(Topic ID: 124004)

Williams Swinger Restoration and (Eventual) Retheme

By RyanClaytor

8 years ago


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#1 8 years ago

Hi Pinsiders,

I'm starting this thread to document the restoration and eventual retheme on my recently acquired 1972 Williams "Swinger."

Edit: In an attempt to make this thread a more useful document, I'm adding a Table of Contents here.

- -- ------ -- -

TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction (Page 1)
Backbox Cleaning
- Plywood Delamination
- Score Reels (Page 1)
- Score Reel Stuck in Bracket (Page 1)
- Score Reel Circuit Board Super Lube Discussion (Page 1)
- Score Reel Switch Adjustment (Page 1)
- Match Unit (Page 1)
- Replay Unit (Page 2)
- Ball Count Unit (Page 2)
- Realigning Circuit Board on Stepper Unit (Page 2)
Cabinet Cleaning
- Bottom Board Mold Remediation (Page 2)
- Bottom Board Relay Label Recreation (Page 2)
- Power Cord Replacement (Page 9)
- Bottom Board Red Label (Fuse Holder, Play Counter, Kick-off, etc.) Recreation (Page 10)
- Chime Unit Rebuild (Page 11)
Playfield Cleaning
- Playfield Disassembly (Page 2)
- Playfield Disassembly: Flipper Mech (Page 2)
- Playfield Disassembly: Pop Bumper and Ball Arch (Page 3)
- Playfield Disassembly: Apron (Page 3)
- Playfield Disassembly: Ball Trough (Page 3)
- Playfield Cleaning (Page 3)
- Metal Polishing (Page 3)
- Playfield Cleaning: Magic Eraser Results (Page 3)
- Playfield Cleaning: Posts (Page 4)
- Playfield Reassembly: Posts (Page 4)
- Playfield Reassembly: Stand-up Targets (Page 4)
- Playfield Reassembly: Switch Straightening (Page 4)
- Playfield Cleaning: Waxing (Page 5)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Plastics (Page 5)
- Playfield Reassembly: Rubbers (Page 5)
- Playfield Reassembly: Switch Adjustment (Page 5)
- Playfield Cleaning: Ball Arch (Page 5)
- Playfield Reassembly: Bulb Replacement (Page 6)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Lock-down Bar Receiver (Page 6)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Ball Trough (Page 6)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Apron (Page 6)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Ball Arch (Page 6)
- Playfield Reassembly: Pop Bumper (Page 6)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Advance Unit (Page 7)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: GirLovesWaffles' Fiberglass Eraser Results on Spider Arm (Page 7)
- Playfield Cleaning: Pop Bumper Caps (Page 7)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Advance Unit Spider Arm Correction (Page 7)
- Playfield Reassembly: Pop Bumpers (Page 7)
- Playfield Reassembly: Soldering Advice Followed (Page 8 )
- Playfield Reassembly: Pop Bumper Reassembly List (Page 8 )
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Shooter Rod (Page 8 )
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Flipper Mechs (Page 8 )
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Switch Stack Plastic Tubes (Page 9)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Flipper pawl and EOS switch adjustment (Page 9)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Installing flipper spring washer and view of old/new sleeves (Page 9)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Questioning E-clip on flipper pawl and view of populated playfield (Page 9)
- Final Assembly: Installing new legs, wrong style (Page 9)
- Final Assembly: View new legs, wrong style (Page 9)
- Final Assembly: Pecos' Everything you didn't care to know about WMS brass two-piece flippers (Page 9)
- Final Assembly: Looking for and finding missing parts and viewing power cord connections (Page 9)
- Final Assembly: Questioning how to wire up new power cord (Page 9)
- Final Assembly: Explanation of "hot", "neutral" and "ground" power leads (Page 10)
- Final Assembly: Power leads "Ribbed", "Smooth" and "Middle" explanation (Page 10)
- Final Assembly: Making new fuse board labels (Page 10)
- Final Assembly: Ball count unit switch adjustment and replacing the lost center post (Page 10)
- Final Assembly: Wire nuts unintended disassembly and cleaning workspace (Page 10)
- Final Assembly: Making "Total Play" / "Kick-off Switch" labels and view of reassembled Swinger (Page 10)
- Final Assembly: The chime unit fiasco, Part One: Broken Parts and Broken Hearts(Page 11)
- Final Assembly: The chime unit fiasco, Part Two: Possible fixes and missing 'Tub" (Page 11)
- Final Assembly: The chime unit fiasco, Part Three: A replacement, new parts and repair (Page 11)
- Final Assembly: The chime unit fiasco, Part Four: Fried coil, more repair and reassembly (Page 11)
- Final Assembly: The chime unit fiasco, Part Five: Sheaths too long, cleaning, and reassembly (Page 11)
- Final Assembly: The chime unit fiasco, Part Six: Reinstalling chime bars and another problem (Page 11)
- Final Assembly: The chime unit fiasco, Part Seven: Holes, old rubber, and final installation (Page 11)
- Final Assembly: Extra screws? Up-Post coil swap, final problems, and the flappin' flipper coil (Page 11)
- Final Assembly: Pop bumper lights fixed (Page 11)

Trouble-Shooting
- Switched on, problems found (Page 10)
- Video: "how things are [not] functioning currently" and schematic lessons (Page 10)
- Differing approaches to Trouble-Shooting Post-Cleaning (Page 10)
- Schematic-reading Basics (Page 10)
- Schematic-reading Repair (Page 11)
- Helpful BingoPodcast restoration titles (Page 11)
- Final Repair and Schematic Discussion (Page 12)

Restoration Success
- Video: My son playing a "hot" swingin' Swinger (Page 11)

Swinger Outline
- Stats/History
- Layout
- Scoring
- Strategy
- -- ------ -- -

Just a quick introduction to me, I'm far more an artist (www.ElephantEater.com) than I am a tech, so this project terrifies me. However, I've already received a lot of help from a few friendly Pinsiders. So as you'll soon see, I've made some baby-steps toward completing this project.

I'm documenting this process because:

A) I hope this might serve as a helpful document to other luddites
B) My dad, who I blame for my love of the silver ball, lives 10 states away and I'd like to share my process with both my parents.
C) I love me a restoration thread!

I've documented a couple of minor cosmetic restores in the past...

My Whirlwind Topper Restore: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/topper-restorationmy-first

My Jubilee Pop-Bumper Cap Restore: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/restoration-jubilee-pop-bumper-caps-my-first-airbrush-experience

...but I've never tackled a project of this scale, so we'll see how it goes.

I've had my eyes open for a "Swinger" for some time now. It seemed like the perfect fit for my first attempt at a re-theme for a few reasons:

A) It's a fun game with lots to do (moving target in center of playfield, up-post between flippers, kick-back in the left outlane, ball return gate in the right outlane, etc)
B) While it's a fun game, the art package is a lack-luster phone-in by Christian Marche, so I won't feel bad sanding it down to put my own art in it's place.
C) Re-theming an EM seems like a more managable project, as I'll be able to mainly focus on the fun stuff: ART (not sound, modifying displays, coding rules, and other technical things that frighten artists)

So here's what Swinger looked like in 1972:

swingerFlyer.jpgswingerFlyer.jpg

And here's the state of the machine as I received it:

swinger4.jpgswinger4.jpg

It turns on. General illumination is there.

swinger5.jpgswinger5.jpg

However, the swinging target doesn't seem to be moving (even though it WAS moving when I powered it up at the former owners place). I also cannot start a game. In addition to the above predicaments, there's some creative use of rubbers.

swinger3.jpgswinger3.jpg

swinger6.jpgswinger6.jpg

swinger2.jpgswinger2.jpg

swinger.jpgswinger.jpg

Aside from being dirty, I didn't think it was in horrible shape for being stored in a barn. The former owner told me it was days away from being hurled into a landfill. It has a bit of an odor...sort of a slight mildew-y smell, but undetectable when the glass is on and the coin door is closed. I'm hoping once I start to sand things down and repaint, some of that will go away. In the meantime, I've been airing it out and shoving deodorizing boxes in the cabinet.

arm.pngarm.png

I'm not sure how much good it's doing, but it makes me feel a little better knowing I gave it the ole' college try.

...more posts soon-ish.

Ryan Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
www.ElephantEater.com

#2 8 years ago
Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I've already received a lot of help from a few friendly Pinsiders.

Before I go any further, I wanted to show some appreciation for pinsider, Dayhuff, for pointing me toward this sale. Thankfully it was too much of a project to interest him, but not enough of a basketcase to frighten me. So, thank you, John, for directing me to this little gem.

One of the things I noticed after hauling it into my garage was that the backbox had some separation damage, like the plywood was delaminating...or something. I'm art-guy and uncertain I'm using the proper terminology. Regardless, here's what it was doing:

titebondA.jpgtitebondA.jpg

Another pinsider I owe some thanks to is TaylorVA, who talked me through this problem. He suggested a product called Titebond III (evidently it has more bonds that either of its predecessors).

titebond.jpgtitebond.jpg

(Also, go River City Flippers. WOO!)

Well, those extra bonds came in handy.

titebondB.jpgtitebondB.jpg

After a day or so of clampage, the head held together like a champ. ...at least since I completed this portion a month or two ago.

#3 8 years ago

As you may have noticed...

...I'm far more comfortable doing cosmetic restores than I am electronic restores. Basically, I have no knowledge when it comes to fidgeting around in a machine. However, I've been listening to "For Amusement Only: The EM and Bingo Podcast" recently (and so should you).

http://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/

The host, Nick Baldridge, and I have become friendly in recent days, and he's been coaching me through the starting process of cleaning my Swinger. He directed me to a few cleaning products (green Scotch Brite pads, 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, Novus 2, and 3-in-1 oil) and after some conversations, gave me the confidence to dig in and try my first score reel teardown/cleaning. Here's the one I started with:

IMG_4421.JPGIMG_4421.JPG

Most of the disassembly was pretty straight forward: some e-clips, some phillips head screws, some nuts. I took copious pictures so that I could follow them in reverse order to reassemble. (I guess I HAVE learned something from watching all those "American Restoration" episodes.)

So the parts were all pretty filthy...

IMG_4450.JPGIMG_4450.JPG

...but with a bit of Novus 2...

IMG_4451.JPGIMG_4451.JPG

...ended up looking pretty decent:

IMG_4452.JPGIMG_4452.JPG

The printed circuit board was pretty dingy...

IMG_4443.JPGIMG_4443.JPG

...with dried-up mystery material scraped across the traces...

IMG_4438.JPGIMG_4438.JPG

...but with a bit of Green Scotch Brite pad persuasion, it turned out pretty grand.

IMG_4460.JPGIMG_4460.JPG

Here are some more before and after images of score reel assembly parts:

IMG_4453.JPGIMG_4453.JPG

IMG_4454.JPGIMG_4454.JPG

IMG_4456.JPGIMG_4456.JPG

IMG_4458.JPGIMG_4458.JPG

IMG_4462.JPGIMG_4462.JPG

IMG_4464.JPGIMG_4464.JPG

...and to my surprise, yesterday I managed to both disassemble and reassemble my first score reel.

IMG_4470.JPGIMG_4470.JPG

I've gotta admit, it felt pretty good to have everything cleaned-up and back in working order. The cams, solenoids, and switches all seem to be doing what they're supposed to. I'm starting to see why some folks enjoy fixing pins as much as they enjoy playing them (never really understood that before...ha-ha).

Alright, I think that'll do it for now. I've got one reel down, 9 more to go. Wish me luck!

#7 8 years ago
Quoted from pmWolf:

Swinger...try it, you'll like it!

A marketing masterpiece.

Quoted from Well_Fed_Games:

Ryan- love your PATZ art, can't wait to see what you come up with for the cab! I'm about to start on a retheme myself so I will be following closely!

Hi Well_Fed_Games,

Thanks so much for the kind words about my artwork. I really appreciate it. It's funny you mention the cab, that's actually the first thing I've been starting to do some sketches for. I just did some measurements last week...

measurements.jpgmeasurements.jpg

...and did some more accurate vector art mock-ups...

IMG_4311.jpgIMG_4311.jpg

...so that I can start thumbnailing some artwork in a proportional space.

Anyhow, I'm going to be honest, this thread is going to be tech-heavy at first. I want to make sure this machine can and will run 100% before I spend a bunch of time on aesthetics. So, my re-theme reveal may take a little while.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Ryan, great job on your first score reel!

Thanks, Nick. I credit my success to you. Thanks for your guidance thus far. I truly appreciate it. Did I mention this man has a podcast?

I guess I did.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

How soon till you get your next em project?

Ha-ha! It's already tempting, but I'd like to think I have enough restraint to finish this project before diving into another. We'll see if I can hold out.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Love the rubbers!

Me too!!! I don't know why I never thought of super-market rubber bands. This will save me a substantial amount on my next parts order.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

I think you may find those two standups that were blocked off have a problem.

I didn't think of that, but that's a pretty astute observation. I'll have to test that out once we get 'er up and running!

- -- ----- -- -

Finally, I rebuilt my second score reel tonight. I think it took me less than half the time of the first. I'd guess my first rebuild was in the ballpark of 3 hours. I think tonight's was closer to 90 minutes. Granted, I wasn't spending quite as much time photographing and documenting before-and-after glam shots, but it still felt like I was picking up the pace a bit. My guess is that there are folks who can do it in a tenth the time. Maybe I'll get there one day. In the meantime:

2 down. 8 to go.

I also suffered a loss tonight. One of my E-clips twang'ed across the basement when it popped off. In retrospect I should have cupped my hand over the top when prying it off. I looked everywhere but cannot find it. Here's what it looked like prior to the loss:

scoreReel02a.jpgscoreReel02a.jpg

Here's the post without the E-clip (see bottom post):

scoreReel02b.jpgscoreReel02b.jpg

This post has the same size E-clip:

scoreReel02c.jpgscoreReel02c.jpg

...and here's the lonely e-clip-less post:

scoreReel02d.jpgscoreReel02d.jpg

It's late. I'm off to bed. ...but not before adding this tiny E-clip to my list of parts to buy.

Mighty night,
Ryanzzzzzz...

#8 8 years ago

So I made my way down the basement this evening to tackle the next in line of score reel cleaning.

hundreds.jpghundreds.jpg

As I began disassembling the hundreds reel, I was starting to feel a bit fat and sassy, like I'd done this before and didn't even need to take pictures to remember my way back through reassembly. (I did anyway, just in case.) However, when I took off this cam-thingy:

hundreds1.jpghundreds1.jpg

I noticed that there was no horseshoe-lookin' brassy part attached to the bottom. Then on closer inspection, I noticed this unit did not have a circuit board:

hundreds2.jpghundreds2.jpg

I started to wonder if I had purchased a parts machine, as every other score reel had a circuit board...until I glanced over to the other player's reels and, sure enough, this hundreds unit also did NOT have a circuit board.

This made me feel a little better. My EM life coach, Nick Baldridge, told me that the circuit boards are not for telling the next reel to move (as I incorrectly assumed), but rather for things like match scores (tens) and extra balls (thousands and ten thousands). Things were starting to make a lot more sense.

Now I'm weary again. Off to bed.

Until tomorrow night,
Ryan "Score Reel Cleanin' Fool" Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
www.ElephantEater.com

#11 8 years ago

Thanks, BTW75!

