I'm in the process of a Mata Hari restoration. On this game, two of the wooden side rails (the left playfield edge and the left side of the shooter lane) have stainless steel ball guides attached to them.

Each guide is attached with 6 very short screw-nails. I don't have the exact dimensions, but I'm pretty certain they are at most 3/8" long (they have to be shorter than the rails are thick).

The screw nails from PBR are much too long (about 3/4 - 1"), and I'm having a really hard time finding screw nails of any size either locally or online.

Does anyone know of a source for very short screw nails for this purpose? If not, any thoughts on alternative methods of attaching the guides?

Thanks!

Thanks for the offer, jdoz... I still have the originals (I was able to remove them with moderate success - only a few got their edges mangled a bit). If nothing else I can try cleaning them up a bit and reusing them, but not sure how well that will work. Will be in touch if there's something I need.

DS tape might work in a pinch, though I'd need to put something over the holes (even if it's superficial, I suppose).

zizzle, thanks for the heads up on "escutcheon pins". After looking at some google search results, I'm thinking it may be worth checking out some framing and/or arts & crafts stores, too. I've often found that the smaller you go, the less likely it is that hardware stores carry them.

I may still try and source some locally, but in the meantime, I had some great success modifying the longer screw nails from PBR. It's amazing what you can accomplish with a Dremel and some vice grips.

Here are the original and stock PBR screw nails.
Before.jpg

Careful placement in a pair of needlenose vice grips...
ViceGrips.jpg

... allows me to easily grind in a new tip with the Dremel.
Dremel.jpg

I was actually quite surprised at how easily the nail cut and how effective this turned out to be.

The final result (original on left, my custom replacement in the middle and the PBR stock on the right):
Result.jpg

The PBR nails are ever so slightly thicker than the originals, so the holes in the side rails will need to be drilled out just a tad, but the extra girth should also help the new nails grip some new wood once they're reinstalled.