With the leg levelers on the legs. You turn them. Put a level ON the playfield to see if it's level side to side.

Slope depends on the age of the game you have. I use an inclinometer from the hardware store and put it on the playfield. 6.5 degrees or so is average for newer games...older games are not as steep

Get a cheap 3ft level which will reach each side rail and go from there. If you need to set your pin to a certain degree of angle the iPhone has an app that measure angle in degrees. This is the level I use.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/Search?keyword=Levels&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&Ns=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1#/?c=1&rpp=96

You need to level your machine with the level ON the playfield as well as the slope meter. That is the proper way to do it. You don't play your balls on the glass

There was no 'official' settings for games of that age, set it where the game plays the way you like. I like my games to play fast, so my Skateball is probably around 5.5 to 6.5 or so, I've never measured it. I just set it to play steep and fast, and the flippers can still easily make all the shots.

6.3 degrees is what I have heard is the most common setting. Thats what I have mine on...

I use this for best accuracy. Works Great!

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-digital-torpedo-level/p-00948295000P?currentProductTitle=craftsman%2ddigital%2dtorpedo%2dlevel&partNumber=00948295000P&storeId=10153&isSEOCanonURL=true&PRODUCT_TITLE_BRAND=craftsman%2ddigital%2dtorpedo%2dlevel&catalogId=12605&catgroupId=00948295000P&pageInd=product&i_cntr=1325886464727

While on your hands and knees under your pinball machine use your back to lift the machine... then use one hand to spin the feet around a few times. Lower the machine and scoot out from under the machine. Check the level on the playfield to see that it's still wrong. Repeat as necessary. If done correctly you will eventually have a level pinball machine and a sore back.

yep that works awesome

Bought one last night while it was on sale. Thanks for the recommendation

I may have to pop down to Sears and pick one of those up myself.

Looks like a great product at an affordable price thanks for the info Rick! I just purchased one myself.

+1.

Save your money. The iPhone apps are cheap and precise enough for leveling a pinball table. Suggested angle settings are just a recommended starting point and personal taste. You'll always finish adjusting the game by feel anyway.

Even if you want to follow someone's setting of the same game, your game has unique flippers, rubber band, playfield that will affect gameplay in its own way. In fact, you may even need to re-adjust the same game as time goes by. You may need to increase or decrease the angle to compensate for weaker flippers, old rubber band, non waxed playfield, etc. A extremely precise inclinometer won't tell you that...

I'd use a more precise tool only if I was moving locations and wanted to keep the same gameplay feel.

If you want to be more precise, measure side-to-side level at both the top and bottom of the pf. Many people also set the pf very steep, mistakenly thinking it makes the game harder because the ball rolls down a bit faster. The opposite is actually true. A shallower tilt makes the ball harder to catch or control, and gives more side-to-side sling bounces that can lead to drains. It's much easier to control and cradle the ball on a steeper pf!

What size wrench fits both the bally/williams games and stern games?

5/8" is normally the leg bolt size..

thanks

Why do modern tables still have those leg levellers? Surely someone can invent a way to adjust them without us having to lift the corner of a 300lb table with our back while we twist a rusty and dirty metal bolt? I think I saw someone had done something that did the job easier but it doesn't seem to have caught on.

Ideally I'd like to be able to adjust the height of each leg at the top where it attaches to the table. Slightly annoyed that JJP decided not to change anything along those lines. Just made the table very heavy so more to lift with your back.

That, my friend, is the American way.

http://bayareaamusements.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PL-ZIPLEV

I cheat, I use my Harbor Freight Lift Table now. Getting too flippin' old to act as a human jack.

That's my method too.

That's the doohickey I was talking about! Do you need to buy the whole leveller or just the special nut?

Whole leveler, the base is missing the square that hold it from spinning in the foot, and it has a hole for the roll pin.

Now, in looking at that, if you don't mind taking some weight off you could allow the foot to spin and use two nuts locked together on the end and accomplish pretty much the same thing.

From f-14 tomcat

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Thanks. I guess if you're supposed to put the level on the actual playfield, it can be hard to level a game that you find on location, since you don't have the keys to open the game and take the glass off.

Those levelers above for a drill are a pretty nice idea.

I use the Harbour Freight table for my leveling.

I have my F-14 at 7 degrees, Sorcerer at 6, and Demolition Man at 6.5.

To level I placed my level on the top and bottom of the playfield, and used my phone app to set the degrees. "Laser Level" on Android. Has worked well for me.