Quoted from btw75:

1. e-clips can be bought at your local auto parts store

Man, I called every Auto Zone in my zone and the closest I could find from them was a big sack of misc. sized e-clips. They wouldn't sell me a single. It's alright, though. I've got it marked on my "to order" list for my next Pinball Life purchase. ...just trying to hold out for a little while and rack-up some more necessary purchases before placing an order. ...you know, shipping and all. Thanks for the tip, though!

Quoted from btw75:

2. I started cleaning the brass inlaid circuits with abrasives as well, but have since switched to brasso and am much happier.

Interesting!

Quoted from btw75:

In dirtflipper's words, why use a mechanical solution to a chemical problem? The brasso not only has better results, IMO, it doesn't take off materials.

That makes sense. I haven't picked it up yet, but will likely finish the player 2 reels with abrasive and the try out the Brasso when I get to the player 1 reels in a day or three.

Quoted from btw75:

3. http://Www.pinrepair.com and http://www.pinwiki.com ate excellent resources for a rebuild.

Good to know. Thanks for all the info, BTW75!

Quoted from PM_Jeremy:

Nice work. It's good to get out of your comfort zone and tackle something new.

Thanks, cad-kid. This is definitely outside my comfort zone, but I'm learning a TON and having a good time with it.

- -- ----- -- -

As for tonight's progress, I went to a local Harley store to pick up some more Novus 2 this afternoon:

photo 3.JPGphoto 3.JPG

My tiny sample pack dried up from all the use over the past few days of score reel cleaning. I felt a little bad for not buying it from Pinball Life, but I got impatient and wanted to keep up this routine.

Anyhow, last night, after finishing reel cleaning #3, I put the unit back in its slot and started packing up my cleaning materials. Then I noticed something odd when looking at it from the front of the backbox. It was sort of crooked:

photo 1 (1).JPGphoto 1 (1).JPG

I pulled it out, ticked through a few numbers, and sure enough...CATAWAMPUS!

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

I was not in a place to make a second attempt last night, so I started THIS evening by rectifying my botch. Now it is straight and true:

photo 4.JPGphoto 4.JPG

...and stays so even when rotated.

photo 5.JPGphoto 5.JPG

Yay!

Apart from that, I managed to disassemble and partially clean the next score reel, but didn't finish cleaning and reassembling. Sorta got side-tracked chatting pinball stuff with my EM Life Coach, Nick Baldridge. Worth it! ...but need some rest.

Keepin' it REEL,
Ryan

#13 8 years ago
Quoted from PinBiohazard:

why don't you "swing" by the Custom/Re-Theme thread on the All Pinball side

Hi PinBiohazard,

Thanks for chiming in. I did a topic search in the forum for "Custom/Re-Theme" and didn't find anything. Would love to see it, though. Maybe you can provide a link here. I certainly wouldn't mind.

I started this thread in the restoration subforum since it will be heavy on that to begin with, but understand it could eventually end up in "All Modding" or an EM subcategory or something else I'm not thinking of. Ha-ha! It seems like a lot of these topics kind of bleed into one another. *shrugs*

Quoted from PinBiohazard:

I am interested in what way this goes and what theme you end up with

Thanks, again. I definitely have a theme in mind, but plan on waiting to reveal it once artwork is ready. I really appreciate your interest, though!

Anyhow, I wish you luck on your project and thanks for keeping an eye out for mine.

- -- ----- -- -

So, back in the exciting world of score reel prepping, today daddy finished cleaning and reassembling that disassembled reel mentioned on this thread last time...thanks to an extended nap-time this afternoon. Here are some more gratuitous before and after shots.

Before:
circuitboard.jpgcircuitboard.jpg

After:
unnamed.jpgunnamed.jpg

I know I've shown picto-results like this before, but I mention it because of something I noticed after cleaning. I started with a new green Scotch Brite pad this time and here's what it looked like after a few strokes:

circuitboardDust.jpgcircuitboardDust.jpg

That residue looks suspiciously like copper, not black dust that had accumulated. All this to say, I'm interested in trying out BTW75's method...

Quoted from btw75:

The brasso not only has better results, IMO, it doesn't take off materials.

...on some up-coming score reels. There's a big box hardware store not too far from me. I plan on picking up some brasso before starting on the player 1 reels. (Making my way through the player 2 reels right now.)

Ryan "EM Student" Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
www.ElephantEater.com

#15 8 years ago
Quoted from bingopodcast:

I'm interested to see what Brasso will do!

Hi Nick,

Me too! Although, you make a good point, too...

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Check the bottle for flammability warnings.

I definitely will! In fact, this got me curious about what other folks do to restore their machines. I know as you and I have chat privately, you've mentioned how everyone has their own particular method for cleaning and restoration. I'm wondering if there's a more accepted way, or even a different product than what has been mentioned here thus far. To that end, I've created this new thread, complete with A POLL:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/em-tech-what-do-you-use-to-clean-your-circuit-boards#post-2378513

Finally,

Quoted from bingopodcast:

So you only have one more P2 reel remaining?

Yes! In fact, it's already torn down, so it shouldn't take too much longer before I start on the P1 reels.

Oh, and...

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Have you started whipping through the reels faster now that you've been through a couple? 5 Minutes a piece with your eyes closed?

...I haven't timed myself yet. I'll do that soon to see if I'm nearing that 5 minute mark.

Best,
Ryan

#17 8 years ago

Wow. Lots of great inspiration and resources there. Thanks for the invite to that thread, PBH! Looking forward to spending some more time poking through there. It'll be a proud day when I join those ranks.

#18 8 years ago

Well, I'm happy to say I'm half-way through the score reels. I'm currently finished with the player 2 reels and the "Swing Reel" (that single red one in the middle).

backboxhalf2.jpgbackboxhalf2.jpg

...and just so you can see the comparison between cleaned and uncleaned, here's the same image w/o highlights.

backboxhalf.jpgbackboxhalf.jpg

In case you were wondering what happened to all the dirt and carbon dust on the first few reels, here it is.

cloth.jpgcloth.jpg

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Have you started whipping through the reels faster now that you've been through a couple?

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I haven't timed myself yet. I'll do that soon...

So I timed the cleaning and reassembly on the last reel (it was already disassembled when the timer started):

timer.jpgtimer.jpg

I'd guess my disassembly is around 5 minutes these days. I've leveled-up to the point where I'm no longer taking pictures to reassemble by. So, I'd say I'm at around an hour a reel at this point. That's down from 3 hours on the first one. Ha-ha!

Oh, and I've been informed that the credit reel is not a score reel, so it looks like my score reel cleaning count is at:

5 out of 9 completed

Alright, I think that's it for the night.

#19 8 years ago

So, I'm moving on to the Player 1 score reels. In my mind, this was a logical point of compartmentalization to try something new. I've been trying to figure out if I would use a chemical to clean the circuit boards, as was suggested above:

Quoted from btw75:

I started cleaning the brass inlaid circuits with abrasives as well, but have since switched to brasso and am much happier. In dirtflipper's words, why use a mechanical solution to a chemical problem? The brasso not only has better results, IMO, it doesn't take off materials.

...or if I would stick with a mild abrasive.

I've also been trying to figure out what to lube the circuit boards with after cleaning them. To these ends, I started an alternate thread to survey the EM community and see if there was a general consensus.

Regarding the cleaning procedure, it seems as though using some sort of mild abrasive edged out chemical cleaners by one vote in the poll, but won by a landslide in the comments section (6-2 in favor of some sort of abrasive). Another factor that caused me to pause regarding the use of Brasso, is that it has a pretty low flashpoint, 105 °F.

For all these reasons, I'm chosing to stick with a mild abrasive, and since I already have a stack of green Scotch Brite pads, those are what I'll continue using.

With respect to lubing the circuit boards post cleaning, the overwhelming response in the thread was that 3-in-1 oil was old news and Super Lube Teflon Oil is the thing to use.

superlube.jpgsuperlube.jpg

Just out of curiosity, I looked up flashpoints for these two products as well:

3in1: 305 °F
Super Lube Teflon Oil: 428 °F

...which were both quite high. In chatting with my EM Grand Master, Nick Baldridge (who pointed me to those flashpoint documents), I mentioned that you'd probably have to stick your machine in a microwave before it approached those temperatures. He agreed and added that there would likely be other problems occurring before getting that toasty.

So, while flashpoint didn't play much of a role in determining which lube to use, I figured I would try out something different and see if I had a personal preference toward either one. I'll swing by Harbor Frieght today, pick up a tube, and report back what I find next reel update. Nick's concern was that over time, this newer product might do unpredictable things. Although, from what I can tell, it seems to have been used for at least a decade already in the pinball community and I'm not hearing any adverse stories about it yet. Plus, if anything does happen (hardening of the product, attracting dirt and grime, etc), I can always use an abrasive to get it off and use something different, since this will be in a home environment and closely monitored.

Until next update,
Ryan

#20 8 years ago

Now 6 of 9 reels are complete:

reel13.jpgreel13.jpg

Also, I picked up ye olde Super Lube today and used it on the first Player 1 reel I cleaned (that one next to the dummy reel above). It's...weird. It's like...the consistency of Vaseline. Much thicker than the 3 in 1 oil I've been using. I put some on my finger and it felt kind of sticky. Supposedly dust is not supposed to stick to it, but it has a consistency of something that dust would stick to.

*shrugs*

Any thoughts or words to assuage my fears?

Mighty-night,
Ryan

#22 8 years ago

Good to hear. I tried to keep it thin. I'll do my best to take a decent picture of the board lubed-up on my next reel. Thanks for chiming in, BTW75!

#24 8 years ago
Quoted from o-din:

Re-theme? I guess you could always go with Singer.

I've been found out. ...was trying to keep this a secret.

singer.jpgsinger.jpg

Thanks, Odin. *sigh*

#25 8 years ago

7 of 9 reels are complete:

041415reelD.jpg041415reelD.jpg

Was hoping to show an image of the Super Lube, but this most recent reel was the hundreds reel...without circuit board. See:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme#post-2373917

...for a recap of my revelation.

Since I can't show you my new lube, how about some process pix from this reel:

041415reelA.jpg041415reelA.jpg

041415reelB.jpg041415reelB.jpg

041415reelC.jpg041415reelC.jpg

#26 8 years ago

So I'm moving on to this guy here:

reel15.jpgreel15.jpg

...but for the life of me I can't seem to pull this thousands reel out of the housing. (Every time I think I know what to expect...)

So, I'm pulling, I'm jimmyin', I'm shakin', I'm bobbin' and weavin. No dice. I don't want to get TOO brute-y with it, of course, but I'm definitely using some man-might, and it's not going anywhere.

So I start investigating to see if I can tell where the hang-up is. Front:

frontBracketReel.jpgfrontBracketReel.jpgfrontBracketReelB.jpgfrontBracketReelB.jpgfrontBracketReelC.jpgfrontBracketReelC.jpg

Looks pretty normal, from what I can tell. Plus, I can feel it rattling a little up there, so I don't think that's it.

Back:

underReelBracketB.jpgunderReelBracketB.jpgunderReelBracket.jpgunderReelBracket.jpg

Now, I'm not sure if you can tell from the above two photos, but that clippy-tab thing (did I mention I'm new to tech stuff) is bent back, so it's not holding the score reel in position, as it was designed to do. So, that doesn't seem to be the culprit. However, I'm assuming that someone else also had this predicament (of not being able to extract this reel) at some point in time and put their goon-hand down on that bracket, thinking that was the hang-up. Hrmmm... Short of gettin' rowdy, I was at of loss for how to proceed.

Enter Nick "EM Zen Yogi" Baldridge. (If you've been keeping up with these updates, you're probably noticing a trend. I'm starting to think this guy might need his own plaque on my Swinger when it's done.)

Anyhow, Nick gives me a few suggestions. "Maybe it's the beer." I assured him I had not been drinking. Then he proceeded to tell me that sometimes beer gets spilled on these machines. After it's hardened for 40 years it can act like super-glue. So I jammed a flathead screwdriver between the score reel housing and the metal plate upon which it sits, gently but firmly, at Nick's urging.

Still stuck.

But it was wiggling a bit, so it didn't feel like it was beer-stuck. More like...mechanical stuck. Like an object was preventing it from moving.

Nick also suggested that I might need a different trajectory of pull. Like, instead of straight back, try an upward/vertical pull or diagonal. Sure enough, this did the trick.

I'm still not entirely sure what was making this stick. My suspicion is that it was the little metal tab on the bottom, that one that is not being held in by the bent-back clippy-bracket shown above. I'm imagining maybe that got bent somehow and is preventing the unit from being extracted smoothly, but I'm not certain. I had to drive off to work shortly after excavating the reel, so I'll do a little more poking around soon.

Until our next EM adventure,
Ryan Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
http://www.ElephantEater.com

#28 8 years ago

Boom goes the EM Life Coach.

(Thanks for chiming in here, Nick.)

#29 8 years ago

8 of 9 complete:

reel15b.jpgreel15b.jpg

I'm referring to this score reel as "ole' sticky." Not only was it stubborn about coming out, but the circuit board looked like this:

circuitBoard.jpgcircuitBoard.jpg

circuitBoardB.jpgcircuitBoardB.jpg

Definitely the worst of the bunch, but here it is mid-cleaning after a couple swipes with the green Scotch Brite pad:

circuitBoardC.jpgcircuitBoardC.jpg

...and finished:

circuitBoardE.jpgcircuitBoardE.jpg

It still amazes me how these clean up.

circuitBoardD.jpgcircuitBoardD.jpg

So, I've been trying out some new lube on the Player 1 reels.

superlube.jpgsuperlube.jpg

...and thought I'd post some pictures to make sure I'm doing this right.

circuitBoardF.jpgcircuitBoardF.jpg

I've been told to use this sparingly.

circuitBoardG.jpgcircuitBoardG.jpg

circuitBoardH.jpgcircuitBoardH.jpgcircuitBoardI.jpgcircuitBoardI.jpgcircuitBoardJ.jpgcircuitBoardJ.jpg

Here it is completely lubed:

circuitBoardK.jpgcircuitBoardK.jpg

In some angles it looks a little goopy...

circuitBoardL.jpgcircuitBoardL.jpg

...but it's spread on pretty thin:

circuitBoardM.jpgcircuitBoardM.jpg

One more score reel to go!

#31 8 years ago

Hm! I'll try that on the next (last) reel!

#33 8 years ago
Quoted from PinBiohazard:

is it time for the reveal of the theme

Thanks for the interest, PinBiohazard. I'll likely be sitting on the theme until it's time to start arting this thing. ...sorry. There are only a handful of trusted friends/family that know what I have planned for the re-theme. I think it'll stay that way for a while.

#35 8 years ago

Ha-ha! Awesome. Thanks for the support, PBH.

I will confirm that I am NOT retheme-ing an EM Pinball machine to Mortal Kombat X. *LOL*

That's all you get,
-Ryan

#36 8 years ago

I cleaned my final score reel yesterday. By the end of the day, I ran out of steam before posting here, but here's what happened. After disassembly, I got a little nostalgic sitting there looking at the spread of parts in front of me.

IMG_4649a.jpgIMG_4649a.jpg

9 days ago I would have crapped my pants if you told me to reassemble this. Today I can tell you the exact order, placement, and orientation for reassembly. I'm trying to hold-on to this feeling as I move into other unknowns of cleaning and restoration.

