Will need some repaints and all that but I did get to a much better starting point and was able to eliminate some ghosting it had in a few inserts.[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

wow - pretty amazing how quickly that PF cleaned up and thorough!! with your 'chemical' method. The ground in stuff really is history.

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#6043 4 years ago

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I love the details and stories and documented challenges/solutions far more than the finished game posts. No idea why someone choses to index all those posts over the restoration knowledge.

PSTT.. game photos are automatically indexed in the thread gallery.

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#6314 4 years ago

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Quoted from Stretch7:
Chris your cab work is excellent.... the paint lines and how well your masked bottoms come out are great.
I also noticed there doesnt seem to be branding but stickers of playfields lately....why? i liked the branding idea

He mentioned before branding+painted surfaces did not work well. So he uses stickers when the target is painted and branding on naked wood.

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#6475 4 years ago

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The blacked out exterior CP looks really sharp! Great eye on that one Chris!

Super exclusive ad from the Pinside Marketplace!

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The Simpsons Pinball Party New ad! Featured

Used - shows wear but 100% working and clean - “Players Condition. Everything works as it should. priced to sell.”

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Jecco74

7,500 (Firm)

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#6519 4 years ago

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Quoted from davidw:
It looks like the G.I. (grey) is one run stripped at each lamp socket. How do you manage to strip it in the middle of the wire?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/hep-this-week-9-17-18/page/88#post-5139387

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#6640 4 years ago

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Quoted from trimoto:
Hey I totally enjoy following this form you do nice work .
I recently Purchased a silk screen printing jig for the warning labels on WPC games and was wondering what color yellow you're using. Thanks happy restoring

https://www.dickblick.com/items/43211-4022/

Can't buy it smaller.. but at least you can order some squeeges while you are there...

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#6646 4 years ago

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So is TAF the winner of the 'title most restored by HEP'?

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#6685 3 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Yeah that does happen sometimes but this time it actually is a TBL.

What's on the request list for it?

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#6856 3 years ago

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I'm kinda surprised you didn't just go back and paint it from scratch... vs the repeated clean-up passes. Use that new printer and just stencil from scratch. This one has seemed to eat more time than most cabinets!

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#6975 3 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Playfield is back on the woodrail.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

Please say no to frosted bulbs in this!

Cointaker retros or similar... singl smd warm temp with clear domes

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#7209 3 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
This is a lot of work. I only did one so far and haven’t cleared it yet.
Just trying to talk myself into the effort.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

no no no...

gaudy

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#7631 3 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Finally had enough patience to circle back around to the F-14 cabinet.
I know that I don’t want to use yellow on this one.
For a few days I studied the plane.There are different schemes but this one looks in the same family as the original red and white used on the cabinet.
[quoted image][quoted image]
Black as the base is set in stone but I will make some minor changes.
[quoted image][quoted image]

FYI - The generally white, with red and orange markings like that are used on test flight aircraft.

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#7777 3 years ago

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Quoted from Jvspin:
Not sure what the clearance looks like between the playfield and the mirror blades on Tron, but I've added a strip of the self adhesive felt from pinballrestore down the length of the playfield in the past with some success. I think this microfiber felt might be even better.[quoted image]

I've put just small lines of around the edge of the PF before. It helps keep the PF centered, avoids scratches, and just small pieces avoids creating too much friction.

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#7794 3 years ago

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black wood screws holding the guides?

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#8845 3 years ago

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Quoted from NYP:
I would find it useful to hear how you rate a good clearcoat job from a bad one, I could understand why you would want to avoid the drama of mentioning who did it but if you can without mentioning the person I would find it educational.
BTW, I was doing a cabinet decal job the other day and I had a "I wonder how Chris does it " moment. Using a plastic squeegee I've used before, made specifically for applying decals, I tried 2 methods that worked well for me in the past, wrapping the squeegee with a blue paper towel and I also tried a microfiber rag to keep from scratching the surface of the decal while applying. But if you look at the surface you can see some mild abrasive scratches on the surface of the decals. They came right off with some novus but I was wondering if there was a better trick for that. Maybe I was applying too much pressure or maybe it was just the quality of the decals.

