(Topic ID: 255737)

what e.m. are you working on right now?

By illawarra92

4 years ago


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#1840 2 years ago

Working on a Mars Trek that was in rough shape when I picked it up and wanted to share what a tremendous help cottonm4 was in working with me to fix the damaged cabinet. He generously offered his time and knowledge to guide a complete woodworking novice through the entire process of building a collar from scratch to painting and installation with step by step guides over email. He sent me instructions that were easy to follow and pictures to show what I needed to do and also explained why each step was important and how it could be improved upon from the factory build. I really learned a lot from him and I'm still amazed that he not only took the time to do this but that he did it all successfully through email.

At some point this cabinet got wet and the particle board was falling apart in places including the neck which was completely gone. Someone in the past built a new base for the head but it covered the side rails and they drilled a bunch of holes in the cab to secure it.
1A81680D-5227-4B45-9B6B-9EE86FACC44F (resized).jpeg1A81680D-5227-4B45-9B6B-9EE86FACC44F (resized).jpegF51A871C-F65B-494C-9014-459ED80DA6C8 (resized).jpegF51A871C-F65B-494C-9014-459ED80DA6C8 (resized).jpeg390E0E93-3F6B-440D-8A3D-B42F5DCFE1CA (resized).jpeg390E0E93-3F6B-440D-8A3D-B42F5DCFE1CA (resized).jpeg7C873051-BE0F-4ED7-980B-316135A9AA5D (resized).jpeg7C873051-BE0F-4ED7-980B-316135A9AA5D (resized).jpegC115AC6A-3A47-4CFD-9979-985B57ED8F5F (resized).jpegC115AC6A-3A47-4CFD-9979-985B57ED8F5F (resized).jpegThis was my first project game and first EM, when I brought it home I thought I had for sure gotten in over my head. The game was filthy and the cabinet was in awful shape. I knew I would have to address the pedestal issue before really digging into the game. Without knowing anything about woodworking or having another cabinet to compare it to and take measurements from I didn't know where to start. I cleaned up what I could but felt stuck with progress until I found out that another Mars Trek owner JustEverett was having the collar on his game rebuilt and that cottonm4 was making it for him. He put me in touch with Craig who I was hoping could make me one too. He said that he could but some things would be a challenge without being near the cabinet in person. He asked if I knew a woodworker which he could guide through these parts, I didn't but luckily my dad had everything I needed including a table saw so Craig gave me some instructions to get started.

Starting point of the cabinet, the painted interior cleaned up well3BB14622-E396-4DBA-8EE6-70920CE1FC8C (resized).jpeg3BB14622-E396-4DBA-8EE6-70920CE1FC8C (resized).jpeg The next steps were cleaning out the old staples and particle board and to buy some wood and make what I learned were called rabbet cuts.815031A6-1C48-464C-8806-9AB1F5026258 (resized).jpeg815031A6-1C48-464C-8806-9AB1F5026258 (resized).jpeg I've never used a table saw before and was honestly a bit intimidated by them but Craig sent some intro videos and safety tips which gave me the confidence to finally use it. First cuts look ok but I put it in backwardsF429C402-E973-411B-BCEC-03B39A9196E6 (resized).jpegF429C402-E973-411B-BCEC-03B39A9196E6 (resized).jpeg Turned it around and added a top piece00EF3FB1-350C-497C-8065-D105B877D6E6 (resized).jpeg00EF3FB1-350C-497C-8065-D105B877D6E6 (resized).jpegOnce I got a few steps in and things were going well Craig told me that I could probably build everything myself with his guides so he would send a set of instructions and with my dads help we went down the list and I'd update him with the progress. I only messed up a few times ha. Little by little we worked through the build and every step had the cabinet looking so much better. Seeing it all come together was so satisfying86DC0848-6FB2-43BB-9547-86612A50709E (resized).jpeg86DC0848-6FB2-43BB-9547-86612A50709E (resized).jpegTransferring the backbox measurements for the cutout 954FBFB4-108C-4AAE-BCCA-5170C3B8730B (resized).jpeg954FBFB4-108C-4AAE-BCCA-5170C3B8730B (resized).jpegPedestal built and screws were countersunk to be filled with Bondo 71ADB7BA-ABEC-4DF8-B3BD-92D2DDC13474 (resized).jpeg71ADB7BA-ABEC-4DF8-B3BD-92D2DDC13474 (resized).jpegBEB06E26-0790-46C0-93E2-8C8A81A3439E (resized).jpegBEB06E26-0790-46C0-93E2-8C8A81A3439E (resized).jpegPainted the new parts and installed them. Not shown but I did add two extra screws to each side of the top piece to help secure it 3A839ECC-DFA7-4DEB-9C71-8CACCBD99852 (resized).jpeg3A839ECC-DFA7-4DEB-9C71-8CACCBD99852 (resized).jpegC612D2EE-D4B3-4C45-9519-2B09F4DCEF21 (resized).jpegC612D2EE-D4B3-4C45-9519-2B09F4DCEF21 (resized).jpegA767206D-085D-4C38-8B05-0FE9A824C4C1 (resized).jpegA767206D-085D-4C38-8B05-0FE9A824C4C1 (resized).jpeg70B9D81A-D4F8-4CDF-9FA6-0BB23941D83B (resized).jpeg70B9D81A-D4F8-4CDF-9FA6-0BB23941D83B (resized).jpeg Cleaned all the old metal and added them to the new parts19B6C495-7C21-426C-B679-B4940D205C3C (resized).jpeg19B6C495-7C21-426C-B679-B4940D205C3C (resized).jpeg I recently got the backbox installed and the game looks so much better now 303B8226-C5EE-4401-AC7A-37F54B663AE0 (resized).jpeg303B8226-C5EE-4401-AC7A-37F54B663AE0 (resized).jpeg443D6DC4-8F04-4ECD-AE7A-4A01864D2A21 (resized).jpeg443D6DC4-8F04-4ECD-AE7A-4A01864D2A21 (resized).jpeg5905BB94-D5FE-4EE7-AB12-725D7AE0EF4F (resized).jpeg5905BB94-D5FE-4EE7-AB12-725D7AE0EF4F (resized).jpeg6603A903-C9E5-4891-99D5-96A609AF779F (resized).jpeg6603A903-C9E5-4891-99D5-96A609AF779F (resized).jpegVery happy with how it turned out and I couldn't have done it without Craigs help so thanks again to a great pinsider and person cottonm4 for teaching me some new skills and getting this cabinet back in shape! It was a great project to work on with my dad as well. Even though I was a complete newbie Craig was always helpful and encouraging and never made me feel like a bother, a true gentleman! Still have a few kinks to work out to get the game playing but the hard part is over and this game will be up and running soon.

