(Topic ID: 212796)

Is it normal to have a new PF have planking?

By Fordiesel69

5 years ago


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    There are 224 posts in this topic. You are on page 5 of 5.
    #201 5 years ago
    Quoted from Midway-Man:

    Stern has the ribbing issue for a long time. Some more than others. My brothers HUO Lotr wich he bought NIB back in 2009. Has the ribbing issue as well. His game is on of the last 2006 run. So at least some games out of 2006 do have this issue as well.

    Well, that’s a 12 year old game now. All playfields can be expected to have some issue after a decade. The problem now is some games have problems right out of the box.

    Quoted from bigd1979:

    Spooky has made what?... under 800 games total ? Not many to really get a good sampling from imo. Stern sells that in weeks sometimes so obviously they will have more issues.

    True, but that is still a reasonable amount of games. Time will tell if their playfield quality stays high but so far it’s been great.

    #202 5 years ago

    I think we’ve established that ribbing is not noticeable from the player’s position (unless you install 2000 lumens of strip lighting), and it doesn’t affect playfield wear. So what are we actually talking about here?

    #203 5 years ago
    Quoted from PinMonk:

    Mirco has better wood (way less dimpling than Stern) and a beautiful finish, but they need to use slower cure clear because the finish is VERY brittle at edges. The Dialed In we got chipped within 50 plays at the SIM hole, and many other had this experience, too. If Mirco fixes their clearcoat process they are the perfect vendor. It's the only thing holding them back.

    I had close to 1100 on mine without a chip anywhere. It sucks that production isn't consistent throughout the spectrum

    #204 5 years ago
    Quoted from PinLen83:

    I had close to 1100 on mine without a chip anywhere. It sucks that production isn't consistent throughout the spectrum

    What's your build date? Did yours come with protectors at the SIM and Phone holes?

    #205 5 years ago

    Ribbing is not an “issue”. It has been turned “into” an issue. It’s got nothing to do with quality control in the same way that ghosting or cracking clear do. It’s a statistical variation.

    Now, it might become a “preference”, but it is not an “issue”. When you buy a machine I can imagine a situation in which you ask for one that has no ribbing in the playfield, but it’s not something that has to be eliminated.

    #206 5 years ago
    Quoted from TimeBandit:

    Ribbing is not an “issue”. It has been turned “into” an issue. It’s got nothing to do with quality control in the same way that ghosting or cracking clear do. It’s a statistical variation.
    Now, it might become a “preference”, but it is not an “issue”. When you buy a machine I can imagine a situation in which you ask for one that has no ribbing in the playfield, but it’s not something that has to be eliminated.

    It's usually cosmetic, and it wasn't anywhere NEAR as common (outside of Stern) as its become. I don't remember ever seeing a 90's B/W with "ribbing", and I had a LOT of them over the years, probably over 100. It CAN be avoided or at least substantially reduced by better wood blank processing/clear application, so why should buyers (especially of the Premium and LE/CE models) demand that?

    #207 5 years ago
    Quoted from WillSmuz8999:

    Contrary to earlier posts, Spooky does make their own playfields.

    Are you sure about that? I highly doubt that Spooky makes their own playfields.

    #208 5 years ago
    Quoted from Who-Dey:

    Are you sure about that? I highly doubt that Spooky makes their own playfields.

    Trust me. They even laser cut their own inserts. Theirs are not injection molded, like everyone else use.

    #209 5 years ago
    Quoted from WillSmuz8999:

    Trust me. They even laser cut their own inserts. Theirs are not injection molded, like everyone else use.

    In that case, maybe Stern should hire Spooky to make their playfields.

    #210 5 years ago
    Quoted from Spelunk71:

    In that case, maybe Stern should hire Spooky to make their playfields.

    I thought I heard on a stream or read something somewhere that Spooky had offered to share their CC technique with Stern at some point. Not sure though...

    Most of Stern’s QC issues have more to do with cost-cutting than not knowing “how” to make a higher quality product.

    1 week later
    #211 5 years ago
    Quoted from PinMonk:

    If mirco would just make sure they used the better clearcoat method they used to use that NEVER had chipping problems, they would be the perfect vendor to supply these. The ones they did for Houdini are beautiful, and so far no chipping, so maybe AP paid more for a better CC process?

    Mirco had issues with clear chipping a while ago, too. In earlier times the clear was simply laid on too thick, so bits of it got smashed off by ball impacts, where there was a profile. This was mainly apparent in the shooter lane and ball drain. That was solved when they started using thinner coats. But now there is significantly more pressure to produce serious volume, and quickly, than there was. So inadequate curing time is no doubt a problem, and the probable cause of current chipping on DI.

    Generally, they are a lot better than Churchill (CGC / Stern), I would agree.

    The craptastic 'FUN' pfs that Stern used when trying to move away from Churchill were an industry low.