These are easy to use with less concern - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HPYRPB0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title

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#8984 3 years ago

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I really like the black & black metal combo on that one. The side art looks balanced enough to add without being over the top too. That one should be sexy.

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#8992 3 years ago

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Is there no bulletproof ing people do on the sanctum to try to prevent future damage? Even when kept clean that dragging effect is a bear.

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#8995 3 years ago

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Quoted from NYP:
Why not just a mylar circle, when it wears out it's a 5 minute job to put a new one.

I know that's an option - I just hadn't seen it on HEP's jobs - seems like timing or detail is the reason

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Yes. Mylar is added in that area.
You can only do so much since the feature depends on good magnet interactions to work well. No cliffys or things like or it won’t work.
I add all mylars during the test play phase so I can place them best noting where exactly I see drop zones are.
Love bulk Mylar and the cameo silhouette for this.

I'm happy to see the cameo has grown on you!

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#9102 3 years ago

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Yea for adding skids to even classic cabinets

Normally I'm not a black flipper guy.. but the white bands give it a chance. they do look cool with the PF.

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#9436 2 years ago

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love the attention to detail... but those extra plastics on the slings and pops have got to go. Give'em the boot.

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#9439 2 years ago

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Quoted from LTG:
Plastics from the prototype game left off for production games.
You may not like them. Some people do.
LTG : )

Oh I know what they are from... and I believe I know why they aren't there on production too Last thing you need on the fast inlanes of BSD is something blocking the view.

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#9907 2 years ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
The idea is to start building the surface up so you can start dealing with some of these problems on future passes.

as much as you've painfully said you are trying to get through that pile of old PF-only work... these stories and tales are invaluable to us readers how you as the pro work through these issues and what you look for. So thank you for your effort punching through these and sharing with us

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#9945 2 years ago

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Quoted from xsvtoys:
It is extremely difficult to make any money at all on YouTube. I doubt if anyone focusing on pinball is making anything. You have to have 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours in a year to even qualify to start making money. HEP is nowhere close to that. Clay does have more than 2000 subscribers and 600,000 total views. Socialblade shows his estimated income at $12 to $198 PER YEAR. Usually the reality is close to the lower end. In other words, basically nothing. PAPApinball has 18,000 subscribers and almost 6 million total views. Their estimated annual income is $200 to $3,000..

That's because none of these pinball people put in the volume, format, or pimping necessary to be a full time youtuber. They need to be putting out regular content FREQUENTLY that people watch.. that's what builds the sub counts and view counts. It's why the full timers focus on putting out videos near daily, with minimum lengths.

People make money - but it's a not a fire-and-forget environment. It's a grind. Even the popular podcasters in our hobby don't put out the kind of volume needed to 'live' off youtube.

That said... people like Chris gotta start somewhere. Can't make the numbers if you aren't creating content

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#9987 2 years ago

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I really liked your YT videos Chris, especially your elaborations on your train of thought/rational. BUT... the multiple segments per day have a consequence of 'lots of choices, not sure what to watch'. I know it makes it easier to make short clips... but without any descriptions or lead-in to know what the scope of the video is, when there is alot of them, people are less likely to click through and watch. "too many choices, not sure which..." etc. Some lead in to know what the clip will be about would help.

Thanks again as always for your continued efforts to document and share your approach to things.

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#10127 2 years ago

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this is where the man earns his title

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#10417 2 years ago

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Wonder if Chris would consider using the pcb led boards instead of all the sockets for the playfield? For these kinds of games it would seem like a slam dunk. Originality is already left behind… and these should make reliability and servicing much easier

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#11552 1 year ago

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Quoted from MikeSinMD:
Chris, i’m curious did you use LEDOCD boards in that Sopranos? Are you going to use one in the white water? How do you know when to use them or not? Thanks Mìke

Best just to test and see if you don't want to invest outright. Some games are notoriously bad and you will know by reputation that they will have bad ghosting issues. Of course the look of the LEDOCD might be something you are seeking just from a quality perspective beyond any concern about ghosting. The ramping it adds for the LEDs is very significant for maintaining an original look. The harsh on/off of LEDs in older games can even look like strobing depending on the light show designs.