Before tackling the next item of business, I couldn't move-on without taking another couple of pre and post cleaning circuit board shots:

IMG_4650.JPGIMG_4650.JPG

IMG_4651.JPGIMG_4651.JPG

Aw yeah...

Next post I'll show some shot of the super-lube finger spreading (instead of q-tip spreading). For now, we're off on a family Saturday outting. Until then, here's some final reel shots:

IMG_4665.JPGIMG_4665.JPG

9 of 9 reels cleaned!

ba.jpgba.jpg

#37 8 years ago

I wanted to touch base about the Super-Lube application suggestion I received from EM Diplomat, Nick Baldridge:

Quoted from bingopodcast:

for the best consistency I use my finger.

...but also from a few other folks over on this alternate thread:

My problem with finger application of the Super-Lube is that usually by the time I get the score reel mech disassembled enough to apply the grease, my hands tend to look like this:

IMG_4653.JPGIMG_4653.JPG

So, I resorted to a clean Q-tip to begin with. Otherwise, I'd have to stop what I'm doing, go wash up, in a bathroom that's in a far flung region of the hous--IAMLAZYSTOPJUDGINGME!!!

At the urging of the aforementioned folks, I washed my hands. Here's the lube process. I was told to take a TINY bit, a "beebee sized" drop to begin with:

IMG_4664.JPGIMG_4664.JPG

...and then apply it directly with my finger:

IMG_4655.JPGIMG_4655.JPGIMG_4656.JPGIMG_4656.JPG

Here's what it looked like after the fact. I tried to keep it thin, but I'm open to other suggestions.

IMG_4659.JPGIMG_4659.JPG

IMG_4657.JPGIMG_4657.JPG
IMG_4658.JPGIMG_4658.JPG
IMG_4661.JPGIMG_4661.JPG

#38 8 years ago

My electro-mechanical consultant, Nick Baldridge, tells me this will be our next action item:

gapA.jpggapA.jpg

A couple score reels back I asked him if these switches were gapped appropriately:

gapB.jpggapB.jpg

In the photos above, they're supposed to be open and I'm pretty sure they're too close together. For those still following along, you can anxiously anticipate the wonders of rookie switch adjustments in the coming days.

See ya next update,
Ryan

#39 8 years ago

Alright, so I snapped some shots of a score reel with switches I believed to be appropriately gapped. My EM Tutor, Nick Baldridge, confirmed my suspicions to be true. Here's the "0" position:

EDIT: THESE SWITCH POSITION LABELS ARE INCORRECT!!! SEE FOLLOWING POST FOR CORRECTION.

0postionJPG.JPG0postionJPG.JPG

...and a close-up of the same "0" position:

0postionClose.jpg0postionClose.jpg

Here's the "1" position:

1postionJPG.JPG1postionJPG.JPG

...and a close-up of the "1" position:

1postionClose.jpg1postionClose.jpg

Finally, the "other" position:

otherPostion.JPGotherPostion.JPG

...and the "other" position close-up:

otherPostionClose.jpgotherPostionClose.jpg

For any fellow newbs out there, they make a tool for adjusting switches. It looks like this:

switchAdjuster.JPGswitchAdjuster.JPG

For any fellow skinflints, it's available for under $10:

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=1518

Just to give you a little better look at this wacky little lever, here's one side:

switchAdjusterA.JPGswitchAdjusterA.JPG

...and the other side:

switchAdjusterB.JPGswitchAdjusterB.JPG

Here goes. Fingers crossed I don't mangle anything.

#40 8 years ago

A couple days ago I posted some switch positions for my score reels:

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

Here's the "0" position, blah blah blah...

Today I made some time to dig in and adjust some switches. As I'm going down the line of reels, I noticed the positions aren't all the same. (Some reels had all switches open on the 1 position, others on the 0 position.) After consulting with EM Patron Saint, Nicolas Baldridge, he assured me they SHOULD all be the same.

To make a tedious story short, I reassembled the first score reel (Player 2, 10's position) and found that the key on the back of the reel was SLIGHTLY out of position. I'm not sure why this caused it to be an entire number off (maybe I moved something else when reassembling?), but it was correct after I got it back together.

Anyway, for future reference, THIS is the 9 position (pay no attention to image file names):

0postionClose.jpg0postionClose.jpg

THIS is the 0 position:

1postionClose.jpg1postionClose.jpg

...and this here be the "other" position:

otherPostionClose.jpgotherPostionClose.jpg

With that out of the way, I started adjusting switches in the way I was instructed:

1) Tighten switch stack
2) Adjust switches using the switch adjustment tool (see previous post)
. . . a) Whenever possible, adjust the short switch (not the long one)
. . . b) Position tool close to the base of the switch stack, then adjust

So, I set to work adjusting switches. Here's an example of a messy switch stack on the Player 1 1000's reel. These switches should all be open:

openNot.jpgopenNot.jpg

Since they weren't, I started adjusting switches with the above suggestions in mind. Here's what the open switches (0 position) looked like after adjusting:

open.jpgopen.jpg

...and I proceeded to make adjustments so that each of the other states were appropriately gapped. Here's the closed state (9 position):

closed.jpgclosed.jpg

...and the "other" position:

other.jpgother.jpg

There was only one occasion where I did not position the switch adjustment tool on the base of the switch stack when adjusting. There was a long-side of a switch that had the extended portion (above the pad) that was bent in an inappropriate direction. I could tell, no matter how I tweaked the bottom of that switch, the top bend would prevent it from acting as it should in each of the states. So I put my switch adjustment tool on the base of the offending bend, which happened to be right above the switch pad (near the top of the whole switch). After straightening that bend (sorry, I forgot to snap pics of that), then I adjusted from the base, as usual, and things turned out fine and dandy.

Alright, I think the score reels are good to go. Next stop, stepper units!

#42 8 years ago

Hi Shawn,

I'm pretty flattered that you'd stop by this thread as I bumble my way through learning about EM technology (let alone "favorite" it). I've haunted your threads for a while now, and really admire your work.

Congrats on the well-deserved Best in Show at TPF last month. I mentioned this in an alternate thread but my 1.5-year-old son demanded that we watch the Dallas 11 News coverage of your masterpiece again and again. I must admit, I didn't put up much of a fight.

So, sincerely, thanks for stopping by. Also...

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

E-clips? I call 'em "Jesus clips"

...I just about fell out of my seat laughing when I read this. Could see where that was going before the explanation.

Speaking of which, guess what I found!

jesusClip1.jpgjesusClip1.jpg

My long-lost Jesus clip!!!

jesusClip2.jpgjesusClip2.jpg

...a little worse for wear, but I think I can tweak it back into working order.

jesusClip3a.jpgjesusClip3a.jpg

Scratch one item off the parts order.

Stepper units, here I come. ...maybe after a youtube view or two. I hear there's a nasty spring inside waiting to cut me and that I'll need to mark a position or something.

*more preemptive fear*

#43 8 years ago

So here's what I've been looking at for the past couple weeks.

backbox.jpgbackbox.jpg

When we last left, I'd just finished cleaning the score reels and adjusting their switches, so these are done:

backbox2a.jpgbackbox2a.jpg

Now I'm moving on to the stepper units, of which there are 3 (in the backbox):

backbox3.jpgbackbox3.jpg

As a person who is completely new to electronics, it's interesting to notice how I'm starting to view this backbox in a slightly more knowledgeable way. My vision sort of compartmentalizes the backbox into different sections, as I've shown above, which is a far cry from the bog of wires and circuitry it seemed to be a couple of weeks ago.

So, the bottom-right stepper is the credit unit:

creditUnit.jpgcreditUnit.jpg

...followed by the player unit, which determines which set of reels will score, in the bottom-middle:

playerUnitz.jpgplayerUnitz.jpg

Finally, the top-middle stepper is the match unit:

matchUnit.jpgmatchUnit.jpg

...which, like most of the units, is conveniently labeled:

matchUnitLabel.jpgmatchUnitLabel.jpg

This labeling system is something else that surprised me as an EM newb. I'm used to SS & DMD pins that have a bunch of circuit boards that are only labeled via the manual. This struck me as awfully handy. Not to mention...HOW ARE THOSE LABELS STILL ON THERE AFTER 40+ YEARS!??!

Anyhow, here's the other (labeled) side of the match unit:

matchUnitB.jpgmatchUnitB.jpg

You'll notice on the top left of this next picture, I've unscrewed the mounting bracket...

matchUnitA.jpgmatchUnitA.jpg

...however, due to the lack of slack from the wiring harness, the match unit didn't move away from the backbox much at all. So I removed a couple of wiring harness screws...

screw.jpgscrew.jpg

...the ones running along the top of the backbox...

harness.jpgharness.jpg

...in order to give it a bit of slack. It didn't do a whole lot, but it gave it enough wiggle room to do what cleaning and disassembly I needed to do.

Anyhow, here's the main cleaning I did. I took off the wheel...

wheel.jpgwheel.jpg

...and cleaned the rivets underneath. They started out kinda dirty...

rivetsDirty.jpgrivetsDirty.jpg

...but after some green Scotch Brite abrasion, the rivets looked a lot better.

rivetsClean.jpgrivetsClean.jpg

After the cleaning, I rubbed the rivets with a bit of Super Lube, similar to the traces on the score reel PCBs.

On the other side, I removed just a few things. First the solenoid, plunger, and plunger stop:

backA.jpgbackA.jpg

...which allowed me to clean each of them (including the metal plunger sleeve) with some 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. Away they go:

backB.jpgbackB.jpg

And then the gear/shaft piece was able to come out:

gearA.jpggearA.jpg

A little gunky at first...

gearB.jpggearB.jpg

...but after some more cleaning, not too shabby. I used a bit of Scotch Brite persuasion this time.

gearC.jpggearC.jpg

Some more pin-bling:

gearD.jpggearD.jpg

I know there are a lot of pics in this post, but there were a TON more I'm not including. This was a unit I was unfamiliar with, so thank Jesus I took a bunch of disassembly shots. Otherwise, I would have been hosed. In particular, there was a whole spring/lever/gear debacle I got myself into. Thankfully I had an abundant supply of photos to help me solve that puzzle.

Anyhow, here's proof that it's all together again:

together.jpgtogether.jpg

Woo-hoo! (I always breathe a sigh of relief when it's back into one unit.)

As if this post wasn't long enough, I have a couple addendums.

- -- ----- -- -

Addendum #1: When I took the plunger apart, the plunger was a bit...uhm...rounded(?) on top, and the plunger stop was a little cupped. When put together, they sort of fit inside one another...just a little bit. Here, take a look:

plunger.jpgplunger.jpgplungerB.jpgplungerB.jpg

These are the only two pics I have, so I hope they translate what I'm talking about. I only ask because I'm used to seeing flat plunger stops, like this:

stop.jpgstop.jpg

Is this normal? The plunger moves through the sleeve with the greatest of ease, so I don't think it's doing any harm. Just curious if this is customary for EM's.

Addendum #2: Does anyone know what these little screw spacers are called or where I can get them?

screw.jpgscrew.jpg

THANKS!!!

#48 8 years ago

This past weekend I had a couple of family days, and a nice time with my wife and son at Pinball at the Zoo.

2015PatZ.jpg2015PatZ.jpg

^^^Shameless plug.

http://www.elephanteater.com/10641

^^^...and another.

Consequently, this thread has gone dormant for a couple days. Nevertheless, I'm working on the next stepper unit (credit reel), running into some challenges, all which will be documented here soon. However, I wanted to thank you guys for stopping by and leaving some feedback.

RESPONSES!

Quoted from bingopodcast:

The plunger and stop should not fit together like that.

Okay, I had a suspicion that might be the case. I've got that added to the parts order. Gracias, Nick.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Save a buck here, spend more later.

...a good reminder from a fellow skinflint.

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

If you go to the pinball resource and navigate to the springs section he has some great diagrams of what springs go where. I used them a bunch.

Ah-ha! Good call. I'll keep this in mind. Thanks, Shawn.

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:You should replace that bad boy with nylon.

Yah? Why is that? Not trying to be combative, just trying to learn. (I'm certainly not pretending to mask my ignorance in this thread.) Right now the plunger (albeit wacky at the top) moves through the metal sleeve really easily.

*interested*

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

I believe the spacers are called stand offs. I picked some up at Radio Shack. Places like Lowes, Ace and Home Depot should have them as well.

Sweet. I ask only because during the re-theme process, I'm thinking I'd like to add some dimensionality to some of the plastics (if possible...I know the EM PF glass has a pretty low profile), a la:

ww.jpgww.jpg

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

The wife asks that you please stop feeding my ego with kind words. My head is already pretty swollen and we have one more show to go to this year. (I watch my news piece at least once a week and show it to anyone who will stand still for two minutes. There's something great about hearing her say my name without following it with "was arrested today for...)

Ha-ha! I would imagine after the flood of praise in the wake of TPF, your head is having trouble fitting through doors. Well, as deserving of praise that we (hobbyists) know you are, there are always moments like this to bring one back down to earth:

ShawnIsTheMan.jpgShawnIsTheMan.jpg

Respectfully, the "Let's help Shawn not go through the trouble of expanding all his doorways" club.
Owner and President,
Mrs. Shawn.

Also,

Quoted from btw75:

If I were on a budget:
On the sleeve and plunger, I'd consider that it's the match unit and while it gets a ton of work, having a crisply functioning match is not priority #1. If I could clean the sleeve I'd reuse, likewise if I could file the plunger and stop I'd give that a try before replacing . If it was the player unit, bonus unit, a score reel, pop, flipper, etc. I'd replace for sure.

...this sounds reasonable. I'll probably price these out and see if it's worth my while to file (...and buy a file. Yes, seriously. I do not have one.) or just buy new hardware. Thanks, btw75.

Thanks again, all!
Ryan Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
www.ElephantEater.com

#50 8 years ago

Thanks for your insight, Nick!

#52 8 years ago

Okay, another update. Time to clean the...

replayUnit.jpgreplayUnit.jpg

...or credit reel. Or whatever you feel like calling it. Anyhow, it's this thing in the Swinger backbox:

backboxCreditUnit.jpgbackboxCreditUnit.jpg

...and looks like this:

creditUnit.jpgcreditUnit.jpg

The Replay unit (along with the Player Unit) both have that frightening spring I've been warned about. Here's the other side:

replayUnitB.jpgreplayUnitB.jpg

...and this is the spring:

spring.jpgspring.jpg

More on that a few pictures down the line.

After unscrewing the replay unit from the backbox, the first thing I did was actuate the coils to see if they moved the credit reel. They did...sort of. The range of motion was very limited. The reel moved only a few clicks in either direction, and numbers were never visible in the little window thing on the front:

noNumbers.jpgnoNumbers.jpg

At this point I was pretty puzzled. This is my first replay unit disassembly, so I really wasn't sure what needed to happen. EM Wunderkind, Nick Baldridge, set me straight, though. He told me about these posts that stick up out of the gear on the back. They are supposed to set the limits for max and min credits. Sure enough, there they were:

posts.jpgposts.jpg

...and somehow, the switches had become lodged in-between the posts, preventing them from moving more than a few clicks in either direction. The switches are supposed to be on the other side of those posts, with maximum clearance on either side...not lodged in that tiny space.

