I reuse tnuts.
I install post and then do the bottom. It seems I have to drill out for post sometimes so doing them first eliminates getting crap into the harnesses.
I take of all of the harnesses and then seperate. I replace the harnesses in this order:switch, GI, flasher/coil
When doing a "swap" I don't just take a part and throw it on the other playfield. Everything gets cleaned and rebuilt so I only have the field I am swapping to in the rotisserie.

If you don't own one get a harbor freight 2.5 ltr ultrasonic cleaner. It will save you a ton of time which will help during a swap.

This may not be what you want to hear but I would advise buying a much cheaper and simpler pin and doing a swap on that first. AFM is way too expensive a game to start there. Buy something like a Genesis and a NOS playfield from PBR.

AFM may be a pricier pin but it is one of the easiest swaps you will ever find. Once the lamp boards are on you are half way there, well kind of.

I did my AFM swap over a couple of weeks just working at night after my kids went to bed.

Hi,

I'm looking to do the same after Christmas, on an AFM, and it's also my first PF swap. I'm sending the cabinet off for a touch-up and new decals around then, so it'll need removing anyway.

Happy to start a PM dialogue or trade tips, but i think you'll be way ahead of me so it might be a one way street (as in you'll be helping me).

I'd planned to buy 45 new T-Nuts and install them in advance. I'm not doing a 'Pro restore', chroming everything up, or getting terribly carried away with it all, just replacing the old worn playfield, cleaning things up significantly, changing worn components (which i have already started on the current Playfield), but it should still look real nice once it's done.

Paul.

Yeah, but if you've never done one before, there are a ton of ways to damage the new playfield through inexperience. Stapling, dimpling, any drilling that may not already be done. Clamping down playfield parts on the top. Jamming down a guide rail too far and then not being able to get it back up. All of these little tasks are best practiced first on a playfield that didn't cost you as much as a mortgage payment.

I come from the opposite view. Working on something of value will make you do things more precisely and avoid mistakes that happen when the mindset is that you are just "practicing."

Will this device clean rust and such off of scoops and VUK type brackets?

It cleans off grease and dirt but if the rust is in the metal I'd use something else.

Definitely buy new t-nuts you can start assembly while doing disassembly gives you more options to spend you time while waiting on parts polishing etc(make sure to get the right size). I think Afm is fine for a first swap, my first was MM way back. The newer machines like late 90's willy's have less staples, and the artwork lines + layout makes them a lot harder to screw up when aligning everything for remounting. Swapping is not rocket science, really just time consuming, but really rewarding when complete. I'd rather do a modern dmd over an old machine any day when referring to the workload.

I have done a few of these: a Williams System 11 and DE DMD game.

A couple of things:
- Rotiserre is a huge help for the swap
- I remove the all items from the top of the playfield while in the machine. The bottom side is removed outside of the machine while on the rotiserre
- Label cable/wire inter-connects
- I remove the bottom wire bundle all together (coils/lamps/etc). Makes it easier to put it back on the new playfield.
- Take tons of pictures, and remove in sections (mainly top of the playfield). Put parts in a labeled bag. Makes life easier during assembly
- You can reuse t-nuts, but buy some extras. Some are damaged, and shouldn't be reused. Would also buy extra screws..... Be carefull, and dont buy screws too long that will go through the playfield
- Buy a tumbler/ultra-sonic cleaner to clean parts
- Clean up all metal guides, scoops, etc... you will need to sand and regrain.
- Any part that looks somewhat questionable, replace if possible (or fix). Easier now then later. Slingshot switches, flipper rebuild are tops on my list.

Bottom Line, it takes patience. Taking photos of each step is a huge help.

I will add that after re-graining any metal clean it off with Isopropyl alcohol to get any residue off.

Hey.
I found this interresting video some time ago from a guy swapping a TAF playfield. Very detailed video! It's 2 parts and you should watch it.
Alot of tips and tricks from this video

Part 1

Part 2

Just picked up the 2.5L at HF. Curious, what solution do you use in it? Just water? Also, what parts do you clean with it. I was going to run a design of experiments to optimize the process but figure it would be easier to just ask an expert. Thanks!

I use 50/50 simple green and distilled water. If it fit in it I used it.

How much was the 2.5L at HF? I see the website has it for $82.99 (plus shipping I suppose). Were you able to pick it up cheaper at your local store, or use any of the dozens of HF coupons available?

That insert damage looks like chipped clear. I seem to recall at one time hearing about how superglue could be used to fill in that area.... Perhaps the experts will weigh in here on how you could repair the clear coating on that insert without doing a playfield swap.

Wife had 25% off coupon. $60 , out the door.

Here's a basic rundown how I've done mine in the past.

I strip down to the posts/jets. Then I transfer the posts over and I usually just put all new parts on for the jets (except those screw nails which i reuse from the old playfield. take lots of photos of the top as you strip it down. I tumble any metal parts/nuts/posts for a couple days usually if they need it. After I get the jets and all the metal posts and ball guides over on the new playfield it is time to flip it.

I label each of the wires that go to all coils/mechs and then i de-solder them all. I then one by one remove them and rebuild them with new coil sleeves and clean them up before putting them on the new playfield. Once they are all fastened to the new playfield I then transfer the wiring harness for the coils/mechs over to the new playfield and solder it all back.

Next is the switches - i label each switch somehow either with tape on the wires or i label them on the brackets with a marker and I will label on the bottom of the old PF where they go so i can use it as a guide if i get stuck. I then remove all the screws holding them in and transfer the whole wiring harness, switches and all over to the new playfield and start seating them all and screwing them down.

Then I do the lamps. First I label them somehow like with tape and then I remove all the screws and transfer them all over. Once I'm done with that, flip back to the top and finish rebuilding that, changing rubbers and cleaning every plastic, etc before it gets placed.

AFM was the easiest swap I ever did, took me a total of 24 hours and I knocked it out in a weekend. Usually swaps took me 40-50 hours depending on the game. WPC/WPC 95 games were much easier than the Pinbot I did which was the biggest pain in the ass to do because nothing is socketed and those stapled down wires connecting the GI sucked. I ended up rewiring the whole thing with regular wires.

Some good information in this guide by Robert Winter:

http://www.robertwinter.com/pinball/restorations/cc/playfield/index.html

Great Thread and perfect timing too.

I'm about to start my Whirlwind playfield swap and have a couple of Switch Errors. So is it better to fix the issues first and then perform the swap? Or should I do the swap and resolve after? Or Do the swap and replace the Swith/Diode (assuming it's not the at the board). Thanks!

personally I just tear into the thing and deal with errors after the swap. I know most like to know they have a working game going into it but I figure if I frustrate myself enough I'll stop with all this restoration nonsense.

I usually tell newer pintechs to fix the problems before the swap.

That way, any problems you encounter later are most likely something you overlooked/messed up - this can be a big time saver.

Great, I'll try this then. So to be clear, Start with the board as indicated on PinWiki (http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_System_9_-_11#Switch_problems), then look at the diode, then switch? Or is there a general rule to check first for switch errors?

Check switch first. I look at boards last.

Go into switch test and see what you have.

Then pull the switch connectors off the board and see if any switches are still "stuck on". This will tell you if the problem is on the board or playfield.

Also, see if all your switch errors are on the same line of the Switch Matrix Table inside the front cover of the manual.

I used the Mantis and haven't seen any wear. The mantis is a tight fit on the mirco playfield I had and I had to sand the wood to make it fit. Fun stuff.