#1844 2 years ago
Quoted from cottonm4:

You were a great student. You did excellent work and your pin looks quite nice. Most important is that you paid attention to the safety instructions and still have all 10 fingers on your hands.
I'm glad I could help you out.

Safety was definitely the top priority, have to keep the flipper fingers safe haha. Thanks again for the help!

Quoted from Playdium:

Damn fine work there. Well done!!!

Thank you!

#1846 2 years ago
Quoted from Hyperball91:

Well done Bonk. That was a satisfying read with photos to show your progress as you learnt. Craig taught you well and the collar looks good now

Thanks for taking the time to read it! Was a great learning experience.

1 year later
#3011 1 year ago
Quoted from DrWaz:

Nope got it locally here in MI.

Nice! Saw that one and was tempted but too many projects right now. Glad to see it go to someone on here. Congrats on the pickup!

1 year later
#3911 5 months ago

Working through Cow-Poke and now servicing the Roto Unit, any tips for getting this piece off the ratchet shaft? Removed the two set screws but it seems pretty stuck on there, it spins freely and there’s a little up and down wiggle room but not much. Thinking one of the set screws caused a bump on the metal and it’s stopping this piece from coming off.

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#3914 5 months ago

This is great, thanks for sharing! And thanks to JR for the post.

Quoted from Flipsteen:

I've rebuilt several of the Gottlieb roto targets and have found these videos very helpful. There are several in parts from complete disassembly to assembly.

Thank you! This is a great resource, was watching another Goat Shed video on the Roto Unit but hadn’t seen this one yet.

3 months later
#4058 60 days ago

Getting closer to finishing up my Cow-Poke and now that I’ve got the game up and running I’m trying to dial in the Roto-Unit, which doesn’t always center on the contacts, maybe 50% of the time settling just behind the rivet so that it doesn’t score properly when hit.

I’ve disassembled, cleaned and lubed the Roto unit following the Goat Sheds videos on YouTube which were a big help, also replaced the springs with a new kit. I was wondering if anyone had any info on things to look for to fix this. It has a great spin and snap back when activated just doesn’t always come to rest at the right spot so I’m not sure what the problem is. Attached two photos showing where it should settle and where it often incorrectly does. IMG_1786 (resized).jpegIMG_1786 (resized).jpeg
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Added 58 days ago:

Update: Took a couple more times of taking the unit apart trying to eliminate the slop but I think I’ve got this one fixed. In case anyone finds this post later here’s what I did-

Previously I was tightening down the spider with the gear tooth resting on the Stop Pawl and I think this is where the slop was coming from since after a spin the gear would hit one pawl then bounce back to the other where the contacts didn’t fully line up so I split the difference and held the gear halfway between each tooth catching on the pawls while tightening the spider. I also loosened the contact board and slightly turned it to the right to line up better with the wiper fingers. Also took my time realigning the targets disc. Tested over a few games and so far working 100%

4 weeks later
#4089 33 days ago
Quoted from schudel5:

A bunch coming through the shop to get fixed. Surf Champ and Suspense are done. Captain Fantastic is in the shop now.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

That Surf Champ looks great, nice work.

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