Is it safe to bend rail on MMR catapult?

0

#1 8 years ago

OP

YAY

TimeForNostalgia

Inactive member

8y 18,150 56 1

I am new to pinball ownership and I am having an issue with the Medieval Madness remake catapult. The ball shoots very hard out of the catapult and doesn't drop onto the ramp it goes flying into the back wall or hits the red light and goes flying. I've tried moving the catapult to the left and right but nothing has changed. I also made sure that it is on the weakest setting. Is it safe to try to bend the rail down or would you suggest something else? I don't know if I should try to bend it with my hand or pliers. I'm am very worried about breaking it. Thank you for your time.

0

#2 8 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

11y 29k 1,219

As a general rule of thumb, try and avoid bending anything on a pin (even a switch). Tons of great info for you here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/mmr-nib-repair-kit

0

#3 8 years ago

LTG

Pinside member

Hopkins, MN

12y 191K 56,943 24 7

I'd gently bend. Had to do it on my original many years ago.

LTG : )

0

#4 8 years ago

OP

YAY

TimeForNostalgia

Inactive member

8y 18,150 56 1

Also, do you need to remove the rail first or is it safe to bend it while it is in the machine?

0

#5 8 years ago

LTG

Pinside member

Hopkins, MN

12y 191K 56,943 24 7

OP
Quoted from TimeForNostalgia:
Also, do you need to remove the rail first or is it safe to bend it while it is in the machine?

Your call. Either way can work.

LTG : )

0

1

#6 8 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

11y 29k 1,219

Do you have a phone with slo-mo video capabilities? If so, record the ball being launched and play it back to see if you can see where it's getting thrown off of the habitrail. It's a really nice aide in adjusting wireforms, etc.

0

#7 8 years ago

OP

YAY

TimeForNostalgia

Inactive member

8y 18,150 56 1

I used my phone in slow-mo and its following the catapult rail all the way until the end hugging the top rail and then goes straight into the back of the cabinet or the back red light. I can't find a tutorial or any video showing the correct way to bend it. I am worried that I am going to really mess up the rail if I use pliers.

0

1

#8 8 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

11y 29k 1,219

Pinball machines can be fussy. I feel like you can find the sweet spot with adjustment before bending the wireform. Here's some hope from the MMR link above:

OP
Quoted from labnip:
The problem I'm having now is that at any setting other than default power (and sometimes on default) the ball hits the flasher dome behind the castle and usually drops backwards down the left ramp and occasionally ends up in the moat.
I thought I'd consult the pinside hive mind before bending habitrails or adding deflectors. I tried to bend the end of the catapult habitrail down to aim the ball downward into the ramp but that thing is STIFF.
Has anyone encountered this issue on MMR or on an original MM? Any suggestions before I start bending things?

Solution:
There's a lock nut most of the way up the habitrail that has about an inch of adjustment in it. Moved the habitrail to the right and it's 100% on the ramp.
The solution was just to move the wirerail for the catapult over to the right a little bit...just loosen the screw about 1/2 way up, slide the wirerail over a bit and tighten the screw.
It now works perfectly.

Quoted from LTG:
Up by the left rear castle tower the wirefor for the catapult is bolted to a hex post. Loosen and move 1/4 inch at a time until you get it dialed in. Left or right.

http://www.pinballnews.com/learn/level/index.html
LTG : )™

0

#9 8 years ago

OP

YAY

TimeForNostalgia

Inactive member

8y 18,150 56 1

Thank you for all of your help. I have tried moving the ramp far left, far right and many spots in between. I will keep trying it and hopefully find that sweet spot. Thank you for your time.

By TimeForNostalgia

8 years ago

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