We were discussing this the other day https://www.google.com/url?q=http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-10-commandments-of-pinball-repair-and-maintenance&sa=U&ei=POV5T8uCAoeCgAf6t-zVDg&ved=0CAUQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNGXKw-WRRQJiKRHngiKbNW7z4w-eQ

mean green cleaning, qtips, rubbing alch., files, novus 1 2 3, soldering iron, batteries, wax..these are the basics for sure.

Novus 2, Turtle Wax, Cell phone camera (where did that go?)
English nut driver set, small screwdrivers
Soldering Iron, and wick. Learning to solder was the best thing I did. It takes care of almost any assembly or part replacement issue.
Multimeter

_{Post edited by Nevus : how could I forget the multimeter?}

Be ready for a flood of responses. There's standard tools of the trade, then a mountain of things that are of personal taste. Lots of opinions abound.

I'll start with a simple basic maintenance kit for you. I may miss a few things, but you'll get the idea.

Nut drivers. Get a 1/4", 5/16", 11/32". You'll use these frequently to remove playfield plastics, light socket (from below), other playfield parts, etc.. If you want to splurge, get both magnetic and non-magnetic. Experience will tell you why this matters.

Screwdrivers. Flat head, phillips.

Wire stripper, soldering iron, solder. Wires break off - learning to do a quick solder will save you headaches and cash. Watch a few YouTube videos on soldering if you need help.

A basic multimeter. So when things don't work and your Pinball friends here tell you to check something you'll have the tool for basic checks.

Small level (like 8") and an inclinometer. Every time you move your pin you'll want to level it and set the right angle. Some pins come with a built-in angle level, but don't count on it.

Novus #2 and lint-free cloth (you don't need #1, but you can get it if you want for quicky cleaning). Don't buy #3, too harsh. Opinions abound on it's uses, but most will agree it's your standard for playfield cleaning.

Glass cleaner and a good supply of paper towels. I like Stoner glass cleaner. Does a great job and dries without streaking. And it makes me laugh when I ask the wife where my stoner is.

Bulbs: #44 and #555 are used a lot for most playfield, insert, back box applications. Also #89 and #906 for flashers. All bulbs burn out, and you'll go through these like candy. Consider LEDs down the road after you gain some experience, and open your wallet more for the hobby as they will get expensive, particularly when you want to replace every bulb on every machine you own (because you will buy more than 1 )

A spare supply of new pinballs. Nicked pinballs damage playfields.

Good luck and enjoy the new hobby.

Brian

also get your hands on pinrepair manual... one of the best tool you will need.

I love this set of magnetic nut drives.

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=1839&parent=96

Anybody with suggestions for the multiple kinds of basic fuses to have on hand - both for B/W and current Sterns?

http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=General#Fuse_Table

For pinball, a really big wallet.

A long stick with a magnet on the end.
You'll see.

A 6 in 1 screwdriver. Lear to solder sooner than later.

I'd also add a flashlight or battery operated drop light. It can get pretty dark inside a cabinet

Look at the fuse values in each of your machines and make a list of them. There will be many duplicate values. Once you have a list of individual fuses; you should always have at least 10 of each on hand and maybe 100 if you repair other machines.

Guys, this thread was started 3 years ago and brought back by a slightly off-topic question.

Your point?

There were some responses to the original question, rather than the fuse question posted today.

Glad I was able to help with the fuse question.

Kind of enjoy the resurrection of this thread: always fun to put things in perspective.
The "flood of responses" was actually 3 posts in 3 years...

We like closure on those.

Well, it looks like he bought a pin.

To those that helped with my innocent question -> THANK YOU -
To those that were critical, I revived the old thread because everytime someone pts an original thread someone always drags out some old thread from 3 years ago and rubs their nose in it - - so I searched for fuses and found nothing but this essentials thread... So instead of incurring the wrath of the pinsiders for not searching the forum ahead of time, now I incur the wrath of the pinsiders for resurrection of an old thread. I QUIT - I am going dark from now on - good bye, it's just not been that much fun...

Don't sweat it. I often do the same thing when I have a question, gives a frame of reference for those trying to answer. This is generally a very accommodating community for new people (you'll note there was only one person actually complaining about you resurrecting this thread). So hopefully you'll feel welcome to continue posting if you want to.

Sorry if I sounded too critical with my comments. The main reason for my response was what I alluded to in a second comment--so that other folks didn't waste their time responding to the OP's question, when he likely would have gotten the answers he was looking for 3 years ago.

For a new question, you are always welcome to post a new thread. I wasn't at all being critical of your question--just that it may have been better served by being in its own thread, rather than being hidden away in this one.

Yeah you're kind of really REALLY over-reacting here AJB4. ForceFlow was simply stating to the other posters that you asked for fuse info and not tool kit stuff, since they were responding to the request in the title of the thread. You're actually freaking out and quitting over something that was actually supposed to be helpful and get you more feedback from your request, which as pointed got lost in the bottom of the comments. Lastly if you're not willing to tolerate random mean comments (which this was not) from strangers you should probably just avoid ALL message boards

Roger that - I will stand down. Just got a little fired up and you are right -> it was a bit of an over-reaction. MY BAD... OK, I'm back...

Welcome back! I'd hate it if you ever decided to sell you LOTR LE on a different forum and I did not get a crack at it

Glad to be back - feels like I was gone forever...

BaaAAhhh, don't worry about it. I'm glad you asked the question. I love when old threads get new life.

I like when people ask about fuses (for purely selfish reasons), because I wrote the fuse table on pinwiki (http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=General#Fuse_Table), so I get a chance to show it off Its hidden there, under the general section, so its easy to miss.

I know the table is not perfect, but I wrote it because I was always placing orders for a fuse here and there and not sure what to stock, and I wanted something that generally covered most of the common fuses in most of the brands of games.

So please, don't stop posting, and don't feel bad. You did nothing wrong--you did good! Posting is what we're all here to do!

Ha! Is there a thread for people local to your area, like an Ohio pinheads club? If not think anbout starting one. One thing that will always keep me on pinside is the Norcal Pinheads thread. Its great to hear about local sales and events, make great local friends, but also since you get to know everyone I feel like its a safe place to ask those kinds of questions. I have asked lots of "I should probably know this since im sure its been asked a million times" questions in there and no one cares.