This meant removing the switch stacks.

I was a little frightened about keeping all those blades and bakelite together in the process of moving them. However, Nick suggested using a twist-tie or a pipe cleaner to temporarily keep them in their unit once the screw was removed. This sounded pretty logical.

Then I noticed this:

hardwareCockBlock.jpghardwareCockBlock.jpg

...a piece of hardware separating the switch stack. This was going to be a challenge, as I realized I would need several additional limbs for this procedure. I took out the nuts and screws holding the stacks in place.

bolts.jpgbolts.jpg

After that I sort of blacked-out. It was a flurry of finger contortions and single-handed multi-holds and when I came to, the stacks had been adequately secured with twisty-ties and there were no switch-blades or bakelite fragments on the floor.

twisttie.jpgtwisttie.jpg

As you can see above, I managed to actuate the gear around so that the switches would no longer be trapped. Then reattached them:

inPlace.jpginPlace.jpg

From there I detached the spring in order to disassemble the coils and coil stops. You remember the spring, right?

spring.jpgspring.jpg

Well, removing it wasn't as death-defying as I'd feared. I can see how if you were just ripping stuff off the unit with reckless abandon that it might "getchya!" But removing it in a calm state of mind will make things go very smoothly.

springOff.jpgspringOff.jpg

The piece of advice that was most helpful to me was a reminder to count the number of rotations of the spring as it came off in order to properly retention the spring during reassembly. My spring took 4 rotations to unwind. Here's my reminder:

rotations.jpgrotations.jpg

With the spring off, I was able to disassemble the coil and coil stops. When doing so, I noticed something else odd:

stopRecessed.jpgstopRecessed.jpg

The coil stop had what looked like a deliberately recessed ring. However, the plunger did not. I looked at the other coil stop and it had a similar looking deliberate recess:

recess.jpgrecess.jpg

Sooo, maybe that wacky coil stop and plunger I found in the match unit...

(Scroll down through this previous installment for a refresher: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme#post-2405941 )

...weren't that wacky after all? Maybe these coil stops aren't meant to be flat. Maybe the formerly flat plunger just began to meld to the shape of that recessed coil stop over time.

Thoughts?

Anyhow, after solenoids and springs and things got reassembled on this side, I unbolted the credit reel itself. However, I couldn't quite figure out how to remove the reel, so I just set about cleaning the surface. Since the reel now seemed to be moving well as it incremented and decremented, I didn't feel like I needed to strip the entire mech apart. Here's a before and after of the credit reel cleaning:

beforeafter.jpgbeforeafter.jpg

Now the unit is reassembled, firmly in place back in the backbox, and lookin' snazzy with numbers visible:

replayUnitC.jpgreplayUnitC.jpg

Next time, player unit.

done.gifdone.gif

2 weeks later
#54 8 years ago
Quoted from PM_Jeremy:

Wow, you are getting good! Fixing other peoples mistakes

Thanks, Cad-kid. ...although this next post might prove otherwise.

- -- ----- -- -

First of all, HI!

hi.gifhi.gif

Pardon my absence. There's been a perfect storm of fixing frustrations and an out-of-state parental visit. Yadda yadda, let's get back to it.

So I'm on to the...

ballcountunit.jpgballcountunit.jpg

...which is located here...

backboxBallCount.jpgbackboxBallCount.jpg

...and looks like this...

ballcountunitA.jpgballcountunitA.jpg

...and this:

ballcountunitB.jpgballcountunitB.jpg

So I did all the usual disassembly, cleaning and copious picture taking.

Including making this crusty ole' cam...

crustyCam.jpgcrustyCam.jpg

...shiny and new again:

crustyCamB.jpgcrustyCamB.jpg

Likewise with the traces. Here's before:

tracesCrusty.jpgtracesCrusty.jpg

...and after:

tracesShiny.jpgtracesShiny.jpg

Finally with a light coating of lube (I know it looks goopy. It's not.)

tracesLube.jpgtracesLube.jpg

However, the thing that is kickin' my butt is the reassembly of those spider-arms. You see...

inthemiddleA.jpginthemiddleA.jpg

...despite taking pictures and marking the position of the arm on the PCB before disassembly, the arms are sitting right in the middle of the traces after each tick.

inthemiddleB.jpginthemiddleB.jpg

What's more, the action of the solenoids are weird. ...like, it will tick up, but then the reset solenoid just sort of allows it to ooze back down. Not real quick or smooth. Plus, I'm not sure how many ticks it should move in either direction.

At a bit of a stand-still. Thoughts?

#57 8 years ago

You guys a radical. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll report back.

1 week later
#58 8 years ago

Hi again,

So this past weekend I exhibited my illustration work (T-shirts, Prints, Magazines, etc) at the VFW Ann Arbor Pinball Museum Showcase. (My picto-wrap-up for those interested: http://www.elephanteater.com/10965/ )

Anyhow, I mention this because while I was there I saw this (fully functional, BTW):

sale.jpgsale.jpg

Uunnngh...

The impatient side of me wanted to throw cash at my problem, sell my barn-dweller, and start on artwork already. However, the practical (and cheap) side of me knows that I'm getting a hell of an education by resurrecting my little heap. ...plus, I'll actually have a fighting chance of diagnosing any future problems on my re-themed machine, which certainly wouldn't be the case if I bought a fully-functional Swinger. Anyhow...there was temptation this past weekend.

But there was also confirmation! You may recall my EM physical trainer mentioning...

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Looking at the unit, you can see two screws under the spider. Loosen them and you will have pivoting ability on the disc.

Well, in one of many pinball-related conversations I had over the weekend, I showed this image to an EM-focused fellow:

tracesLube.jpgtracesLube.jpg

He noticed something we all overlooked on this thread:

PCBcocked.jpgPCBcocked.jpg

...the alignment issue was actually visible!

So I realigned it using the screws that everyone told me about and viola:

corrected.jpgcorrected.jpg

MUCH better.

correctedCloser.jpgcorrectedCloser.jpg

I may tweak this slightly just to get it dead-nuts centered on the traces, but I was pretty happy to have figured-out my problem (with the help of several folks all telling me the same thing).

Now I still have to figure out the sluggish movement of the reset coil...

#61 8 years ago

As I mentioned:

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I still have to figure out the sluggish movement of the reset coil.

because the spider thing was sort of oozing back into a questionable position. Sometimes it would waddle back 6 spaces, sometimes 5, other times 7. It was weird. ...and while I wasn't certain how many traces it was supposed to hop back, I was pretty sure it wasn't a variable amount.

So I tried a little of this:

Quoted from bingopodcast:

increase the tension of the gear spring either by moving its connecting point on the gear or by looping an additional time.

...and some of this:

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Not enough spring tension = easy up but crawls down. Too much spring tension = Won't tick up easily and sometimes plays the same ball twice but returns in a nice snap.

and I think I've got it working as it should. Snap-back is nice and quick, not sluggish as before, and step-up is working pretty easily. I'm also convinced it's supposed to step 10 times. For those in the know, is that true?

Here's the reset position (pictured) and then it steps 10 times after that before it stops:

tracesCounted.jpgtracesCounted.jpg

#62 8 years ago

P.S. I wanted to mention something about the other side of the Ball Count Unit:

ballCountUnitBack052315.jpgballCountUnitBack052315.jpg

Specifically, the switch stack here:

ballCountUnitBack052315switchStack.jpgballCountUnitBack052315switchStack.jpg

...which is terribly difficult to photograph, so I backed it with an old receipt I had lying around:

ballCountUnitBack052315switchStackBacked.jpgballCountUnitBack052315switchStackBacked.jpg

In my infinite newb wisdom, I figured I'd better check the switches to make sure everything looked like it was doing what it was supposed to. So here's the reset position:

ballCountUnitBack052315switchStackBacked00.jpgballCountUnitBack052315switchStackBacked00.jpg

...and as the unit begins to step, the gear turns and the little gear rod pushing on the switch stack begins to move away. Here's the first step away from reset (I labeled it the one position in my previous post):

ballCountUnitBack052315switchStackBacked01.jpgballCountUnitBack052315switchStackBacked01.jpg

And here's the two position (which, I'm assuming, should be the same thing as the one position):

ballCountUnitBack052315switchStackBacked02.jpgballCountUnitBack052315switchStackBacked02.jpg

However, when I watched the movement of the switches from the 0 to the 1 position, I felt like something was amiss. The connection of the switches seemed to be...faint, at best. Once I took a closer look at the photos from above, I noticed there is a slight gap between the right switches at the 1 position, when it appears they should be touching. Here's a little closer zoom of the switches at the 1 position:

ballCountUnitBack052315switchStackBacked01zoom.jpgballCountUnitBack052315switchStackBacked01zoom.jpg

So, it appears as though I have a bit of switch adjustment ahead of me before I put this unit to bed.

3 weeks later
#63 8 years ago

On the off-chance someone is wondering about this thread, I am not dead, nor is this project. My family and I are taking advantage of our summer vacation (wife and I are both teachers) and making some time to visit our parents in California (our homeland). As I've discovered, it's difficult to work on a pin from 10 states away. Nevertheless, I should be back at it around late July or so. In the meantime, if anyone is planning to attend Comic-Con International in San Diego, I'll be exhibiting my comics and a bunch of pinball-related illustrations in the Small Press Pavilion:

http://www.elephanteater.com/10597

See you back here in a month or so,
Ryan

#65 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Suh-weet! I have always wanted to do the San Diego C-Con. Have fun!

Many thanks. I'll post some pics.

#66 8 years ago

I was recently interviewed on the 100th episode of "For Amusement Only - The EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast." I mention this here only because we talk quite a bit about this Swinger restore/retheme project. Here's the permalink for anyone interested:

http://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-100-interview-with-ryan-claytor-5-25-15

2 weeks later
#67 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

San Diego C-Con

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I'll post some pics

As promised...

Here's my family at my table:

IMG_6398.JPGIMG_6398.JPG

Again, with one of my favorite artists (Sergio Aragones):

IMG_6403.JPGIMG_6403.JPG

Then my son pee'd on me:

IMG_6406.JPGIMG_6406.JPG

After a shirt change, I met fellow Pinsider, Girloveswaffles:

IMG_6414.JPGIMG_6414.JPG

Lionman, indeed! Gave him one of two remaining Pinside bracelets I had (which came directly from Robin):

IMG_6416.JPGIMG_6416.JPG

The other one went to Steven Howearth of popculturemaven.com, another Pinsider at Comic-Con.

One day down, four more to go. *phew*

#69 8 years ago

Still not home, but figured I'd mention a massive Comic-Con picto-post that just went live on my website:

http://www.elephanteater.com/11042

...until the next Swinger update.

#71 8 years ago

Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash.

#73 8 years ago
Quoted from LyonsRonnie1:

Really cool restore, you're doing a great job!

Many thanks, LyonsRonnie1. It's my first EM restore and, as you can see from this thread, I'm receiving A LOT of help. I'd be hosed if it weren't for many of the gentlefolk chiming in on this thread.

Speaking of which:

Quoted from LyonsRonnie1:

About those coil stops. The reason they have that weird profile with the ring in the middle, etc. is because on EM games the coils are run by AC power instead of DC power and the copper in the coil stop makes the coil not 'buzz' when the plunger is pulled all the way in, up against the coil stop. I'm not positive if they were originally flat, because I've never seen any that weren't at least 35 years old!

Very interesting! Great to know, and thanks for contributing to my EM education!

Sincerely,
Ryan Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
www.ElephantEater.com

1 week later
#74 8 years ago
Quoted from RyanClaytor:

See you back here in a month or so

Hello, again.

After back-to-back out-of-state convention weekends...

- Comic-Con International: http://www.elephanteater.com/11042

- Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (S.P.A.C.E.): http://www.elephanteater.com/11050

...I finally had a chance to dig into ole' Swingy again. For all intents and purposes, the back box is complete, so I'm moving onto the cabinet.

IMG_6923.jpgIMG_6923.jpg

This posed a particular challenge:

IMG_6919.jpgIMG_6919.jpg

Mold...or something...

IMG_6920.jpgIMG_6920.jpg

I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I'm going to call it mildew for the rest of this post just to give myself a naive sense of security about my life expectancy after cleaning it.

So, I went about carefully removing Jones plugs...

IMG_6928.jpgIMG_6928.jpg

...and unscrewing the bottom board screws...

IMG_6934.jpgIMG_6934.jpg

IMG_6935.jpgIMG_6935.jpg

...so that I could take that mess out of the cabinet and work on it a little easier.

IMG_6936.jpgIMG_6936.jpg

In case I haven't mentioned my goal here, it's to strip the bottom board of all its components, sand away all the mold--er, I mean...MILDEW(!!!) and then reassemble.

As usual, this new (for me) process totally frightened me, but the bottom board removal was pretty easy (seriously, two screws and some Jones plugs, and out it came). I also took a million pictures before and during disassembly from every possible angle and step of deconstruction. During this time, I also did my best to organize the various screws into labelled bags...

IMG_6998.jpgIMG_6998.jpg

...in order to make reassembly easier on myself.

#75 8 years ago

Hey, what do you know! There's a new 8 photo-per-post limit! Ha-ha! I'm going to assume that was instated because of me.

Alright, on with the update. So, part of the reason I'm detailing this process is to show folks new to the EM side of the hobby (like myself) that EM maintenance is something approachable. I certainly don't know everything, as is evident from my labeling system:

IMG_6942.jpgIMG_6942.jpg

...but I make due until someone educates me (which I'm hoping will happen in this case...what IS that thing, anyway?).

So, I continued unscrewing components until everything was loose on the bottom board. At that point, I did my best to slide everything off the board, in it's original orientation, and onto my working surface (the ground of my garage...note to self: get a work bench, my back is angry).

IMG_6956.jpgIMG_6956.jpg

From there, I pealed off and unstapled several labels (again, copious pictures have been shot for reference on where to re-adhere them).

IMG_6963.jpgIMG_6963.jpg

Now that the board was bare, I took it out for sanding.

IMG_6968.jpgIMG_6968.jpg

I propped it up, made sure to be upwind, mask on, and long-sleeve/pants in an effort to avoid inhaling any junk removed from the board.

IMG_6969.jpgIMG_6969.jpg

So, the sanding begins...

IMG_6970.jpgIMG_6970.jpg

The only spot left that wasn't pristine after some light sanding was underneath the transformer, as I couldn't figure out how to remove those four bolts (no recessed area to insert a screwdriver, completely SMOOTH BOLT-HEADS[!??!]) and my sander couldn't fit inside that little area...

IMG_6975.jpgIMG_6975.jpg

...so I did my best to hand-sand that portion.

IMG_6976.jpgIMG_6976.jpg

#76 8 years ago

So this is what I ended up with.

IMG_6978.jpgIMG_6978.jpg

Surprisingly, the bottom of the bottom board wasn't too shabby, just a bit discolored:

IMG_6977.jpgIMG_6977.jpg

Not that anyone will ever see the bottom of the bottom board, but I figured I'd give it a brief sand while I had it out.

IMG_6979.jpgIMG_6979.jpg

As you can see above, I knocked it back a bit, but didn't want to take off too much wood. Good enough for my tastes.

Moving on! Back in the garage, the bottom board is ready for reassembly...