Games that ghost/flicker you can use LEDOCD or non-ghosting bulbs
but only the LEDOCD will give you the better ramping on/off effects to avoid the harsh blinking

So if you want the ramping.. the answer is basically LEDOCD... if you want to be cheap, non-ghosting can get you through... and some games can be ok with regular LEDs. Usually the generation will give you some hints on if you can use regular LEDs.

Many Stern SAM games will flicker/ghost with just regular LEDs to some degree.

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#11745 1 year ago

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Chris - what is your preferred rivet removal method?

Drilling the head?
Drilling the flange?
Punching out from the backside?

I am getting annoyed not getting a clean cut when drilling the flange and having to do more work to get it popped out. I am curious what you have found most effective given the volume you do

Thx

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#11798 1 year ago

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Quoted from hisokajp:
i learned WH2O reproduction ramps are kind a headache to get right :/

It is a common trend in most repo ramps. Companies make the ramps thicker to make them more robust… then that leads to fitment adjustments needed. Some titles just have harder transition points than others… like those side exits on the whitewater mini. Nothing a router usually doesn’t make quick work of.

Most agree the stronger ramps are worth it in the end.

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#11801 1 year ago

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that whole upper portion of w2ho looks transparent!

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#12815 8 months ago

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We gotta get Chris comfortable putting a router into his arsenal already! that gorgar lightboard was screaming for it with the ribbon cables. Simple 3/8” or 1/2” slots can be made in no time and look purpose built for those ribbon cables.

Victor’s (dumbass) williams sys3-7 board is done now which should be a huge improvement over OEM copied designs. Hopefully there will be some projects that will cross your paths in the future. His sense of elegant improvements seems to align with your thinking you’ve elaborated on over the years.

When you redid ghe gorgar red… did you just hand mask it and reshoot your color and clear over that?

Your videos are really coming along! Keep up the great work.

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#12819 8 months ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
It’s crazy you say that. I came close to doing that but I only have a large cut bit for my router right now and it was a last minute surprise.

Yeah access after you had already built stuff up was a challenge in that situation too… requiring a use of some standoff or facing disassembly. Unfortunately router bits can be another sink hole of tool costs… but you know what investment feels like

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Always glad to see and looking forward to using Victors boards. Timing is often an issue for me but he is the best.

Yeah what made me think of it was you mentioning some of the long incubation times some of these projects end up sitting… hoping that might make things more compatible. But it was more just a thought sparked by your comments in the videos. I do like hearing you talk through your rationale as you approach different elements.

What’s your policy when you swap out bits like that shooter housing with your accumulated stock? Is it just a give and take or do you tack something on in the parts bill for the project?

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#12835 8 months ago

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Curious, have customers ever asked you to NOT duplicate the custom work you've done on their cabinets before?

Your prior earthshaker projects were so epic and I figured would stay pretty unique given the effort you had to put in. But now you're jumping in again in force

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#12849 8 months ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I had a good opportunity to practice this today.
A friend tipped me off I was missing the target cut out in my DW playfield.
CPR sent me a replacement. The customer service was great but after considering the work I had already put into this one and what it would take to catch the replacement up I decided to cut it out of the one I already processed using the other as a template.
I realize that the templates or fences are the biggest issue right now . If I don’t have one I am at a loss.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

yeah now we're playing with fire! That's the kind of work screaming for it. Using the trim bits or bits with guides you can move with confidence using the old piece as a guide as long as you can line them up. I don't think a 3d printer is in your arsenal but if it were you could always go the way of printing guides too. For a long straight cut like that if I were chasing perfection just use a fence from like your festol stuff as a straight edge.

