Hi everyone, Like the topic says what do you use for pinball skates? Anyone made their own? More pics the better.....Steve
Hi everyone, Like the topic says what do you use for pinball skates? Anyone made their own? More pics the better.....Steve
You can buy these at a place like Harbor Freight or Amazon. They are cheap but are only good for a hard surface. My machines are on a somewhat thick rug so I had cave and buy real pinskates. They are pricey but worth it. Those dolly’s still worked but it was hard to move the machine around. I just moved 7 machines across my house on the skates by myself with no issues
2A161426-C943-49C9-9A3C-FC1302BC78B9 (resized).jpegI have ones like the triple wheel, a real pinball lifter cart (the 'coffin carrier'), and lots of the harbor freight moving platforms (4 casters and a pair of carpeted rails) - those I use under heads and with the bodies when they're vertical to move around the basement (I currently have more machines that I have room to set up....)
Most of the time I use the coffin carrier and just store it away under a machine. If it needs to go under the center beam in the basement I have to drop the head no matter what I use (although if I take the legs off I can use the coffin carrier in the down position).
The hardest part of using the triple wheel is getting them under the back legs in a tight machine situation.
I use the pinskate from jabtech. Great for moving games on your own. Not cheap though. The small Dollys also work, just remember that the game is not fixed to them, it might fall off. That won’t happen with the skates.
Gotta get the real skates, I have moved countless games with them over the last 20 years. Still on the same pair so they more than pay for themselves.
Yes, the real skates are awesome. They hang on when you lift the game over a curb or other obstacle. I know some people who have had trouble figuring them out. All their problems are operator error haha.
The Pinball Lifter with oversize wheels it the best for shuffling games around on fairly flat surfaces and carpet.
I really didn't like trying to use the skates on the back legs when they are close to the wall, because the casters would swing around as you lifted the handle and jerk the machine sideways. I bought a lift table and never used the skates since.
Quoted from Murphdom:You can buy these at a place like Harbor Freight or Amazon. They are cheap but are only good for a hard surface. My machines are on a somewhat thick rug so I had cave and buy real pinskates. They are pricey but worth it. Those dolly’s still worked but it was hard to move the machine around. I just moved 7 machines across my house on the skates by myself with no issues[quoted image]
These area piece of shit and within minutes my machines bent and twisted 2 of them. I was so pissed off.
Unless you are on a perfect surface that cheap HF junk will buckle at the first obstruction!!!
I ended up buying a Wico pincart because I was sick of sub-par junk.
Po skates work good if you have the legs on but if you are constantly putting legs on or off then a true cart will be the best bet
I either use a harbor freight lift cart, or just drag the game (usually just when there's carpet).
The dolly wheels don't work well on uneven surfaces and the levelers tend to slip out even on flat surfaces (even with padding for grip).
I had the jabtec skates, but never really used them.
I've used wico cart, and it's pretty sturdy and maneuverable, but might give you trouble when there's not enough of a gap between games (you'll end up bumping backboxes). But, I prefer to have control over how low/high I can raise a game. This is where the lift cart is more helpful; for tipping the game to move it or put on legs, or removing/inserting the playfield into the cabinet.
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