IMG_6980.jpgIMG_6980.jpg

...but I wanted to clean the components a bit before screwing them back onto the bottom board, just to keep it as clean as possible. Surprisingly enough, the components' feet were pretty clean already! Here's the bottom of the transformer (pardon the garage backlighting):

IMG_6987.jpgIMG_6987.jpg

But others needed a little elbow grease.

IMG_6989.jpgIMG_6989.jpg

I used a rag with some 91% isopropyl alcohol...

IMG_6990.jpgIMG_6990.jpg

...which worked reasonably well...

IMG_6991.jpgIMG_6991.jpg

...although. my guess is there are better products to use. Unfortunately, I didn't have them on-hand and was in a time-crunch to reassemble this by the end of the day. Adequate for now, I suppose, but I'd be happy to hear alternate suggestions for better cleaning solutions.

#77 8 years ago

Okay, so components are cleaned and ready to be re-attached to the bottom board. But you may remember this little mess:

IMG_6963.jpgIMG_6963.jpg

I really didn't want to reattach the cruddy lables, so I scanned in them:

fontCloseEnough1.jpgfontCloseEnough1.jpg

Cleaned up an area of the font and uploaded it to an online font-finder (in this case, "What the Font" - http://www.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/ ...although I'm sure there are others, too):

whatTheFont.jpgwhatTheFont.jpg

WTF showed me a couple examples that were close, but not perfect. It also wanted me to pay upwards of $70 for a font. In my opinion, not worth it. I used an existing font on my computer (Arial - Bold) which was also close but not perfect, with the added benefit of being free. Here's my comparison (original scan on the left with Arial Bold recreation on the right):

fontCloseEnough.jpgfontCloseEnough.jpg

Once again, good enough for me. Here's my remastered label:

fontCloseEnough2.jpgfontCloseEnough2.jpg

I printed it (black and white lazerjet) on a sheet of bristol I had lying around (the preferred paper of comic book artists)...

unnamed.jpgunnamed.jpg

...as it mimicked the weight of the original cardstock nicely. Finally, here's the newly remastered, printed, and trimmed lablel underneath the relays as it was before:

IMG_7001.jpgIMG_7001.jpg

As I mentioned, I was pressed for time, so I didn't recreate the labels that weren't screwed underneath a mech.

LabelsBottomBoard.jpgLabelsBottomBoard.jpg

I figured I could always stick those atop the board on a different day.

#78 8 years ago

Finally, after all the components were screwed back onto the backboard, I gave the cabinet a quick cleaning. I was pleasantly surprised that there weren't any nests or carcasses (carcai? carcass'? carcassesesessssees?) under the bottom board. (I've heard horror stories.) In fact, I was really happy to see how clean it was despite how cruddy the bottom board above it had become!

IMG_6994.jpgIMG_6994.jpg

There was mainly a thin covering of dust and some very light "mildew." (Again, I donned a mask and long everything as I cleaned this. Not the most pleasurable precaution in 90 degree weather, but better that than mold-cancer.)

In addition to a quarter (Woo-hoo!!!) I also pulled out a little pile of junk:

IMG_6995.jpgIMG_6995.jpg

...from which I salvaged these:

IMG_6996.jpgIMG_6996.jpg

I'm not certain what they're for, but I assume they belong to parts on the playfield. I filed them away in another plastic baggie and stored them for a later date. In the meantime, here's the cleaned cabinet:

IMG_7002.jpgIMG_7002.jpg

...and here's the bottom board back in place.

IMG_7008.jpgIMG_7008.jpg

This was a solid day's work for me, but that was largely due to the fact that I was cobbling together a make-shift work space:

IMG_6981.jpgIMG_6981.jpg

...and pulling supplies from seemingly every room in the house. I'd love to have a dedicated work area that I could stock with restoration necessities, but we moved into our house a year ago, and while largely settled, we're still ironing out where everything will go. Anyhow, another task completed.

Until next time!

#81 8 years ago
Quoted from FrankJ:

Man, that was a lot of work.

My initial estimate was a couple of hours. 7 hours later...

Quoted from FrankJ:

When a bottom board is that bad I just pull it from the game, mean green it, hose it down good, and let it sit out for a few days to dry.

...is that an accepted practice?

Quoted from rufessor:

The coggy thing is the score motor-

Quoted from rufessor:

The screw you pulled from the bottom that has the sharp pointed tip is a lock screw for the flipper shaft

Quoted from rufessor:

the other stuff might possibly be from stepper unit rivets

(Yay, knowledge!!!)

I'll have to take another look at the units with rivets when I have a moment.

Quoted from rufessor:

Looking really good- congratulations on a great job saving that part of the game.

Gracias!

Quoted from rufessor:

And best wishes during your recovery from black lung

Thanks for chiming in here, FrankJ and rufessor!

#83 8 years ago
Quoted from bingopodcast:

You can mean green and hose or just hose, but stuff will get trapped under other stuff.

That'd be my fear, with all the little crevices I would think there'd be some trace dampness even if you let it dry. With my pre-existing "mildew" problem in this machine, I wouldn't want to do anything to coax it back into existence.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Time constraints are no good

Agreed. Next work sesh I'll tell job/wife/kid where they can go.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

I would suggest just hanging onto them until you start troubleshooting gameplay for now.

Done!

Quoted from bingopodcast:

May not be needed at all. We'll find out soon!

In case anyone has forgotten, Nick has been my CEO (Chief Electromechanical Officer) on this project. I've had a lot of help getting this project to the point it is now, but I can assure you it wouldn't be half the pile of parts you currently see without his help. Many thanks, Nick.

Also, it's probably about time for my periodic Nick Baldridge show plug: http://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/

If you've read eighty-some-odd posts of this thread, you'll love this -------^^^^^^^^

forAmusementOnly.jpgforAmusementOnly.jpg

#85 8 years ago

Today, I moved the cabinet back into my basement (from the garage after the bottom board sanding) and actually stood it up on legs for the first time.

IMG_7034.jpgIMG_7034.jpg

I think I'm done with the cabinet stuff for the time being and will be moving onto stripping down the playfield goodies for a good cleaning. But before I started, I took one final look at the bottom board (...to admire my handy-work? ...to inspect after moving? I'm not really sure why I did it).

IMG_7035.jpgIMG_7035.jpg

...but when I did, I noticed something odd:

IMG_7036.jpgIMG_7036.jpg

Those 3 central relays you see two images above WERE NOT SCREWED ONTO THE BOTTOM BOARD!!!

I guess that would explain the bag of extra screws I had from my bottom board experience. Unfortunately, there weren't ENOUGH screws left in the bag.

So off to the big-box hardware store I went.

IMG_7076.jpgIMG_7076.jpg

With everything right in the world of the bottom board's neglected relays (screwed back in place with another...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

newly remastered, printed, and trimmed lablel underneath

IMG_7092.jpgIMG_7092.jpg

...I could then move onto the playfield, which looked something like this:

IMG_7037.jpgIMG_7037.jpg

As I inspected and shot another gajillion images for my how-to-put-this-thing-back-together visual manual, I was reminded of the inventive rubbering job on this hard-ridden beast.

IMG_7052.jpgIMG_7052.jpg

#87 8 years ago

So my first item of playfield stripping business was to take off all the plastics:

IMG_7077.jpgIMG_7077.jpg

Followed by all the posts:

IMG_7093.jpgIMG_7093.jpg

I showed my wife these pictures, who has also seen the playfield first-hand, and she remarked at how nice the pictures made the playfield look, when in reality it needs quite a bit of cleaning:

IMG_7055.jpgIMG_7055.jpg

When finished stripping the plastics and posts, I had a lovely pile of mismatched keepsakes.

IMG_7062.jpgIMG_7062.jpg

And of course, my usual bags of labeled parts to help me with the ever-fear-inducing task of getting things back together the way I found them.

IMG_7094.jpgIMG_7094.jpg

That's basically where things sit as of today. I did run across a question for any EM aficionados in the group here. It's something I spotted when pulling up one of the plastics:

IMG_7056.jpgIMG_7056.jpg

A finishing nail under the plastic(!??!)

IMG_7059.jpgIMG_7059.jpg

I thought this may have just been another odd hack to add to the list on this machine. I mean, if you look where the nail is in the playfield, it almost appears as though there used to be a post in its place, due to the circular indentations around the nail. However, the opposite plastic had the same thing, a nail driven into the playfield to just about the height of the plastic. Unfortunately, this particular nail was starting to take off the artwork on the plastic above:

IMG_7057.jpgIMG_7057.jpg

So, any thoughts on that? It doesn't seem like it is needed to support the plastic, which is the only (somewhat) reasonable explanation I could think of as to why they may have been put there originally in the factory. Anyhow, I'll be interested to hear from someone more knowledgable on this subject.

#90 8 years ago
Quoted from bingopodcast:

It's factory ... This is to prevent the bal from getting trapped behind the switch in the event the rubber gives way.

Huh! Kind of odd. Maybe it's just me, but I'm looking at that configuration under the plastic and I'm not seeing how it would do a ton of good. I'm considering not replacing it after pulling it out. Keeping in mind this machine will be in a home environment with rubbers kept up so as to not "give way."

At that point, is there any reason taking-out the under-plastic nail completely would be a bad idea?

#91 8 years ago
Quoted from bingopodcast:

BTW, you'll want to take off the flippers and bumpers, apron and arch to do your big clean.

I promise.

#92 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Intentional double entendre?

Wha--?

#93 8 years ago
Quoted from FrankJ:

Give me a moldy machine, one that has been drenched in lube, or mouse pee and I'll Mean Green and hose it every time.

Wows! I swear I'm not judging. Just learning. (EM noob, here.) I woulda never thought...

Quoted from FrankJ:

Common practice, no. I've probably done it to 10-20 of the hundred's of games I've owned. Some games were abused to the point that a severe method is necessary. As moldy as your game appeared, I would have done it.

Hm! I'll keep this in mind for my next barn-rescue. Thanks, FrankJ.

#96 8 years ago

Thanks, Bruce! Much appreciated.

Quoted from PinballFever:

It's inspiring me to tackle my project non working FOUR player machine.

Even better!!!

Quoted from PinballFever:

1a. Why choose an EM and why choose this machine?

Well...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

It seemed like the perfect fit for my first attempt at a re-theme for a few reasons:
A) It's a fun game with lots to do (moving target in center of playfield, up-post between flippers, kick-back in the left outlane, ball return gate in the right outlane, etc)
B) While it's a fun game, the art package is a lack-luster phone-in by Christian Marche, so I won't feel bad sanding it down to put my own art in it's place.
C) Re-theming an EM seems like a more managable project, as I'll be able to mainly focus on the fun stuff: ART (not sound, modifying displays, coding rules, and other technical things that frighten artists)

Quoted from PinballFever:

1b. Your other thread stated you didn't want to use an EM?

I'm racking my brain and can't remember saying such a thing. I'm happy to be proven wrong though, it happens often.

Quoted from PinballFever:

2. Did you file or clean the contacts while working on them?

Not yet!

Quoted from PinballFever:

3. If you're planning to clean the playfield then I'm making an educated guess here that you're not planning to replace the original PF art with yours?

A fine assumption, but I DO plan on sanding down the PF and putting my own art on it. I'm going through the whole teardown and playfield cleaning process just to make sure I can get all this in working order. I'll play it for a while and hopefully hone my re-theme ideas. I already have a theme firmly in mind, but just want to make sure I understand gameplay/ball-travel/etc before relabeling various mechanics/rules/toys.

Thanks for stopping by, Bruce!

#97 8 years ago

Just a quick one today. Last eveing I had barely enough time to start digging into flipper disassembly. This is what I found on the left flipper mech:

IMG_7109.jpgIMG_7109.jpg

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that flipper coil looks mighty toasty.

IMG_7110.jpgIMG_7110.jpg

...and that bushing...

IMG_7111.jpgIMG_7111.jpg

OH! ...that bushing. LOL

Obviously a questionable attempt to secure a broken bushing with the metal (leather, paper, I'm not sure yet) wrapped around the bushing, but it's also broken and glued(?) at the base of the cylinder of the bushing. ...just sort of wobbling around with some sticky substance visible as it shifts.

Anyhow, the right flipper bushing also has it's own issue:

IMG_7115.jpgIMG_7115.jpg

That's all the news I have for this mini-update.

#101 8 years ago
Quoted from PinballFever:

and that's where I wondered when you changed your mind about an EM for this retheme and why..

Ha-ha! Wows, Bruce. I bow to your exhaustive research. Honestly, I'd forgotten about that thread until you mentioned it right now. *LOL* That's sort of a fun romp down (lack-of)memory lane. But, indeed you are correct and my faulty memory was very wrong.

Now with my memory jogged, I remember when I got back into the hobby (I had JUST purchased my first machine [Williams Whirlwind] when I started your aforementioned thread 3 years ago!) I was pretty focused on solid-state/DMD titles. I even remember making my Pinside profile at the time and marking those little interest boxes (stating which era machines you prefer) and wondering if I'd ever have the requisite number of decades under my belt to considering checking the early and late EM options.

Well, since that time, I'm proud to report that I've played a number of EM games, done a fair amount of reading on the rich history of pinball, listened to a lot of podcasts, and have come to appreciate the different type of gameplay that EM pinball machines (and arcade games) have to offer. Somewhere along the line, in the past year or two I'd guess, I rejiggered my profile and checked ALL those boxes for my era preferences.

With my altered appreciation for EM games, a whole new collection of (re-theme) possibilities opened up to me. I deliberately started playing more EM pingames whenever I had the chance, often with a specific eye for:

1) Enjoyable gameplay
2) Lack-luster art package

I believe it was at Clay's Ann Arbor Pinball Museum (either late 2013 after backing his kickstarter campaign or a few months later during his first Ann Arbor Pinball Showcase in 2014) that I had the pleasure of playing a Fun-Fest.

funfest.jpgfunfest.jpg

I remember having a lot of fun on it, not loving the playfield artwork, and coming to find out that Fun-Fest had a 2-player counterpart in Swinger. Since that time (whatever it was...memory) I've been putting out some feelers for a Swinger machine, either project or working. Thankfully, back at the beginning of this year, Super-Collector John Dayhuff got a line on a barn-dwelling Swinger, remembered I was in the market for one, and graciously passed the seller's info along to me.

Since that fateful purchase, I've had various mood-SWINGS about whether or not I should have held out for a better (working) example of Swinger, but ultimately I've come to the conclusion that:

A) If I purchased a working version, I'd be in the same pit of ignorance I was at the start of this project, and while I might have a re-art'ed machine by now, I'd have no idea how to maintain it.
B) I've made some really great friends along this restoration journey, which is ultimately what this hobby is all about...the people.

So, there's the full story, as best as I can recall. *LOL* Thanks for the memory jog, Bruce, and for proving me wrong. (My wife's not surprised it happened...again.)

#103 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Replace both of those bad boys.

I dunno. I could probably squeeze a few more plays out of them, right?

(Already added to my Pinball Resource order list.)

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

bushings were held to the bottom with nylock nuts. Yours appear to be merely screwed in from the bottom. I am sure someone else will say if that is correct or not.

Nick?

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

As you are working the bottom of the playfield, disassemble and clean the whole mech

Hm. Okay. So...