With your smooth hand from all your masking work I'm sure your free hand work would be stellar... or at least easily cleaned up with a block sand if the world ended. Just make sure you're cutting in the correct direction... clock wise pass on an inside cut like that usually, and don't fear using multiple shallow or thinner passes if the material is hard. Super easy to burn up a bit with hardwoods by making too aggressive of a pass. But your typical work like cutting out 1/4" insets in playfields, etc should be able to go with a 1/4" straight cut bit in a single pass. Routers also easy to make passes where you work to remove the bulk of material while shying away from your layout line and then make a delicate pass for your tight edge too. The less material the bit is removing, the lighter the touch required and less tug from the moving bit. There are lots of helpful vids on youtube to help build confidence too.

Stick with your forstner bits where you can for those straight cut holes, but any slots and recesses you need the router is the way to go. I'm sure with just a few examples under your belt you'll be free-handing everything on the fly in no time.

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#12902 8 months ago

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2 questions

1) why not do the shading as the gradient replacement in the state graphics? Yes it's a different look, but you're already taking artistic freedoms here and you seem a lot more comfortable with the shade effects on some of these recent projects?

2) How is that chip near that bolt hole on the right side near the california words still there? Usually 'out of sight' is not an easy threshold for you to not touch something. What's your thoughts on that kind of spot? I figured you would have fiber glasses and redrilled the hole.

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#12913 8 months ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
The chip in CA as well as the hairline in NV will be covered once assembled so they are fine.
Sometimes when those get filled and there is not enough material need to anchor well it can fly out when being blown out with compressed air well into the process taking primer and paint with it so if it’s minor and covered I would rather leave them even though yes I can easily fix them.
They are not oversights at all they are choices.

Thx for explaining - that’s why i was asking. Not as critiquing but trying to pick your brain on the experience and rationale

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#13008 8 months ago

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Quoted from Squeakman:
I personally would want the one more true to the original game. Not sure why they took the liberty to make half the blue so much darker.

It’s a forever battle over what the true colors were… plus factory variations… and remember modern clears make colors more vibrant too.

Often the choices are not artistic as much - best fit

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#13668 4 months ago

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The all white wiring of the gottliebs makes me want to shoot myself everytime I look under the hood...

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#13882 3 months ago

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Quoted from lrosent345:
Ground is 0 volts by definition. They may not be 0 volts if you compare them to another gound. Your ground on the aux plug is not the same ground as your pinball boards. The first thing it goes through is a transformer which isolates the ground from the plug.

They are separate (signal gnd downstream of the transformer vs earth ground upstream of transformer )… but the dc signal ground in the backbox is tied to the chassis ground all over the place. And chassis ground is tied to the earth ground at the power box. So they will have the same reference.

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#14008 68 days ago

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Hey Chris, I know you are a creature of habit, but one comment you made during your Rocky clip the other day stood out. Regarding the camera and photos, etc. If you have amazon prime, you get unlimited photo storage with amazon, and you can set your phone to automatically upload every photo it takes for immediate backup and organization.

What's really sweet about the setup is not only do you get the offsite backup, is it has all the automatic indexing. For people its really easy to search for "curtis" and you'll get every photo that has face recognition to ID whom you've identified as Curtis. Alas it wouldn't likely understand pinball terms, but you can easily organize into albums, etc too.

Just mentioning if you haven't seen how these solutions have come... it's super useful and eliminates all the moving of photos, doesn't lock you from downloading your own content, etc. I found it great for when Google killed all their great picasa stuff you used to be able to have for local software.

Smugmug has similar too for their paid service. Really helps eliminate the anxiety of losing photos.

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#14010 68 days ago

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Quoted from PinMonk:
Given Amazon's abysmal privacy abuses record, you have to assume you're handing over privacy of your photos to them, regardless of what their terms say as they've violated their own before. So those photos could end up being used as the basis for other products or training their AI, etc. It's a real risk. Some people don't care, for for the people that do, Amazon and any cloud storage except maybe Apple is a no-go.

