Life has been hectic for me this past year, but I'm happy to say it appears to be settling back down - for the moment anyway

The point is, I'm ready to start some new pinball restoration projects. Rather than creating individual threads for each machine, I thought it would be cooler to document everything in one place. So, here are my next 3 projects:

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Hopefully I can tackle all of them in 2016

Medusa - time to start the tear down

Don't worry. She certainly needs some TLC, just take a look at the playfield:

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The planking is pretty bad, making this playfield a poor restoration candidate. Thank goodness for CPR right

This is a gold edition PF. It's very nice, but it isn't perfect. Take a look at some of the inserts:

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I've seen this happen to several reproduction playfields (maybe I just have bad luck). For example, I purchased a beautiful TAF IPB repro a few years back; stashed it away for 6 months only to find the inserts had shifted. If left unrepaired these cracks in the clear coat could become a real problem, so this playfield will need some touch ups.

My assistant is working on removing all the plastics

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Not bad for her first tear down....

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Now I'll remove the playfield, but first I need to get some rest - I do sleep Tbgolfen, sometimes

Not much of an update, but I did managed to get the playfield removed today. I even came up with a new use for a sprinkler head

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I don't know, it might look better on my wall

I removed the playfield harness this evening after spending a few hours sketching everything up. On these older Bally machines I find it beneficial to draw a road map

Here are some examples:

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Hooray, the filthy harness is gone....

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All of the coil mechs are ready for tear down. That zipper flipper assembly is pretty slick, well done Bally.

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At this point I can set the playfield aside. I'll be replacing all the 555s with new 44 light sockets. I'm not 100%, but leaning towards all new switches as well. So, as it sits, the playfield is the prefect road map for all the ground braid wiring and lamp/switch layout

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Working on the weekend sucks..... unless you can wash your nasty pinball harnesses at work

This thing is coated in crap.
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We have an industrial parts washer, so what the hell right? It cleans using a 180F water/soap solution.

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After a couple wash cycles, which are only 2 minutes a piece, here's a close up of the harness:

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90% of the dirt is gone, but the coil leads are still pretty filthy.

Time to tumble with Simple Green and hot tap water:

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After an hour here's what you'll get:

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Better, but not what I'm settling for. Medusa is one dirt...........

Sometimes you can't beat a little elbow grease. At least I got to try something new today

I got the coin door disassembled this afternoon. It's in very good condition, when you consider the age of the machine.

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I've had several people email me and ask, "What parts do you plate vs. power, and which items do you tumble?"

First of all, I'm not really keen on tumbling much of anything. Yes, you can make parts look great by tumbling them, but if the original zinc coating is compromised then it's only a matter of time before corrosion will return. Plating/painting/powering are my preferred solutions, as these are permanent fixes. So, here are the coin door parts I have power coated:

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The rest of the parts will get re-plated (minus the hardware, which I sand blast and repaint):

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I don’t spend much time buffing parts anymore. The coin door will get plated, just not sure what direction I’m going with yet

I love creative people

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Painted target faces, too funny.

Anything is possible....

Coil assemblies are broken down and ready for cleaning:

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Time to drop these parts off for power coating:

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$75 for everything on the bottom of the playfield. You should shop your power needs around.

Prismatic Metallic Gold

http://www.prismaticpowders.com/colors/PMS-6374/GOLD-METALLIC/?gclid=CN_awuilsM0CFc8lgQodKXgDiA

For Father's Day my wife let me work in the garage all day. Oh, and she bought me some beer - best wife ever

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I got the cabinet and backbox stripped down:

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The cabinet is pretty rough and would need a new bottom and back, but it's salvageable. Hey, what are these pellets?

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Oh who am I kidding, I'm going to start with a new cabinet

My wallet feels lighter and these parts haven't even been shipped out for plating work.

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Don’t worry I’ll start slowing down now that the tear down is complete. Yes, I will need some translucent targets for the 7 target drop bank assembly

The artwork will be custom, similar to Fathom. I may use Jeff’s stencils as a starting point – not sure yet. I know the color scheme will be red and gold, mimicking the back glass. It should really pop with all the mirrored brass.

I did find some big roach eggs under the transformer

Thanks for the kind words.

That may happen, but if it does...... the beer helps

Prior to plating, it's always prudent to re-shape any bent/beat-up parts.

Before:
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After:
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Nothing a vise and hammer can't fix It seems like the coin door parts are always in need of a pounding.

The ball guides were originally plated, so they'll get re-chromed. I'll remove all the riveted parts and up-size the mounting holes in order to accommodate the larger 1/8" rivets commonly used on contemporary machines.

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Hi Bob,

I got the target faces yesterday. You're the man

Thanks again.

It's time to build a new cabinet, but first we'll need to disassembly the original

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Here's the top section:

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Who says factory original is better than new? I guess Bally re-purposed a different cabinet for this Medusa

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Here's a better look from the back of the front panel (Oops, lets move the cutout for the shooter rod down a few inches):

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This cabinet was beat - dry rotten, water damaged, and filled with roach droppings. Yuck.....

But, this will make for a great template moving forward. Now we'll know exactly how to tackle the corner joints, mortises, and dados

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Now the fun can begin...

For the cabinet I decided to go with 3/4" five ply poplar. One 4'x8' sheet is more than enough material to build all of the cabinet walls and interior supports.

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Everyone loves Festool sanders, but here's an even cooler tool - TS 75 EQ Plunge Cut Track Circular Saw:

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Track saws are great and Festool's TS 75 is the best one I've ever used. This guy comes in handy

After getting the 4'x8' sheet cut into 2 sections, now it's time to break out the table saw:

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This Rigid setup is great and the price is right at $499. My buddy Mike W. and I will make all the rough cuts at this point. We'll layout each piece, leaving roughly a 1/2" of spare material on all sides. This way we can cut all four side down to ensure good square corner.

Here's a good detail to mention - the face of the machine is beveled at the top (where the playfield glass slides in and out):

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Nothing an angle finder can't cure

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So, the top front face of the cabinet will need to be cut with a 94 degree angle.

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Nothing to it. Good tools make all the difference

Here's where a track saw really comes in handy:

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Stack the new left and right side pieces on top of each other and trace out the desired top cabinet angle. Then layout the track saw and cut both boards at the same time:

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Now trim the front square and presto - we have to matching sides

The real fun will be all the routing work. Festool has a great setup for that as well.

Picked up a few more pins today, so the restoration queue is growing. Not sure I'll be able to tackle all of these in 2016, but you never know

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I know I know, when am I going to patch those holes in the wall...... Man you guys sound like my wife

That's it.... Now you have to air brush all my cabinets

Oh, and change my AC filters......