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

check the soldering job on the lugs

I'm guessing if a solder joint has come loose, depending on which one, it might burn up the coil? (Just trying to understand what might have happened here...still learning.)

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

the gap of the EOS switch

...and if the EOS switch never opens, then the 50v power is never switched over to the lower voltage (what...10v? 12v?) and a hold on 50v power would probably light things up on the coil? (...again, trying to understand this beast a little better.)

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

It's amazing how snappy those things get with just some TLC.

REEEally? I would have suspected those coils were long gone. What sort of TLC would you suggest?

Yeah...kinda rocketed past burn on that one. *LOL* Thanks for keepin' me humble, Bruce.

Finally, because I didn't have an excuse to post a picture:

4900.gif4900.gif

#104 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

bushings were held to the bottom with nylock nuts. Yours appear to be merely screwed in from the bottom. I am sure someone else will say if that is correct or not.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

That is correct. For a time, all four main manufacturers used similar bushing styles. Shortly after this, Williams changed to the threaded nail/nut combo you mention. I like this version better since it doesn't show up on top of the playfield.

Beat me to the punch!

Thanks, Nick.

#106 8 years ago

Bruce!

You're using images, quoting ad nauseam, and interested in rethemes. I'm starting to think we might be not-so-distantly related. *LOL* ...except for the fact that you're about to pull the trigger on the wrong machine.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-backglass-availability#post-2597976

I KID, I kid. To each their own, Lady Luck sounds like it could have some interesting gameplay, and Swinger does have a LOT of pink to contend with if you don't plan on retheming it.

Anyhow...

Quoted from PinballFever:

someday I'd like to do a cartoon retheme but again mum's the word what my idea is

...I hear you...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I want to make sure this machine can and will run 100% before I spend a bunch of time on aesthetics. So, my re-theme reveal may take a little while.

...would you look at that. We're both teases, too.

In all seriousness, nice seein' you around here, Bruce, and best of luck with your next pin decision-making.

Have a good night,
-Ryan

sprockets.gifsprockets.gif

#107 8 years ago

Had a little time to contine PF topside teardown. This time I got the flippers out and discovered some peculiarities akong the way. For starters, the flipper pawl...

unnamed (1).jpgunnamed (1).jpg

...had bitten into the shaft pretty hard and worn a deep groove around much of it:

unnamed.jpgunnamed.jpg

Hard to photograph, but that's the best shot I had.

Also worth mentioning, the flipper pawl screws that hold the shaft in place were different on each pawl. Tiny allen heads on the left (first image) and slightly larger flathead screws on the right pawl.

unnamed (8).jpgunnamed (8).jpg

Is there a standard? Does it matter? Should I keep these or are new parts in order?

In other news, for those wondering from the previous installment, the answer is metal. This bushing is wrapped in metal. Surprisingly strong metal.

unnamed (2).jpgunnamed (2).jpg

I can't imagine a shortage of bushings in the 70's, but this would certainly suggest those 50-cent parts were going out of style.

So that image above was my left flipper bushing. This one below was my right:

unnamed (3).jpgunnamed (3).jpg

...which instantly came apart the moment it was unscrewed.

Another question; does anyone know what these little wraps of tape-like stuff are on the flipper coils? I noticed one on that toasty left coil from my previous post, and then another as I was disassembling this right one:

unnamed (4).jpgunnamed (4).jpg

Then there was this...

unnamed (5).jpgunnamed (5).jpg

...which I'm assuming will provide some fun later.

Anyhow, flippers are out!

unnamed (6).jpgunnamed (6).jpg

#109 8 years ago

Nick!

Thanks for bullet-pointing answers to my list of questions here publicly, and for your tireless patience coaching me through this project privately.

#110 8 years ago

So, I started my mini-sesh today by depopulating all the bulbs on the playfield, both under plastics and under pop caps. I only took the top screws out of the pop bumpers (the ones that hold on the caps) and the two inside the pop bodies (the ones on either side of the bulb):

IMG_7226.jpgIMG_7226.jpg

...but didn't have time to completely disassemble the pop bumpers (also preparing for a brief family vay-cay tomorrow), so we'll all have that to anticipate in a future update.

Before moving on, I have another question. It looked like a lot of these pop bumper bodies were...minorly wrecked.

IMG_7227b.jpgIMG_7227b.jpg

Like, they seem to be all in one piece, generally, but there are places where the body is cracked (above image, left hand) and portions where the plastic body was bashed open (above image, right hand).

...and this seemed to be present on most of the pop bodies:

IMG_7227.jpgIMG_7227.jpg

I guess my question is, should I add another few parts (pop bumper bodies) to my parts order list, or will everything function fine and dandy as is?

Next item of business was the ball arch (photo taken prior to bumper cap removal, obvs...):

IMG_7213.jpgIMG_7213.jpg

Even after listening to Nick's 'cast on ball arch removal/cleaning:

http://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-38-ball-arch-cleaning

...I was still surprised surprised to see the construction of it, with the top portion coming off first:

IMG_7217.jpgIMG_7217.jpg

Behold that glorious pink ball arch cover. Just out of curiosity; is that a great ball arch...or the greatest ball arch? I mean, it's probably the only pink arch cover in existence, right? (Looking forward to a more astute historian proving me wrong.)

Below the delicately romantic arch cover was a metal spacer bar thing...

IMG_7220.jpgIMG_7220.jpg

...and then the actual ball arch (which the ball hugs upon a plunge) was sandwiched into a couple slots in the wooden side-rails and between another spacer bar underneath:

IMG_7221.jpgIMG_7221.jpg

Nick does a fine job of describing the arch construction on his aforementioned cast, but I'm a hopelessly visual person (remember: comics artist). While the audio descriptions definitely prepped me for my job ahead, it was interesting to physically deconstruct the ball arch set-up for the first time.

So, this is kinda where I'm at right now...

IMG_7222.jpgIMG_7222.jpg

#111 8 years ago

...with no bulbs, ball arch, or pop caps:

IMG_7224.jpgIMG_7224.jpg

...and a few more meticulously labeled baggies:

IMG_7225.jpgIMG_7225.jpg

See y'all after the family vacation!

#113 8 years ago
Quoted from bingopodcast:

You can probably save on the caps since you'll likely be repainting them for the retheme.

Already planning to order a set of blanks so that I can paint fresh, a la my Jubilee Pop-Bumper Cap Restore:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/restoration-jubilee-pop-bumper-caps-my-first-airbrush-experience

Quoted from bingopodcast:

...everything else...

Educational as always. Thanks, Nick!

1 week later
#115 8 years ago
Quoted from PinballFever:

I'm reading your thread with interest and also read your pop bumper repaint link. Nice job there.

Many thanks, Bruce. Much appreciated.

ONGEIN_NL_happiness.gifONGEIN_NL_happiness.gif

#116 8 years ago

The next thing on my list was to remove the pop bumper bodies. In order to do that I needed to lift the playfield. However, without my crap-catcher...er, I mean...BALL ARCH (see previous post for removal documentation/excitement), I was afraid all of this...

IMG_7311.jpgIMG_7311.jpg

...and this...

IMG_7309.jpgIMG_7309.jpg

...would end up in the bottom of my freshly cleaned cabinet. So I did a little tidying up topside before lifting the hood.

Brief aside #1: I've never removed a pop bumper before, so like most tech stuff on this project, I was worried and wasn't sure where to start. Thankfully, Nick was there with his usual patience, hand-holding, and nerve-calming. ...and, truth be told, it wasn't all that difficult when all was said and done.

To begin, I'd already removed the screws holding the pop body to the playfield during my last sesh:

IMG_7312.jpgIMG_7312.jpg

So, up the playfield went.

Brief aside #2: During one of the previous playfield stripping go-rounds (I can't remember which at this point, but maybe the flipper mech disassembly...or perhaps the plastics and posts removal...anyway), I dropped an embarrassing number of nuts down into the depths of the cabinet. For someone who hasn't worked on an EM before, trying to fish-out tiny pieces from between all the nooks and crannies of the bottom board relays was a frustrating experience to say the least. This time, I laid down an old shirt to catch any potentially dropped screws (it saved me this time!) and even errant "solder bombs" (Trademark: Nick Baldridge).

IMG_7322.jpgIMG_7322.jpg

Underneath, it turns out you only have to unscrew a few things. First, there are a couple of nuts securing the slammy bit of the pop bumper to the coil:

IMG_7313a.jpgIMG_7313a.jpg

Then there are a couple of wires leading to the pop bumper light socket on the top of the playfield. These need to be unsoldered (red hands):

IMG_7313b.jpgIMG_7313b.jpg

...and then the pop body on the top of the playfield will lift right off.

However, I wasn't confident enough in my desoldering abilities, nor was I dexterous enough to wedge my soldering gun underneath the coil mech, so I unscrewed three more screws (green hands):

IMG_7313.jpgIMG_7313.jpg

...in order to move the coil mech out of the way.

#118 8 years ago

Once I had better access to the pop bumper lamps socket leads...

IMG_7319.jpgIMG_7319.jpg

(Here's a little better look):

IMG_7321.jpgIMG_7321.jpg

...it was a cinch to desolder:

IMG_7325.jpgIMG_7325.jpg

From here, the pop body was loose, but the lamp socket leads have a bit of a bend as they descend below the playfield, so I used some needle-nose pliers to bend them back straight for extraction:

IMG_7329.jpgIMG_7329.jpg

...at which point I was finally able to remove my first pop bumper:

IMG_7331.jpgIMG_7331.jpg

Once out, it was pretty interesting to examine the mechanisum. I never really understood what everything looked like or how it worked.

These rods, for example, are part of the slammy bit that pushes the ball away on top of the playfield and are connected to the pop bumper coil on the bottom of the playfield:

IMG_7331b.jpgIMG_7331b.jpg

This silver-ish rods are the lamp socket leads that decend below the playfield:

IMG_7331c.jpgIMG_7331c.jpg

...and finally, this springy disc thing (on top of the playfield) moves the rod (below the playfield) when the ball comes in contact with the springy disc thing. The rod, regardless of which direction it moves, actuates a little spoon switch, which tells the coil to activate, sending the slammy bit down and pushing the ball away:

IMG_7331d.jpgIMG_7331d.jpg

SO COOL!!!

#119 8 years ago

At last, I've exposed the area under the pop bumper in order to better clean-up the playfield:

IMG_7336.jpgIMG_7336.jpg

One down, 4 to go:

IMG_7333.jpgIMG_7333.jpg

See you again during reassembly, little pop bumper!

#120 8 years ago
Quoted from bingopodcast:

Ryan, you hardly need me any more *sniff*

Sounds like wishful thinking on your part, Nick.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

You're going to have this thing cleaned up and playing like a dream very soon.

Tryin' to keep at it slow and steady. With your help, I've managed to continue eating this elephant.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Good job! And pops are a skill that transfers to any machine (with pops or passive bumpers).

Huh! Interesting!!! I guess I'll find our more about that when I get to the two passive pop bumpers up top.

#121 8 years ago

To make a long story short, this was the start of the evening:

IMG_7366.jpgIMG_7366.jpg

...and this was the end:

IMG_7380.jpgIMG_7380.jpg

Two more pops disassembled and I feel like I'm inching ever closer to a clean playfield. Read on for the reality show pseudo-drama.

Tonight's oddity came in the form of a pop-bumper lamp socket lead solder joint:

IMG_7372.jpgIMG_7372.jpg

...at least I thought it was a solder joint on first glance. On closer inspection, nothing was connected at all:

IMG_7374.jpgIMG_7374.jpg

If there once was solder joining these two parts, I didn't see it.

So that was pop bumper removal number two. The third pop bumper I dealt with had a tight rod and ring set in the area where the rods screw into the part that is attached to the coil. Basically, I really had to brute-force that coil off of the rod and ring assembly, formerly referred to as...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...the slammy bit.

When the connection finally gave, I felt one of the wires' solder joints go pop. Sure enough, there was a lonely wire hanging from the coil:

IMG_7371a.jpgIMG_7371a.jpg

The moment it happened, I had a pang of panic as I realized I had no idea where this wire needed to go. Thankfully, I soon realized I had four other pop bumpers to compare it to. The rest of the pop coil wires in that position seemed to be soldered to their adjacent switch stacks. Low and behold, the adjacent switch stack had a bare blob of solder:

IMG_7371b.jpgIMG_7371b.jpg

I'm pretty certain that is where it's supposed to go. Regardless, it's there now.

IMG_7379.jpgIMG_7379.jpg

The only other difficulties I had in tonight's session where a couple of hard-to-melt solder blobs. The coil wire I inadvertanly ripped off was kind of a bear to reattach due to the stubborn old solder, as was one of the lamp socket leads. I ended up using some flux and that seemed to do the trick.

#122 8 years ago

And finally...

popani.gifpopani.gif

Not much drama to report today, aside from a little something I spotted underneath the hood:

photo 4.JPGphoto 4.JPG

...namely...

photo 5.JPGphoto 5.JPG

Whoever had this machine before REEEALLY enjoyed their grocery store rubber bands.

Looks like I'll eventually be adding a spring to the ole' order list. ...or maybe an E-clip? What goes there?

#123 8 years ago

Thanks to a longer-than-expected nap time from junior...

passiveani.gifpassiveani.gif

...passive bumpers were also removed today. Which were surprisingly less complicated than pop bumpers:

IMG_7411.JPGIMG_7411.JPG

Basically just a spoon switch and a lamp socket. To be honest, passive bumpers never really got me too excited from a player standpoint, but I've gotta admit, they're pretty dandy from a maintenance perspective.

Also...

apronani.gifapronani.gif

...apron is gone too. Only a couple screws to hold this bad boy to the PF. Easy-peasy. But it looks like I'll have some cleaning to do:

IMG_7423.JPGIMG_7423.JPG

Yeesh! Now I see why these things need to be torn down to the wood.

Finally...

IMG_7422.JPGIMG_7422.JPG

Plunger tip added to the parts order list.

I think that'll be it for today.

#125 8 years ago

Yesterday, I disassebled the trough guides and unscrewed (but did not desolder) a couple of coils (trough and outlane kickout) that were under the apron in order to better clean the PF.

troughani.giftroughani.gif

Then I went to the auto parts store to grab some hand cleaner (for PF cleaning) and aluminum polish (for metal stuff cleaning). The first thing I saw was this small tube of hand cream made by the auto part store brand. (Gojo cleaners, behind it, were only available in bathtub sizeses):

IMG_7461.jpgIMG_7461.jpg

However, I spotted a bottled hand cleaner that provided an additional ounce than the mini-tub (shown above) for half the price, so now my PF will smell orange-y fresh. Here are the purchased products:

IMG_7463.jpgIMG_7463.jpg

If you'll recall, underneath the apron was pretty dusty and mildewy on this game:

IMG_7483.jpgIMG_7483.jpg

...but with a bit o' hand cleaner and an old T-shirt:

IMG_7484.jpgIMG_7484.jpg

It ended up looking pretty good:

IMG_7489.jpgIMG_7489.jpg

I managed to clean the bottom portion, mainly the apron and flipper area, before calling it quits for the day:

IMG_7490.jpgIMG_7490.jpg

#126 8 years ago

Just a quick follow-up question for any of the more experienced folks following this thread; I'm curious what you might recommend for metal cleaning/polishing. For example, here is my ball trough guide:

IMG_7475.jpgIMG_7475.jpg

...and here are some close-ups of the rusty(?) portions:

IMG_7476.jpgIMG_7476.jpg

IMG_7478.jpgIMG_7478.jpg

IMG_7477.jpgIMG_7477.jpg

Unfortunately, even with a healthy bit of scrubbing with a T-shirt and aluminum polish, I was only able to mitigate the rust (or whatever that crud is) to this point (please compare with above photograph):

IMG_7481.jpgIMG_7481.jpg

So, I'm curious if this type of blemish is able to be further polished in order to get a nice shine, and if so, how?

