Just curious of things you have heard of, or maybe had happened to you with someone getting badly hurt or electrocuted from some aspect of dealing with a pinball machine.
I have one pinball story that haunts me. I didn't result in an injury, but could have killed the guy if he landed a certain way...
I had a pinball machine go down my stairs with a friend one time as we were moving it up. It was a TAF (I bought a restored one instead). I use a fridge cart, but only ever used the strap around the middle that has the crank on it. The lip on the lift plate can be narrow on these.
At the top, for the last step, my friends that normally help me know to just lift the bottom of the cart a tad to get it up over the nose of the hardwood floor. I told my friend this time, who I just met, to lift it up for the last step, but he grabbed the machine, and hiked it really high (he's a strong guy). The machine slipped out above the lift plate, and out it went... down the stairs, me holding the cart and machine out of it, me still standing on the main floor. This was the first time I think I've ever experienced shock, it was like I was in dream for a few seconds.
He tumbled into a roll PERFECTLY down the stairs, and off to the left (the only safe place), which was pure luck. The TAF went down like a runaway train, hit the last step, and flipped upsidedown, smashing the glass and head flat. Had he had come to rest under that, head in the wrong spot..... Pinball would have been done for me to say the VERY LEAST. All was fine though, and he popped back up after we regained ourselves, and he said "ok, well let's flip it over and see how bad it is" - lol. New head prepared by a guy near me, no damage at all to anything else really, PF fine, boards fine, cab broken at all corners, but perfectly, and glued back perfect, just glass... ugg cleaning that out of a machine is the worst. In the end, he bought it, at an obvious discounted price, and we remain friends.
I didn't sleep for the next couple nights. He is a family guy, very young kids at the time.... I still think of this quite a bit, and what could have happened in a split second of what should have been a great new machine for him, and meeting a new pinhead for the both of us. Since, I use a crank strap around the bottom of the machine and cart so there isn't even a 1/4 inch of movement, and another backup around the mid area.
...but I can't stop thinking of it, as I should have seen this possible issue before, and this could have resulted in a seriously bad scenario.
Round Rock, TX
London, ON
Sana'a
