It's gotta be tight to be right.

If you have questions about this stuff you should ask Steve at PBR.

I was just fitting 1" inserts from PBR into my 1954 Williams Spitfire. According to my digital calipers the inserts from PBR were about 1.003" in diameter. They are tapered to precisely fit into the insert hole after they are sanded flush.

For me the insert holes were about 0.985" <-> 0.990" in diameter. Too tight but not as far off as you seem to have.

After sanding the face down and also smoothing the edges I got them to about 0.997" and was able to press them flush with some force but not excessive.

0.9375" (15/16") certainly seems like it is too far off.

Could be changes in the wood of the playfield, but more likely just a mistranslation of product dimensions or something along those lines. If the wood swelled much at all it'd be pretty noticable with planking and the like. Probably just made to fit tightly - perhaps TOO tightly. Sounds like you did the right thing though, I wouldn't want to force them in too much either.

Although I'm sure there's some margin for changes in the wood after all these years before the planking effect or others occur. Sounds like it was *just* too small, meaning only slightly.

That is a very Steve answer.

Sounds to me like this batch is just a little too big, or as Otaku said the wood changed a little in the time since the original inserts got the boot.

I think you dealt with it the right way, just sand the ones you got and squeeze them in. Seems easier than asking for a new set.

I had to replace a few inserts a while back and they were pretty tight also. I used a dremel with the barrel sander and cleaned the wood area and they fit snug but not real tight. there was old glue and wood fibers along the edge that was restricting the insert

I replaced every insert on my Top Card before I sent the playfield to HSA. And Top Card has a LOT of inserts.

Not a single one fit right off the start. I had to sand every single one of them, both around the perimeter and the height of the insert, and clean out the insert hole on the playfield. They have a molding number on the top that has to be sanded off also. It was a lot of work.

From other guys who have done this, I don't think anyone has ever had them just fit right in. They won't, at least height wise, because of the was the playfield was manufactured originally.

Same with replacing some 1" inserts in a CCM Dolphin. Had to sand the edges of each insert. Some required more sanding than others, but they all needed sanding. These inserts were from Pinball Life. So glad I didn't have to do that many. A whole game would have been killer.

If the holes in the playfield are left empty for too long, the wood can swell because it is unpainted/sealed .

Chuck the inserts from the inside, on a lathe and turn them down (someone you know has a lathe), take 5 seconds each.

Or you can make some correct size holes with a forsner bit in some acrylic and then use a router with a pattern bit, to perfectly route out the holes.

If you force un-jeweled inserts into too tight of a hole, they tend to quickly cup.

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I was too afraid to get the router going as per Vid's suggestion (plus I don't have a drill press to make a clean template).

Instead, I used a drill-mounted cylinder sander and zipped it around the insert holes. It worked well. If you try this sand for just a few seconds, test-fit the insert and repeat. Probably good for a slight trim, getting another 1/128" or 1/64".