Thanks for your time, guys!
Ryan

#128 8 years ago

I have that!

Quoted from bingopodcast:

...if you can soak it.

iiinnnnn...water? (Honest question.)

Quoted from bingopodcast:

As this particular part gets beat every time the ball is pushed to the shooter lane...

Ah, yes. Now that I look a little closer, I believe that is the spot where the ball comes to rest once it drains (*klonk*). That makes a lot of sense.

LOGIC!

#131 8 years ago

Did a little more cleaning. Here I hit the right side of the playfield from about the flipper shaft holes up to the swinging target area:

pfhalfclean.jpgpfhalfclean.jpg

I feel like I cleaned this for a good amount of time and was pressing pretty hard. My lily-white mouse-pushing hands were definitely whining. Regardless, the difference didn't seem all that great. Here's a close-up:

pfhalfcleanclose.jpgpfhalfcleanclose.jpg

As you can see above, there's still a lot of dirt ground down in those cracks. Not a big deal for me, as I'll be sanding down the PF eventually, but I'd be curious to hear if anyone has alternate methods to get a deeper clean on a PF like this.

Anyhow, I also tried the...

...suggestion on one of the ball trough guides. This yielded mild results, but perhaps it's because my steel wool was too fine. I ended up switching over to a more coarse green scotch bright pad I had laying around from my...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

score reel teardown/cleaning

...which did a much better job removing the rust. After that, I sort of buffed it a bit with that fine steel wool. Here are the results on the ball trough guide.

Before...

IMG_7475.jpgIMG_7475.jpg

After...

rail.jpgrail.jpg

Also did the underside of that guide.

Before...

IMG_7478.jpgIMG_7478.jpg

After...

railBottom.jpgrailBottom.jpg

Here are my tools for the guide cleaning:

wool.jpgwool.jpg

I used the 00 steel wool, but was having trouble seeing much of a difference on the guide, so didn't even bother opening the 0000 steel wool.

#132 8 years ago
Quoted from FrankJ:

I tumble all of my metal parts. They'll come out shiny-new!

Neat! I do not have a tumbler, but I'm guessing that wouldn't work on larger parts, like these ball guides, right? Quick question, what parts do you tumble? I'm new to this, so I'm honestly not aware of everything you can shiny-up in these machines.

Thanks for the suggestion, FrankJ!

#138 8 years ago
Quoted from bingopodcast:

FrankJ - what combo of stuff do you put in the tumbler to make it work? Do you have the same experience of days before something usable comes out? ... Do you have a recipe like 5 parts walnut to 1 part polish or something similar?

I'll be interested to hear back from FrankJ

Quoted from TaylorVA:

I haven't been on Pinside much recently and sorry that I've missed this thread. Looks like an awesome project, congratulations.

Many thanks, Taylor. That means a lot, coming from you! (I enjoyed listening to your podcast detailing all the work you put into your Dr. Who!)

Quoted from OLDPINGUY:

I just popped in and have enjoyed the journey with your gracious posts and amazing job!

Its particularly sweet for me, as when I saw the game, my brain blew up with,
"Thats the game I played all summer when I was 12!"
Thanks for the memories!

Wow, how cool!!! What a gratifying post to read. Thanks a bunch for stopping by, OldPinGuy!

Quoted from yancy:

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, aka MCME, aka melamine foam. It's a microporous abrasive that works like very fine sandpaper. Moisten it with 91% (or higher) rubbing alcohol. Great at removing ground-in dirt from those hairline cracks. Works a little too well, in fact, so be careful you're not removing more paint than dirt. Check the white eraser often, and stop when you see more paint than dirt. Or maybe stop when you see any paint. It's a fine line.
The MCME will wither away as you use it, leaving behind a white residue that's easily removed with alcohol on a rag. It leaves the cleaned surface a bit matte, which you can polish back to a shine with Novus 2. And if this was a playfield you're keeping original, I'd carnauba wax it after that since the MCME leaves the playing surface a bit vulnerable to future wear. But not in this case.
You're in the perfect position to learn good MCME cleaning technique. If you go too far and remove paint, you're sanding it down anyway.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Agree 1000% with Yancy.

Nice! Thanks for the feedback, guys. See next post:

#139 8 years ago

Alright, so I had some...

Quoted from yancy:

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, aka MCME

...lying around. Truth be told, it was the local store generic brand. Same thing, cheaper price. Anyhow, I recall a friend of mine (shouts to Pinsider "CarterT") mentioning that you can get a lot more milage out of your MCME if you cut it down into smaller pieces (increasing the usable surface area exponentially). So I started by doing that:

IMG_7503.jpgIMG_7503.jpg

Then, using a bit of 91% isopropyl alcohol on the MCME, I started scrubbing around the PF. It pretty much did exactly as Yancy described. First it sort of left a...

Quoted from yancy:

white residue

IMG_7506.jpgIMG_7506.jpg

A little closer...

IMG_7505.jpgIMG_7505.jpg

But once I wiped the white haze with

Quoted from yancy:

alcohol on a rag

The results were pretty astonishing:

IMG_7508.jpgIMG_7508.jpg

As you can see, the difference between unclean, cleaned with hand-cleaner, and finished with MCME is pretty noticable. Here's another location:

IMG_7508B.jpgIMG_7508B.jpg

Finally, I finished up the bottom right quadrant of the playfield, and I gotta say, it was pretty stunning:

IMG_7515.jpgIMG_7515.jpg

Look at that pink shine!

Below you can see the lower playfield quadrant finished with MCME on the right and uncleaned on the left.

Web-(2).jpgWeb-(2).jpg

My wife came downstairs to say good night, and even she was impressed (not an easy accomplishment, as she has NOT been impressed with my $75 turd for several months now). I believe her comment was something like, "Wow, you're not going to want to re-theme this after you're done cleaning it!" I told her she underestimates my indifference toward this playfield artwork and assured her that this was a largely successful test subject in case I ever decide to do this to our Jubilee.

Anyhow, here's a little closer (interestingly, the MCME and alcohol even seemed to clean up that translucent roll-over button):

Web-(3).jpgWeb-(3).jpg

#140 8 years ago

Just a quick wrap-up with a different location:

IMG_7512.jpgIMG_7512.jpg

The final follow-up I wanted to make is that I did experience some slight paint loss:

IMG_7516.jpgIMG_7516.jpg

The black keyline got sanded off a bit with the Magic Eraser, which makes sense as the black is the most raised portion of the screen-print here (essentially 3 colors tall, being printed on the white, trapped by the pink, with black on top). Perhaps I'll practice a little touch-up work on here in a future work sesh.

#142 8 years ago
Quoted from zeiram:

my swinger retheme... Cthuhlu

Well there goes my theme reveal! I guess there's no sense in me continuing this project as it's already been done.

I kid, I kid.

In all seriousness, thanks for sharing! I've never heard of anyone else completing a Swinger re-theme. Fun crushed velvet cabinet and it looks like you replaced those top passive bumper caps? Finally, just a hunch, but I'm guessing you're still working on a backglass.

...can't believe you didn't keep that ball arch pink, Zeiram.

#144 8 years ago

Hi Chris,

Cool to see the development. Sounds like you still have a lot of plans! Are you documenting your progress anywhere? Would love to follow a thread of yours and keep up with your process.

Sincerely,
Ryan

#146 8 years ago
Quoted from yancy:

Wow, that's one of the better magic eraser results I've seen.

Whoa! Thanks, Yancy!

Quoted from yancy:

Now get out the belt sander!

Well, believe it or not, I held off on the belt-sander today, but I did enlist some help of a different sort:

IMG_7521.jpgIMG_7521.jpg

In the above photo, my 2-year-old son receives some cleaning instruction. It was pretty great to see how into it he was. When I asked him if he wanted to help me clean a pinball machine, he lit up with a HUGE smile and said, "Yah!"

*heart melts*

He's a great helper anyway, and I felt comfortable letting him rub a cloth around on a flat playfield (I was struggling to think of a way he might hurt himself with this task). It ended up working-out really great. Below you can see him getting to work:

IMG_7520.jpgIMG_7520.jpg

He actually used the cloth and hand-cleaner first, then we switched to the Magic Eraser, and finally he helped wipe up some of that residue with some alcohol and an old shirt. That seemed to be the process that yielded such great results in the first place, so I just stuck with that.

Here's the newly cleaned area (left side) after we were done with it:

IMG_7526.jpgIMG_7526.jpg

The above shot was taken with a flash, so the pinks are LIKE WHOA!!!

Just in case you forgot what it looked like before we started, here's a half-and-half shot from yesterday:

IMG_7510.jpgIMG_7510.jpg

Today:

IMG_7528.jpgIMG_7528.jpg

Yesterday:

IMG_7512.jpgIMG_7512.jpg

...and another one from today:

IMG_7529.jpgIMG_7529.jpg

Finally, here's what the cleaned area looked like at the end of our session:

IMG_7527.jpgIMG_7527.jpg

Pretty darn clean (for a to-be-sanded playfield) up to the swinging target. About half-way done with the cleaning, I'd guess.

See you next time.

#148 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Now it's getting interesting. Amazing what a little elbow grease, melamine and alcohol will do, eh?

Yah...this visual stuff is pretty gratifying. I held up my son at the end of our session and showed him what we'd accomplished. He seemed pretty impressed, too.

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

...swinging target... You might want to sand it out while you're going at the art work...

Just out of curiosity, where/how/what would you suggest I sand? Not questioning your knowledge here, just looking for more on my end. In case it helps, here are some shots of the current state of my swinging target:

IMG_7531.jpgIMG_7531.jpg

Another angle...

IMG_7532.jpgIMG_7532.jpg

With a flash...

IMG_7533.jpgIMG_7533.jpg

...I know, I know, too thorough. Such is this thread.

Anyhow, if it was you, what would you be sanding, Mk1Mod0?

#152 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Twas a joke. What I meant was to sand it out of existence because it is very good at making you drain your ball! LOL

overHead.gifoverHead.gif

Woopsies!!!

#153 8 years ago
Quoted from OuterDork:

The game is looking fantastic.

Many thanks, Andy. It's gettin' there. Slowly but surely.

The time I have to work on it is pretty limited, but I'm enjoying the journey and trying not to be too final-goal-focused at this point of the process. I'm confident I'll complete it. For now, I'm just pokin' around on it a little bit each day or so.

Quoted from OuterDork:

Thanks for pointing me to this forum, these threads, and helping me get back into pinball in general.

Happy to be a pinball pusher. It's a pretty great hobby. This thread and all the help I've received on this project alone is proof of that!

#154 8 years ago

Good evening, Swingers!

IMG_7581.JPGIMG_7581.JPG

Yesterday, I tackled the next portion of the playfield cleaning. This time I tidied-up from about the swinging target, up to around the "Advance Swing Reel" saucer. Here's what it looked like before (pardon the blurry 'before' shot, but hopefully you can see a healthy amount of ground-in dirt around the pops as well as posts, rubbers, and side rails):

photo 3.JPGphoto 3.JPG

Here's the after shot of the same area with a lot of that aforementioned stuff cleaned up.

IMG_7580.JPGIMG_7580.JPG

Not the best comparison shot, I understand, so here are a couple of close-up comparisons.

Before:

IMG_7562.JPGIMG_7562.JPG

After:

IMG_7578.JPGIMG_7578.JPG

Before:

IMG_7559.JPGIMG_7559.JPG

After:

IMG_7579.JPGIMG_7579.JPG

My son helped me again yesterday, but I didn't get any shots of him that session. NEXT TIME!

#155 8 years ago

Today, I managed to do some more work on the playfield cleaning, this time on the top and final portion, the ball arch area. In fact, this post marks the end of the top-side playfield cleaning. Here's what it looked like before:

IMG_7583.JPGIMG_7583.JPG

...and here's what it looked like after the usual...

1) hand-cleaner with clean rag
2) magic eraser with 91% isopropyl alcohol
3) 91% isopropyl alcohol on clean rag to finish

...regimen:
IMG_7600.JPGIMG_7600.JPG

And, of course, the glammy close-up shots.

Before:

IMG_7582.JPGIMG_7582.JPG

After:

IMG_7605.JPGIMG_7605.JPG

Before:

IMG_7585.JPGIMG_7585.JPG

After:

IMG_7601.JPGIMG_7601.JPG

There's not a before shot for this one, but couldn't resist including the after-glow:

IMG_7603.JPGIMG_7603.JPG

Finally, my 2-year-old son was there to help again. After cleaning for a bit he told me, "Dada, I want to play," referring to Swinger, this game we'd been cleaning together for a few days now. I explained to him that I would like to do that, too. But that's why we're taking this time to clean it up, so that we can play it. However, right now it is not working.

After a brief ponder, he walks behind me, finds a baggie of balls I purchased from Pinball Life, and brings them over to the playfield:

IMG_7619.JPGIMG_7619.JPG

Yes, son, you're absolutely right. We will need those to make it work.

#156 8 years ago

Now that the playfield is clean (or at least as clean as I'm willing to make it), I'll be repopulating it, starting with the posts, plastics and rubbers. I have a set of white rubbers on order, so in the meantime I'm cleaning posts. There are a few of them...

IMG_7647.jpgIMG_7647.jpg

Not all of them were incredibly dirty, but enough of them that my meticulous sensibilities felt the need to go through the whole lot. Here are a few of the dirtiest ones:

IMG_7646.jpgIMG_7646.jpg

...which were pretty easily cleaned with some 91% isopropyl alcohol and an old shirt:

IMG_7648.jpgIMG_7648.jpg

Here are the results of the cleaning:

IMG_7649.jpgIMG_7649.jpg

I've still got about 1/2 of that bag to make my way through. We'll see, maybe nap time today will aford me some time to complete the rest of the batch.

#157 8 years ago

Within minutes of my previous post, I got a hot tip from a one, N. Baldridge. He saw my last entry and said,

"Squirt out some hand-cleaner and dunk the remaining posts in. Wipe off, nice and shiny and good to go!"

So I grabbed another sandwich bag and put a dollop of hand cleaner in there:

photo-1.jpgphoto-1.jpg

...then jangled 'em around between my hands to get the stuff good and coated over all the posts.

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

After sitting through a couple episodes of restoration shows during nap-time, I had the remainder of the posts cleaned.

photo 3.JPGphoto 3.JPG

And an excuse to label another sandwich baggie.

photo 4.JPGphoto 4.JPG

Naptime over. 'Til next time.

#159 8 years ago
Quoted from FrankJ:

Tumbling...
Playfield posts...
I've tried the hand cleaner method...

Many thanks for chiming in again after your vay-cay, Frank. All great info. Much appreciated.

Quoted from yancy:

Wow, that's one of the better magic eraser results I've seen.