    I don't know who Spooky's supplier is, but looking at my RZ, and reading about other people's Spooky produced machines, they're likely to be a lot more durable due to wood that's obviously drier than Churchill's, and a clear that's *not* 'automotive' - i.e. gloss, shiny, thick and brittle. It's more like the old Diamond Plate. Hopefully they kept it that way on TNA & ACNC?

    IMO the best playfields made at the moment are the B&T Automaten ones, since they use better wood, and whilst they use an automotive clear, they leave more than adequate curing time both between coats, and afterwards before shipping. However I doubt any manufacturer is going to use them as a supplier, because it would inevitably cost more than they'd be willing to pay, and lead times would be longer than desired.

    CPR, from the couple I've seen, and stories I've heard, are hugely variable, but generally quite poor - and certainly no better than Churchill.

    #212 5 years ago

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    #213 5 years ago

    I highly doubt that is not one of the early run pre-Mirco pfs - i.e. before December '13.

    I've never seen a heavily ribbed or planked Mirco pf ... or indeed one with any at all.

    But thanks for the image, Jody.

    #214 5 years ago
    Quoted from rubberducks:

    I've never seen a heavily ribbed or planked Mirco pf

    You have now!

    #215 5 years ago

    The irony is my point was that is not planking never has been never will be. Seeing the grain at an angle with the proper lighting is not planking splitting or racing of the wood grain is planking.

    #216 5 years ago
    Quoted from JY64:

    The irony is my point was that is not planking never has been never will be. Seeing the grain at an angle with the proper lighting is not planking splitting or racing of the wood grain is planking.

    It is not normal to look like that. My WOZ pf certainly doesn't, nor does anything else. All you can see are a bunch of micro scratches in the clear.

    The only machine I have that looks like that is my JP's cabinet, albeit you hardly need light at the right angle to see that on the JP.

    #217 5 years ago

    The ribbing in playfields is an old issue, if you consider it an issue. It's not all that beautiful cosmetically, sure, but we've had it around in Stern games longer than most people realize. Start looking at Stern games from the early 2000s on up, you'll see it often. I've yet to see it affect ball travel, but when you're shopping it out, it can give you a little scare if you don't know what you're seeing.

    Planking is a more serious issue, and that's something no manufacturer will be immune to. As long as these pins get moved around and experience differences in moisture and heat, they'll all be at risk for eventual planking.

    I haven't seen ribbing on either of my JJP games, my Mirco replacements, or any Spooky games, but I wouldn't be shocked to find it at some point on other playfields made by them. Spooky seems to be producing the most consistently good playfields, but nobody has perfected the process, I'd wager.

    #218 5 years ago
    Quoted from rubberducks:

    It is not normal to look like that.

    It kinda is.

    Quoted from rubberducks:

    My WOZ pf certainly doesn't,

    Well you got a great PF, congrats!

    Quoted from rubberducks:

    , nor does anything else

    ...except for thousands of other pinball playfields.

    #219 5 years ago
    Quoted from rubberducks:

    It is not normal to look like that. My WOZ pf certainly doesn't, nor does anything else. All you can see are a bunch of micro scratches in the clear.
    The only machine I have that looks like that is my JP's cabinet, albeit you hardly need light at the right angle to see that on the JP.

    My early run WOZ (August 2013), LOTR and Fishtales all have this. No unusual wear patterns otherwise.

    A little gentle ribbing never hurt anyone.

    #220 5 years ago
    Quoted from Jvspin:

    My early run WOZ (August 2013), LOTR and Fishtales all have this. No unusual wear patterns otherwise.
    A little gentle ribbing never hurt anyone.

    You appear to have 44 pins. 3/44 would tend to suggest it's pretty abnormal ... and the pre-December '13 pfs for WOZ were considered to be quite problematic - hence the switch to Mirco. I'd be very surprised if you found any Mirco ones like that.

    #221 5 years ago
    Quoted from DNO:

    thousands of other pinball playfields

    Maybe not thousands...

    #222 5 years ago

    I've personally seen probably 100 different playfields with it, so I say thousands.

    #223 5 years ago
    Quoted from rubberducks:

    You appear to have 44 pins. 3/44 would tend to suggest it's pretty abnormal ... and the pre-December '13 pfs for WOZ were considered to be quite problematic - hence the switch to Mirco. I'd be very surprised if you found any Mirco ones like that.

    Well, if you consider just the 18 pins I have in the modern era (post 1990), 3/18 would be about 16%. Though not typical or desirable I wouldn't say it's exactly rare. If you look closely, I bet you'll see it on more games than you think.

    1 year later
    #224 4 years ago
    Quoted from Monster_Bash:

    Here's our replacement sw playfield
    Pretty much all the inserts are raised also

    [quoted image][quoted image]

    Whoa, didn't realize Stern hired Claude Monet to do playfield art ! Outstanding value !

    There are 224 posts in this topic. You are on page 5 of 5.

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