Removing & Installing Bell Posts on New Plastics without any special tools.

I've received 2 emails on this subject in the last month, so I guess it's time to go over the procedure again.

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So you get your new set of playfield plastics and suddenly you realize that there are a bunch of Bell Posts cinched into the original plastics.

You search the net, only to find that they don't make those posts anymore - so you need to reuse them.

Searching for information, you see that some people drill them out, some heat them with a cigarette lighter, and some just clip them from the old plastics with wire cutters.

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The best way to remove them is to heat them with a soldering iron.

If you drill them out, they won't stay stuck to the new plastics. So every time you remove the plastics to replace a bulb, the posts roll everywhere.

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Stick the tip of the soldering iron in the cinched part of the bell and gently twist.

The moment the bell starts to rotate, push it through the plastic.

Easy peasy, and the original plastic is still intact for emergency use should you break the new one sometime in the future.

The original plastics are made of butyrate, so they smell like vomit when heated.
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The next steps require a set of Transfer Punches ($7 at Harbor Freight or Canadian Tire with coupon)

Every pinhead should have a set, you will find uses for them daily.

https://www.harborfreight.com/28-piece-transfer-punch-set-3577.html

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Find the punch that snugly fits through the cinched hole on the Bell Post

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Next, pull out your set of terminal crimpers ($3 at HF).

https://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-four-way-wire-crimperstripper-tool-63307.html

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Use the crimpers to un-cinch the top of the Bell Post.

Don't completely un-cinch it.

Just SLIGHTLY straighten it, by rotating the post between the jaws.

The Transfer Punch is your backing that keeps the post from crushing or deforming unevenly.

Test your work, you want the post to snugly fit in the new plastics.

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The best part about these crimpers is they cut 6-32 and 8-32 playfield screw bolts WITHOUT ruining the threads.

Note the threaded holes along the pivot joint.

It takes very little straightening for the flange to fit into the new plastic's holes.

You want it snug, don't overdo it.

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Here you can see that the Post fits the new Plastic's holes pretty well, but we will re-cinch it so it never falls out during service.

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Many times, the old posts are dull or even corroded.

You can run a 6-32 post machine screw through them followed by a 6-32 nut.

Chuck the assembly into your drill and run it in reverse gear (obviously if you run it forward, the nut will wind off)

Put some Novus2 or Autosol on a cloth rag and you quickly have a mirror finish.

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If the corrosion is so bad that you can't get it polished out, then use that post near the back of the playfield, away from view.

The next step is **for keeps** so be careful.

The clear plastics have a top and bottom.

If you assemble them upsidedown, you are going to feel like an idiot.

Normally, the white protective paper is the bottom, the clear protective film is the top - BUT check against the original.

You have to peel the white paper off before re-cinching, as you won't be able to get it from between the Post and the Plastic later.

On the back of most Vise, there is a little flat area called the Anvil.

Put the Bell on the Anvil and just SLIGHTLY expand the cinch with any conical punch. You can use a Nail Set, a real Conical Punch from one of those $5 sets that come in a roll, or even a well worn #2 screwdriver.

If it's pretty snug, then just deform the metal by **rolling** the punch around at a 30 degree angle

If it's not too snug, then gently tap with a small hammer.

Don't crack the plastic by over-expanding the Cinch!
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You can see that I left the clear plastic film in place to protect from scratches.

Using this method, the post look like they were factory installed.
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Even these thin plastics are undamaged by the gentle re-cinching.

I'll peel the clear film off upon installation.

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I remember seeing those in the past, but I could not find anything that he was still making them.

Gene used to sell brand new real ones at the shows for .30 cents each, so hopefully somebody acquired those dies from his stash.

Yep, novus2 is perfect for the unpainted side of the plastics

You can use a hollow brass rivet to cinch the bells to the plastic, although you might have to slightly enlarge the bell hole to accept a #8 rivet, so a #6 screw can fit down the center

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Take a fine FLAT file, and just barely remove the top of the bell cinch

Pull back as You make the final passes, and you will feel it loosening

Kind of roll as you pull, and the bell will pull through, with just barely enough remaining flange to cinch again

If you have zero flange left to cinch, expand the bell neck in the lane guide using a conical Nail Set