Thanks. I have a correction in instructions that need attention. If you decided to use this replacement pivot please be advised as follows:

Be aware that Stern was not all that precise on how parts were located on the play field. Position the replacement pivot with the one hole that I highlighted as being the only hole that matches the original pivot. When you proceed to line up the replacement pivot, try as much as you can to align the replacement on the same angle as the original.

When I was doing my repair yesterday on my Nine Ball, I filled to two original holes and drilled two new holes. However, I lined the pivot shaft to be perpendicular to the cutout in the play field instead of matching the original imprecise alignment from the factory. The result was that I now had to relocate the coil bracket (drill 3 new holes). I felt this was my only option because I did not want to realign the new pivot which would have met plugging the new two holes I had drilled and drilling another two holes.

Dracula..... coming back to life as it were....

More pics in following days/weeks....

IMG_2037 (resized).jpg

IMG_2039 (resized).jpg

IMG_2047 (resized).jpg

How many coats of clear do you have on? It looks nice.

Adjusting your inlane/outlane ball guides. I won't ask the rhetorical question.

I like fast flipper action. I like the sword fight with the flippers that happens on a fast machine.

I like to adjust my inlane guides to one-half ball height at the entry point and at the exit point in front of the flipper. We use 1 1/16" balls so 1/2 is .55 inch. At mid-point I pull the guides up to .80 inch above the play field.

I try to illustrate with this pic but you cannot easily see what I am talking about. I don't have any engineering on this. It is WAG. My logic is the ball exits into the inlane at speed and as it moves down the guide at the point in the curve (middle pic) where I have the guide lifted up to .80 high the ball sort of slides under the guide just a little. And then as the ball proceeds on down towards the flipper it enters in the area where the guide starts tapering back down to .55 at the flipper exit point.

As stated, I do not have any engineering but my thought is that the ball does not lose any speed as it rolls towards the flipper. But as it enters the area where the guide starts tapering down from .80 to .55 then the larger diameter of the center of the ball gives the ball a little bit of an increase in velocity which helps the ball to sail by the flipper just a little bit faster.

I have no engineering, but it does not hurt anything, so this is how I like to adjust my guides. Your mileage may differ and you may prefer to have your guides "laying flat" all the way around the curve.

Screen Shot 2019-01-23 at 11.13.41 PM (resized).png

Off top of my head I think it has 8 coats total, but keep in mind it was wet sanded in between every 2 coats, so total finished thickness?

It's hard to get good pics of clear PF's in my garage where I work on them, I have 26 very bright halogen ceiling light fixtures each with 4 bulbs in & they overpower the camera when taking pics, you end up just seeing bright white reflections of the lights.

Next step get all the rubbing/polishing compound out of all the edges & get holes all opened back up & get it ready for assembly.

IMG_2031 (resized).jpg

Let me open up my reference book of profanity. I removed the glass from my Catacomb to take the pics of the ball guides. I did not raise the play field or do anything else. All I did was take the glass off and then replace it. And when I put the glass back on, the ball launcher decided to quit working. I just love trouble shooting this stuff (sigh). &^$##&###^%^U& !!!!!

I have long maintained that pins have personality.
Yours is definitely messin' with 'ya cotton!

Well in that case, this Freefall has TONS of character

Hey guys, quick question here. I have a project dolly parton that has a acid damaged mpu. I have a nice and clean stern MPU-200 that I have laying around and I was hoping to use in for that project. My main question is if this will work if I jumper it right and put the correct roms in? Thanks for any suggestions!

It will work, but my motto has always been not to waste a -200 in a Bally. There are too many Bally boards that are floating around.

Jim

From the Throw Nothing Away Dept.

I figured out a new use for those old worn out lamp sockets. The metal is rigid but still soft enough you can bend it all over. You know, you have done this hundreds of times when you replace bulbs.

Don't throw that old lamp away. The metal strap makes great brackets.

IMG_9534 (resized).JPG

IMG_9535 (resized).JPG

IMG_9536 (resized).JPG

IMG_9537 (resized).JPG

IMG_9538 (resized).JPG

Ok I'm glad to hear it will work! After reading the pinwiki it did seem like a waste. Anyone interested in trading a good -35 board for my mpu-200? It came out of a nine ball it looks like.

