Has Vid done a step by step L bracket video or anything yet?

Vid can you write up some suggestions formally to address this issue?
Especially if the damage isnt too great and you want to reinforce the cabinet before its too late?
Possibly something that non-carpenters can do at home?

vid1900

Hey, lest you forget, I don't buy Sterns. My W/B games have no ghosting, peeling pf so nor is the carbonate splitting.

Finally we have the answer, freeze the cabinets together like Han Solo.

A 1/2" #6 wood screw has a 41lb pull out strength when used in SPF plywood - so I don't think a common L bracket has enough jism to do battle against the 300+ pounds of force constantly applied to the corners.

Wood gusseting secured with a suitable glue would be many times stronger, but of course the problem is that the corners are already painted, preventing the glue from properly bonding with the wood fibers.

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Time to change the name of Pinside to, "As The Pinballers Whine"

Ha, I made a funny and it wasn't even on porpoise.

Time to? It's long been a club of whiny little B..... (including myself)

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Come on Vid we need you. But seriously what would the best thing be to do? Brad nails with some color matching paint or something?

But wouldn't using 2 or 3 #8 (for more grab) 1/2" on each side (L bracket with 2 or 3 holes on each side) be plenty of reinforcement?

Shit happens when you manhandle wood. Ck out some slam dunk glass shattering.

Splitting a cab ought to be a badge of honor!

I just worked my GB so hard the sides split and got GC. Boom now what.

Put this back in and start over.

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Hmmm...maybe this it what is going on. I just sourced a secret photo of the cost cutting glue recipe at Stern.

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Hahaha!

Odin stop peeping through my windows. I put that thing in my fishing tackle box a long time ago. You speak the truth brother. You got me.

I do need to reinforce my corners and it sucks but it is fixable, not that I should have too. I don't want to gamble with trucking companies, glad my game arrived the first time.

And people wonder why their games are falling apart. Sheeeesh...

Honestly I hardly ever nudge

What's going on is heightened reporting. More internet participants with a place to quickly throw up a picture. 4 years ago there were twenty something thousand Pinside members. New there are just about forty thousand. It doesn't matter what's going on in the real world, even if statistically nothing has changed it is a simple fact that negatives will make noise and positives won't, so the appearance of negative outcomes appears to increase.
The only semi-reliable information source is to contact your distributor and find out how many of their customers are really affected. Then make your own evaluation as to whether or not they tell you the truth.

Forty thousand and it's the same 40 to 50 people posting in all the threads.

Yup....the nerds.....like me.

Pinside owners lists are not accurate. People can list games they don't actually own. Others can (like me) choose to keep their collection list private.

#8 has 58lbs of pull out on SPF, so it would indeed be stronger, but I still think we are expecting too much.

The holes in the L would have to EXACTLY match the diameter of the screws; any play would fnck us.

When I do a load calculation, I like to go 4X; because nothing is going to be laboratory perfect in the field.

I'll look if there are any decking brackets that would have multiple staggered screw holes AND that would pull the 2 pieces towards each other (to help with any offset or play).

Is that with or without pilot holes? I was reading a paper that the non-pilot hole screws of the exact same type require like 3-5% more force to pull out compared to ones using pilot holes.

What about something like this?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Simpson-Strong-Tie-3-1-4-in-18-Gauge-Gusset-Angle-GA2/100375243

I was just at Home Depot and tested this with #8 1/2" screws and they fit perfectly (in fact, you couldn't push them through, they had to be threaded through by turning).

That's ok when you're young, but as you get older the volume seems to diminish somewhat ...

rd

Loads, torques, forces!? All I'm getting by reading is screws!?

Ah English thanks RD!

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Simpson Strong-Tie HL37PC Heavy Angle Powder Coated Black, these are rated for 900lbs

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Say the word Vid. I need to do something and your the guy.

$25-$41 each?! And the heavy rating is essentially wasted because we wouldn't be using 1/2" diameter bolts with much longer length than a #8 1/2", right?

I'll try the $0.98 Home Depot ones rated at 335lbs and see how it goes.

Played an Aerosmith Pro and Batman 66 premium on route today. No cabinet issues thankfully. Both games did have individual side / front decals vs the wrapped ones.

I took all your suggestions and fixed my cabinet.

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ummmmm, sir..that is clearly not HUO as I can see the vendor sticker in the upper right corner.

C. A. Robinson and company. Almost a shame to peel it off.

Not only that, looks to have some ghosting on that tomato jar...

That is a distributor's label FYI. The same label was on my Flash Gordon. Left side though.

And when it comes to HUO who cares about the shooter lane. Let us see that key fob!

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There are a multitude of gussetted and flanged angle braces that can suit pinball cabinet needs, as required.
If owners are not familiar with woodworking, go visit a carpenter, and he can provide recommendations.
The B/W leg bolt plates are also extremely important in reducing stress transferred from the legs themselves, as I stated in previous posts.

Do not use cheap corner braces from Home Depot.
The metal is soft, and the strength is poor.
A pinball machine get pushed and pulled repeatedly and frequently unlike furniture.

Ensure all holes are predrilled in the cabinet with a depth limiting lock or drill bit wrapped with sports tape.
Otherwise, owners will make more mistakes during reinforcement installation.

The one I linked to is the same brand as the expensive one vid1900 mentioned (so it's not some generic item from Home Depot), and handles 335lbs of force, but if there's something reasonable ($25 each is not reasonable) that will do the job better, I'd check that out, too.

Has been my gripe for over a year! Smart move...

Marco also sells Stern/Data East leg bolt plates. Would these be better suited for GB than the B/W version?

The B/W version work perfect on my GB.

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Got mine, just need to install them

A cheap L bracket may give and flex. The gusset is important. I have another idea for a bracket but not sure if this is off the shelf. Excuse my crude drawing but I think most will get the idea.

This style of bracket may allow for installation directly below the lock bar receiver. What we still may not be able to determine is if the split is starting from the leg bolts and splitting up up/down or if the split is starting from the top. The B/W leg bolt brackets may help but if the split is from the top then it goes back to what Vid was saying about a box with an open top. It needs solid corner braces in the upper corners. The problem is if they are not installed correctly there will be slop, the screws can strip, and damage can occur.

I am sure a carpenter can provide us a proper inexpensive solution.

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my BSD has major ghosting to the point the clear is chipped off in many places.

Having read through this thread, anyone who is in the market for any upcoming Stern title should give it some serious thought. A few observations:
"Stern has a problem with code completion. Are you comfortable with this knowing that it may indeed never be completed?"

Yes, stick with Lyman and Dwight and you won't be disappointed, primarily Lyman, in fact you get some of the greatest pins ever. OR just wait and buy when it actually gets completed.

"Stern has had some serious playfield issues. Can you live with that?"

Yes, the Pf's with issues are being replaced and dealt with and it doesn't seem to matter much to the masses. Ghostbusters is one of Stern's biggest sellers ever.

"Stern has increased their prices somewhat dramatically while reducing quality. Most would find this unacceptable."

And yet they keep selling pins people want in record numbers. Why is that?

"Stern now has cabinet-integrity issues. My question is, and I'm not trying to be a wiseass-WHY are people still patronizing Stern?"

Answer the question, why do you think people are still buying Stern pins and the line for Star Wars is around the block?