I have to put the screws at the longest setting in the back and the lowest in the front to barely reach 6.5 on my LAH. Not sure what gives here - my floor is level so I wonder if the cabinet was built wrong...

Leg come in 2 1/2". Or 3 1/2". Buy longer levelers for the back

bumping this up, helped me,

You.....are....WAY....too...smart

As others have said level off the actual playfield at the top and bottom.

If the game has a mini playfiled like TZ, TS, etc. level the main playfield then level the mini playfiled.
Some games have under playfield mechs that can be sensitive to proper level. TAF and the swamp is a good example. If the game is pitched too far to the right the ball may not roll over to the switch / kick out position. TAF likes a touch left pitch ( on mine anyway ).

Its personal preference for pitch and 6 degrees is a good start.
Check your tilt bob once level.

I just sold a pin and had to move a pin slightly to the side. Right after I noticed that the ball coming out of the orbit started hitting my right sling instead of the flipper like it always has before. That changed the game play quite a bit. I guess I will need to level it again. That is amazing how a very slight difference can drastically change the game.

Take a look at the one offered at Pinball Life. Done by hand but VERY easy to operate.

ya its funny what a little slope can do to a ball- makes majic happen

Wow and here I thought I was the only one! J/k

After Piss Farting around with levels, don't bother relying with i phone/android apps, go with a Quality digital level like the one listed above, the difference in the readings was 1 deg out, when measuring the pitch

would you use the phone app to build your house frame

I got a craftsman digital level for sloping games. Love it. Would never rely on my phone for an accurate slope measurement when you can get one of these for pretty cheap. You can even set it to beep when it reaches a certain pitch, so you can adjust the legs underneath & listen for the beep to let you know you have it.
One thing I've learned too is to first make sure the back is level & also maybe jack up the levelers even higher than you think you'll need them. Then deal with the rest of the adjusting from the front which is much easier.

I do have 1 little issue I ran into on my SST which I need to tend to, which is apparently one of the front PF hooks sits lower than the other because for me to get the PF level the game ends up wobbling, so its a good deal off. Need to try to bend one of those hooks or take it off & put some washers under the screws & bracket to get it to sit down further. Not sure which is the better option.

I've always leveled from side to side with the level on the bottom of the cabinet, but this is wrong. I've done 50 games like this, but my NBA Fastbreak always felt off. I had the glass off one day, so I leveled it on the playfield and it was WAY off! Once I had it truly leveled, it played a lot better and felt great. I'm never making this mistake again...

And as far as angle, I didn't see anyone specifically mention that each game is 'unique' to a point. In the manual, it'll say the pitch. That F-14 example shows 7 degrees, some show 6.5 degrees or whatever. Worth a look for sure.

Just trying to level my first pin, and discovered that keeping Magic Sliders on the feet made adjusting the levels pretty easy. Basically you can just turn the slider against the floor by hand to adjust the leg height, so you don't need to use your back or a lift. Had them on to move the pin around, but this was a cool side benefit.

I have a question about the level or bubble that people have mounted on outside of shooting lane what does this tell you and where to purchase one?

That is a pitch bubble. Some games come with them from the factory. They often aren't accurate.

Not sure if anyone sells them separately, but since you have to level the game too, the $30 Sears digital level linked above is an awesome tool.

Quite pricey at Marco, but here it is. This is for Williams/Bally pins. There's a much cheaper variant for modern Sterns.

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-15802-P

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vk1Bz22B5OY?autoplay=1&rel=0

What kind of extender were they using on that drill? Could somebody post a link to that. Also what brand of electric drill would work best? I am assuming you do not want one too powerful. Links to were too buy that extender and the drill would be epic. As you you can most likely tell I bought my first tool a week after I bought my first pinball machine. I learned a lot but I have a long way to go yet. I never imagined being a pinball machine owner required you to be a pinball tech as well . So any and all help would be appreciated.

I keep most of my games at 6.5-7 degrees. My F-14 Tomcat is at 8+. It's all really game dependent.

that's a personal matter!

It looked like a flexible extension bit, 12" long, 1/4". Sears used to sell them. Also, if you haven't read the whole thread, don't level your machine like at the end of the video, it looked liked they used a level that went across the cabinet rails, instead of using a digital level on the actual playfield.

Any battery powered drill fom Home Depot will work fine. Drill, not screwdriver, just to be clear.