I posted a pictorial on it a few years ago.

Here is a condensed version:

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After the flange has been straightened the post can then be easily inserted into the new plastics piece.

Then install the plastic to the playfield and as you tighten the screws they will mushroom the post again to the plastic. If the piece is a lower plastic (like this EBD lane guide is), you can use a shorter screw to mushroom the post and then remove it or leave the post as-is because there is another one that goes on top and after the screw is tightened it won't be going anywhere.

If you are afraid of stripping the holes in your playfield trying to mushroom the post you can use a separate piece of wood or make a metal fixture (a piece of metal with a tapped hole) and use a machine screw to do it and then install the plastic on the playfield.

Of course if you want to get real fancy you can use a rivet tool to mushroom the post too.

It's not much work really. It only takes a couple seconds to remove each one. Don't heat them up too much though or the plastic melts and then it can be messy. All it takes is a couple seconds with the lighter to the metal post and then they pry out real easy.

Then use your crimper to straighten the flange by giving it a squeeze and then turning it a few degrees after each squeeze and working your way around a few times until it is straight. You'll get good at it after a few and it gets real easy. Don't squeeze too hard though or the screw won't fit through the hole anymore.

Afterwards, you can throw them in your vibratory polisher with some walnut shells or use a Dremel buffing wheel to clean them up.

Does anybody have any idea where you can get more of those spacer bell things? I've looked at every website I could think of. And no one seems to sell those. Maybe I'm calling them something different.

I haven't seen any repo ones but if you have a buffer wheel on a bench grinder then yours will clean up nice and shiny in just a few seconds.

They won't always clean-up nice depending on how far gone they are.

If rusted and pitted badly enough they won't ever clean up to like new.

They have never been reproduced but they were used on several Bally pins from the 70's and 80's and you can usually find some used.

Eight Ball Deluxe uses two different sizes. How many do you need?

Think I found them. Marco calls them, Standoff metal bell shape .447 and .675 size (there is no picture) out of stock. So I googled the part number 20a-8926. It looks like Flippers.com has some. I need probably 2 -447 and 2-675 I think. There are actually 4 sizes. The machine I bought was missing a few,lots of broken plastic. Thanks for the help

That's interesting. It looks like someone may have decided to reproduce them or are they used?

I've never seen repops but wouldn't mind checking them out. I thought about making them.

Yeah, I've though about machining a die set and making them out of thinwall tubing.

I hope someone is making these now.

Ordered a couple different sizes from Flippers. Should be here few days. If I remember I'll report back how they compare with originals.

If you only needed 2 each of the two normal Bally sizes used in EBD you could have found used ones pretty-easily.

Yes, please report back, anyone replacing plastics could use these.

I had short-run reproductions of two sizes made out of solid stainless steel a year or two ago and still have a relatively quite a few.

Having them made out of stainless steel might have been the best idea unit cost wise,
but personally wanted to maintain the stainless steel feel of the older pins.

http://pinside.com/pinball/market/archive/17835 (might be able to see the archive of it)
20-8926-2 (1-11/64") : $10.00 + shipping
20-8926 (35/64") : $7.00 + shipping

I started replacing the plastics on Flight 2000 yesterday. Only about 50 more bell spacers to go. Going to give this method a try, it has got to work better than spinning them until they release.
Thanks for the info. Sputnik

I thought flight 2000 only used plastic posts Or is that another variation like the position of the ball kicker?

[edit]: Huh, it does look like there is a variation with the plastics. Interesting.

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They are in the maze/ball capture area and plastics that lead into the flippers. Two layers of them in the maze.
Sputnik