Funny - doesn't stop people from using their cloud connected OS... their cloud connected phones... or posting their photos on PUBLIC WEBSITES with zero controls, etc etc etc. If you don't trust a company for it's T&C you shouldn't trust any of the things above.. or even pinside.

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#14012 67 days ago

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Quoted from PinMonk:
Amazon sending video from Roombas for contractors to review was a RIDICULOUS abuse

1 - Amazon isn't even part of the roomba story - That was Roomba which while an Amazon deal was pending, never happened - the companies operate independently during such a period. So not Amazon
2 - The roomba story was video from opt-in participants -- paid collectors and employees. Not random T&C violations
3 - The contractors were working FOR Roomba - that's what all companies do with their contractors... give them data to process. This wasn't some selling of data or exporting to different uses.

The whole issue was a contractor's employees violating the rules. None of this has anything to do with Amazon except Amazon was lined up to buy Roomba - (which also is no longer happening)

So misinformed rage... not needed.

But enough about big evil companies... let's see more Gottlieb breakdowns..

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#14053 63 days ago

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Is using filler on the PF top a more newer HEP technique? I don't remember you using filler like that normally on the PF surface.

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#14061 62 days ago

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It's like a mystery novel... will he tackle that? will he adjust that?

love the as we go updates

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#14065 62 days ago

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Quoted from dstudeba:
but what are you using to cut the mask without cutting into the playfield? Thanks.

skill-levels-growth-increasing-skills-level-wireframe-hand-is-pulling-up-to-the-maximum-position-circle-progress-bar-with-the-wo

the man has the touch..

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#14066 62 days ago

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The gold in the yellow is so abstract... I wonder if it's viable to just recreate in the spirit, without being precise.

The pattern almost looks like a sponge roller.. if you could recreate the effect and its just inking and rolling a 1/4" wide pad/wheel... Then just repaint the whole areas yellow and recreate in the same itensity, without having to duplicate it exactly.

Not really worth it on the lettering where the ball marks aren't as visible... but could be done with a single masking of the yellow...

Heck, the large areas look like you could do a wide roller and going the length.. if you could get some of that irregular ridging in the roller itself.

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#14073 62 days ago

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OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Three hours later with a short dinner break.
[quoted image][quoted image]

that photo alone could be a attention grabber

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#14122 55 days ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Rebuilt the Rocky transformer panel. These are always time consuming.
New bridge recs,capacitor,service outlet,fuse holders,labels etc. painted to match the cabinet for the parts that go on the side walls.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

I like the laser precise staples

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#14131 54 days ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Hard to believe this took all day.
So many sockets in this one.
[quoted image][quoted image]

rocky can be seen... FROM SPACE!!

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#14354 37 days ago

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Quoted from High_End_Pins:
[quoted image]

Clearly your account has been hacked. First ever finger prints spotted in the thread

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#14405 31 days ago

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TZ was the OG mod machine... it's right up there with LEDs and Clearcoating old games in terms of devisive topics in the hobby in the last 35yrs

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#14574 20 days ago

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Chris, can you mention what paint pen you used on the TZ cabinets? I hadn't seen one with a huge tip like that.

And now that you've found your groove with the youtube videos.. if you made a dedicated named video just on your decal trim/sanding I bet that would be a popular one. I know you've covered it in the thread with smaller chunks in the past.. but one dedicated to just that process would be amazing IMO. Your TZ pf sequence this time was very informative. Would love to hear you call out the sanding grit you are tackling things with to when you cover a sanding stage.

It's fun watching your youtube evolution! I know it can be a lot of work, but I think it's really coming off great in your vids!

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#14664 14 days ago

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Quoted from ALY:
From what I've experienced lately it's just about WHEN it will leak not IF.

Duracell in particular are the devil - they insist leaking is their intended outcome to avoid overpressure. Yet they are also the company that offers a warranty for goods damaged by their batteries

Skipping to the end... avoid duracell at all cost and use lithium batteries if AA/AAA are still required

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5 years ago

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