Flat top (non-acorned) 9/16 is what I have on most of my classic Sterns.
A83B0270-861F-4A48-B3D8-91CD372EA4CC (resized).jpeg

Yes, I had the same ones on a Wild Fyre and on a Hot Hand that I have now.

From what I have read, & what was on my Original Seawitch, they were just 3/18-16 bolts, with a plain 9/16" sized head (no markings).

Making progress on Dracula....

IMG_2066 (resized).jpg

IMG_2070 (resized).jpg

IMG_2071 (resized).jpg

IMG_2073 (resized).jpg

IMG_2075 (resized).jpg

That is brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to make the seawitch ball jam plastic thing soon and this will work well I think!

Looking awesome!!!!!!!

Stunning!

No. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to which ones have the metal rails.

Meteor.....................no

Big Game .................no

Cheetah play field.....yes.

Seawitch...................no

Catacomb ................yes.

Nine Ball .................no

Dragonfist.................yes.

I don't know about Star Gazer.

The common belief is that they were added to playfields that Stern felt weren’t stable enough, meaning they feared that individual playfields might buckle/sag. People have reported several titles that have the supports,but not every copy of the title does

My Lightning was also jumpered for 115VAC. Some of my voltages measured a little high. I changed it to 120VAC and the measured DC voltages are much closer to specs.

My only Classic Stern is Lightning. I bought it as a project. I put about 65 hours into it and about $800 in parts. I recently spent another $120 on a CPR plastic set that I have yet to install. I know this game doesn't get the love of some of the other Sterns, but it has a really unique rule set and I'm digging it. Nothing like ripping the spinner when lit for 1k plus 4x playfield. Hard to set it up but man, 350-400K per spinner rip! I also really like how the bonus maxes at 99k times 5x. That bonus meltdown is sweet!

Here are some before and after pics.

Before:

20180528_173808 (resized).jpg20180528_173829 (resized).jpg20180528_173853 (resized).jpg20180528_173900 (resized).jpg20180528_173908 (resized).jpgDSCF6903 (resized).JPGDSCF6910 (resized).JPGDSCF6922 (resized).JPG

After:

20181201_201120 (resized).jpg

DSCF6985 (resized).JPG

DSCF6968 (resized).JPG

DSCF6994 (resized).JPG

DSCF6992 (resized).JPG

DSCF7000 (resized).JPG

DSCF7002 (resized).JPG

DSCF7003 (resized).JPG

DSCF7006 (resized).JPG

DSCF7009 (resized).JPG

DSCF6996 (resized).JPG

DSCF6961 (resized).JPG

Wow! Looks great Chris!

Thanks Eric! It was a lot of work and my first attempt at bringing one back from the dead.

I sell hardly any glass. Lightning must of been a good production run.

I might decide to get one from you. Mine has two big scratches and a few bare spots from bulb heat.

20180528_174532 (resized).jpg

DSCF6990 (resized).JPG

Ali - yep

Hot Hand - yep

Lightning - yep

Quicksilver - nope

Stingray - nope

Star Gazer - yep

My Galaxy has them.

Stargazer yes
Flight 2000 yes
Nine ball yes
Catacomb yes
Big game no
Iron maiden yes
Viper yes
Quicksilver no

I'm curious if any Lightning owners tried removing the one way gates above the ramps on their game. Lightning left me flat, but I think getting rid of the gates would make a great improvement.

Yes someone mentioned removing one side, can't remember which, but they loved the way it changed the game.

Still hoping for a Magic backglass. Mine looks like ass, and not the nice kind.

I have them on my Hot Hand but don't remember them on a Wild Fyre I used to own.

Didn't get rid of that Fireplace for nuthing!

I would assume the right gate more so than the left one. That long journey from the gate to the center hole in the upper PF felt painstakingly long to me.

If you you think you might need a play field to replace your Dracula play field, maybe I can help. Don't hesitate to ask if you need a hand

IMG_9595 (resized).JPG

Those projects keep piling up. I estimate if you start now, you would be finished in 10 years.