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Amazing what a little elbow grease, melamine and alcohol will do, eh?

Quoted from OuterDork:

The game is looking fantastic.

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

My wife came downstairs to say good night, and even she was impressed (not an easy accomplishment, as she has NOT been impressed with my $75 turd for several months now). I believe her comment was something like, "Wow, you're not going to want to re-theme this after you're done cleaning it!"

Quoted from FrankJ:

Now that it is cleaned, your playfield is one of the best I've seen. They are usually trashed.

You guys need to stop telling me stuff like this or I'm gonna develop a complex about sanding this thing down. Hard to believe that a pin that was mere days from being tossed into a landfill could clean-up this nicely.

Anyhow, thanks a lot for the supportive words, FrankJ et al.

#160 8 years ago

Got a few posts put on the ole' playfield today. My rubbers haven't arrived yet, so not much reason to start screwing on plastics. Nevertheless, here we go.

Started with a bare playfield today (an old shot pre-cleaning...DON'T JUDGE ME!):

IMG_7527.jpgIMG_7527.jpg

...and finished with about 2/3's of the posts screwed to the playfield:

IMG_7682.jpgIMG_7682.jpg

My pretties:

IMG_7685.jpgIMG_7685.jpg

Also cleaned some of the metal screw posts (Left, before cleaning. Right, after cleaning):

IMG_7679.jpgIMG_7679.jpg

I found it really difficult to photograph chrome. Regardless, here's another shot:

IMG_7672.jpgIMG_7672.jpg

In order to clean those chromed posts, I just used some Mother's Aluminum polish that I mentioned earlier:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme/page/3#post-2625078

Finally, I poked around at some of the stand-up targets (6 total) and found out that two of them were just sort of dangling there. While there wasn't much visual difference on the top of the playfield:

IMG_7665.jpgIMG_7665.jpg

...underneath the playfield it was pretty obvious what was going on. Here's what they're supposed to look like:

IMG_7663.jpgIMG_7663.jpg

...riveted to a post and screwed to the playfield.

Here is what the dangly ones looked like underneath:

IMG_7669.jpgIMG_7669.jpg

...just sort of hanging there. So I'll be on the look-out for some screws to fix those.

#161 8 years ago

Squeaked in another bit of work time this evening. I extracted one of the riveted posts from that dangly stand-up target I mentioned previously:

IMG_7696.jpgIMG_7696.jpg

Now I can take this to the hardware store to size it against some new screws.

Also re-attached the couple of coil assemblies underneath the apron (left-outlane kick-back and ball trough launch):

IMG_7693.jpgIMG_7693.jpg

All posts are in now:

IMG_7689.jpgIMG_7689.jpg

...at least, most of them. It seems as though I'm short a few. Three to be exact:

IMG_7692.jpgIMG_7692.jpg

...and one more here:

IMG_7691.jpgIMG_7691.jpg

The odd thing is, I seem to have the appropriate amount of hardware: three additional screws to hold down the three missing posts:

IMG_7688.jpgIMG_7688.jpg

...but an extra couple of chrome posts? Maybe there's some sort of combination of replacing these chrome posts with existing red posts I've got screwed down in the wrong position. Unfortunately it's late and I don't have the brain-power to figure it out right now. Perhaps another time when I have the wherewithal to sort through some previously snapped pics I'll be able to identify where these chrome posts go and recover a couple of red posts.

A job for another day.

P.S. It just occurred to me, I believe there are a couple of Swinger owners following this thread. If my pictures don't tell me where these extra chrome posts go, I might be bothering you for a shot of your assembled Swinger to see where they go.

#163 8 years ago
Quoted from btw75:

You can clean one of my playfields anytime.
let me know next time you're in the austin area and I'll put you to work...

Sure thing, BTW. It's only taken me...let's see here...four months so far? Half-a-year of room and board ought to be a fine trade-off. Let's just make sure TPF happens during one of those 6 months...always wanted to attend.

#166 8 years ago
Quoted from Pecos:

I'll save you the trouble.

You are the man! Thanks for doing my work for me, Pecos.

Quoted from Pecos:

...these posts are out in the open and get the brunt of the hardest flipper shots.

Ah-ha! That DOES make a lot of sense.

Quoted from Pecos:

You have three screws, three holes and two posts. There is another post in there somewhere...

Right? This is baffling me. I was really careful and STUPIDLY meticulous about bagging and labeling.

bagsForDays.jpgbagsForDays.jpg

I'm not sure what happened. But you're absolutely right, it's gotta be somewhere. I'll keep my eye out and definitely poke around in the places you've mentioned.

Quoted from Pecos:

It's a shame you have to sand down that playfield art.

I know. It would be a lot easier if these cleaning tests didn't go so well. Ha-ha!

Quoted from Pecos:

...you could find a trashed playfield on a different theme/machine. There, I've said it. You are welcome to beat me up now for saying it.

No no...no beating-up on this thread. (There are plenty of other places on this forum where you can go for that.) The thought had crossed my mind, actually, but I haven't mentioned it for a couple reasons:

1) I'm trying to keep this project relatively inexpensive for the time being. My family and I just moved into a nice house, we're teachers so we don't get paid in the summer, and we're running a tight ship for now. My fear was that if I found a beat Swinger PF, I'd be out another chunk of change.

2) I felt a little presumptuous asking the community if there was one available.

...but hey, with comments like this:

Quoted from ejacques:

Come on Pinside, somebody send him that beater Swinger playfield youve got hiding in a dusty warehouse as a thank you for this amazing thread!

...maybe I should mention it. I wouldn't want to take it for free, but maybe we can work something out. I'm also attending the Chicago Pinball Expo in October, so perhaps that could save us both some shipping (oh, mythical Swinger angel). Alright. It's out there now.

Quoted from Pecos:

I've been lurking and enjoying your thread. It brings back memories of my Williams Expo restore. Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing more of your art work, clever banter and pictures of your progress. Well done!

Finally, thanks so much for your kind words and helpful comments, Pecos. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a post.

Quoted from ejacques:

Just read through the entire thread... I've learned one heck of a lot by doing it. Amazing results. Combine that with awesome documentation and I feel a heck of a lot more confident working on EM games now.

ejacques, wow, this is pretty gratifying. I'll admit, half of the impetus behind this documentary thread was selfish (to keep me accountable, working, and to create a place where I could review what I've done so that I can continue learning, reminding myself of what I've learned). However, the other half of why I'm documenting this process so meticulously is so that other folks in the hobby who are fearful of tech stuff can approach it from a newb's perspective. I really knew NOTHING about the inside of an EM pinball machine before starting this project and over the course of going through my Swinger I have a lot more confidence about it than I did four months ago. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the LION'S SHARE of my knowledge has come directly from Nick Baldridge. If you aren't already listening to his podcast (...and you've made it through all one hundred and some-odd posts of this mess?), I think you'll enjoy it:

Quoted from ejacques:

Keep up the awesome work!

Many thanks. I plan to, but feedback like this makes it a little easier.

#168 8 years ago

I made a stop at one of the big-box hardware stores today and picked up a few things.

The combination of my Mtv-generation impatience and sensitive artist hands (say all that with a whiny voice, please) were both catalysts for this next purchase:

IMG_7698.jpgIMG_7698.jpg

I grabbed this wire wheel in hopes of polishing the metal pieces a little easier. I was really going to town on some of those under-apron metal guides with my scotch brite pads and it was taking, like, for-EH-varrrrr (more whining). So we'll see how this works.

Also, thinking about my...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

lily-white mouse-pushing hands

...I figured I should probably pick up some of these:

IMG_7697.jpgIMG_7697.jpg

...if I'll be wire-wheeling small metal parts.

Also, also:

IMG_7701.jpgIMG_7701.jpg

...I grabbed some machine screws to replace the broken riveted ones that were formerly holding my stand-up targets together.

Thankfully they fit pretty well.

IMG_7702.jpgIMG_7702.jpg

Snug, but good. Nothing broke when screwing it in.

Speaking of snug, the riveted screws (bolts, units, not sure of the proper nomenclature) also needed a bit of persuading to come out:

IMG_7703.jpgIMG_7703.jpg

...as did the screws when going back in:

IMG_7704.jpgIMG_7704.jpg

But when all was said and done, it held together like a champ!

IMG_7707.jpgIMG_7707.jpg

Another stand-up target and a few leafy-switch things (the things that register points behind the rubbers on slingshots and the like) to go! Here's hoping they're all this easy. ...famous last words.

#169 8 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

Yeah it would be nice to swap out the playfield for one in worse shape but I wouldn't sweat it if you find no takers. It's not a very desirable theme.

I've been having this conversation with myself more and more recently, trying to get myself back into my starting-point mind-set of...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

the art package is a lack-luster phone-in by Christian Marche, so I won't feel bad sanding it down to put my own art in it's place.

Quoted from dmbjunky:

I read your thread before starting my own and even though mine is a solid state, there are many similarities in the design. I'm trying to be as meticulous in documenting and posting as you are.

Please post a link here! I'd love to follow. I'm guessing a few other resto-interested folks here would, too.

Quoted from dmbjunky:

Congrats on the new job btw.

Thanks so much. If anyone else is wondering:

http://www.elephanteater.com/11401

#172 8 years ago

Next, I tackled one of those...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

leafy-switch things (the things that register points behind the rubbers on slingshots and the like)

...that were dangling about like the stand-up target. Anyhow, this:

IMG_7713.jpgIMG_7713.jpg

...looked like this under the hood:

IMG_7715.jpgIMG_7715.jpg

Thankfully, the retrofitting went just as smoothly as the aforementioned stand-up target

IMG_7716.jpgIMG_7716.jpg

The next stack I went to fix was the second dangly stand-up target:

IMG_7708.jpgIMG_7708.jpg

Unfortunately, as I was screwing in the new hardware, the tiny plastic tubes inside started to come out. I wasn't able to push it back inside the stack by hand, so I attempted to coax it back through using a pair of needle-nose pliers. As is evident from the next picture, that didn't go so well:

IMG_7709.jpgIMG_7709.jpg

I'm assuming this switch-stack/stand-up target is now ruined and I'll have to buy a new one (unless one of you more knowledgeable folks tell me otherwise).

Here's the sorry state in which it currently resides:

IMG_7711.jpgIMG_7711.jpg

If there is a silver lining to this botched repair, it's that I was able to see the tubes with the screw completely inside. There was a concern raised earlier today:

Quoted from jwwhite15:

Make sure those plastic inserts that are in the holes and help hold the switch pieces together are there and not broke. It looks like they are there from your pics.

Now I'm pretty certain they are not broken inside there. I looked at those previous pics and I BELIEVE what jwwhite15 saw was a piece of broken bakelite (which was broken prior to installing the new hardware). So, my guess is this will be alright (but as usual, I'm open to alternate opinions!).

While we're on this series of popped rivets on switch-stacks, I couldn't resist showing you this next operator-hack, this time on one of the slingshot leaf switches:

IMG_7719.jpgIMG_7719.jpg

...which goes a little something like this:

IMG_7718.jpgIMG_7718.jpg

Duct tape = FIXED!

(Not really, but hopefully a more substantial fix next time.)

#173 8 years ago
Quoted from jwwhite15:

Make sure those plastic inserts that are in the holes and help hold the switch pieces together are there and not broke. It looks like they are there from your pics. Those inserts will keep the screws from grounding all the contacts together and to ground.

I mentioned this above but thought I would include a pic for the sake of clarity. I'm guessing you were referring to this broken bakelite piece:

IMG_7702a.jpgIMG_7702a.jpg

...but while it is cracked, it all seems to be there, and the tubes appear to be in tact, so I'm guessing all is well here. But of course, bring on those...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...alternate opinions!

I'm here to learn!

Quoted from jwwhite15:

BTW, this is an awesome thread and I am enjoying it. Thanx for the laughs too!

Thanks, jwwhite15! Really appreciate you saying as much.

#174 8 years ago
Quoted from Pecos:

I finally started taping my screws with masking tape to the parts they went with.

OH! Brilliant!!! I'm totally stealing that one.

Quoted from Pecos:

Is it possible your helper borrowed one of those pretty red posts to go with his Lego set?

Ha-ha! I suppose anything is possible, but this project is behind a closed door, only I allow him in, and I made sure to have the playfield pretty-much stripped bare by the time my little guy entered. By that point, everything was in a labeled plastic baggie, sealed, and out of reach. So, I guess what I'm trying is, I'm still the most likely culprit of this post-bungle. Ha-ha! But thanks for helping me locate a plausible scapegoat.

Quoted from Pecos:

Expo has three sizes. Even with pictures it took some time to figure out where they all went. Hint, hint for those of you taking apart older '60s Williams games.

PRO-TIP!

Quoted from Pecos:

Thanks for all of the kind words - much appreciated. Right back at ya!

Mutual admiration society, here! (Can't every thread be like this?)

#177 8 years ago
Quoted from bingopodcast:

I've been working on a basket-case Expo recently (parted out head, cabinet and head FULL of hair. Some of which appears to be mouse, some of which is cat, some might be rat).

...and here I thought my project here was rough to start. Yeesh! Shows what I know. So, is this hair-bombed Expo salvageable?

Quoted from bingopodcast:

When you get to the point of turning the game on, you will need to carefully watch for the closure of relays and stuck chime coils.

Noted! Thanks for the warning. When I (eventually) power-up, I'll be sure to do so with the playfield up.

#178 8 years ago

Back to that duct tape masterpiece:

IMG_7718.jpgIMG_7718.jpg

The moment I removed the bits holding it together, a couple of things became apparent; not only was there not much else holding it together, but I believe it was missing a piece of bakelite. Notice there is no bakelite on the right side in this picture:

IMG_7723.jpgIMG_7723.jpg

...which would mean one side of the switch would be screwed directly to the piece of metal hardware attached to the playfield. I'm no electrician, but I think I'm trying to avoid unwanted metal to metal contact. At least that's what the rest of the switch stacks seemed to be doing with that extra piece of bakelite. So, I took one of the doubled-up pieces of bakelite on the left and moved it to the right before screwing the whole thing back to the PF:

IMG_7726.jpgIMG_7726.jpg

Of course, this is an area where I'm seeking approval from more experienced folks here. In my mind, so long as those metal leaf switches are separated, it should work(?), but again, I know nothing about this stuff, so I hope someone will chime in about this. Here it is anchored to the PF (complete with duct tape residue):

IMG_7727.jpgIMG_7727.jpg

And here it is (background) with its partner slingshot switch (foreground). I used this foregrounded stack as a comparison for the bakelite arrangement. Not perfect, but close:

IMG_7731.jpgIMG_7731.jpg

The next dangly stack was near the back-right of the playfield:

IMG_7742.jpgIMG_7742.jpg

Here's the under-side:

IMG_7734.jpgIMG_7734.jpg

...and without much to do, it looked like this:

IMG_7740.jpgIMG_7740.jpg

#179 8 years ago

And that ^^

...was the last of the dangly targets to take care of. (Aside from the botched one that I need to fix.)

So, with those out of the way, I moved back to the red playfield posts. If you recall...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

It seems as though I'm short a few. Three to be exact

...but, also...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I seem to have the appropriate amount of hardware: three additional screws to hold down the three missing posts [and] an extra couple of chrome posts

Thanks to Pecos' eagle eye:

Quoted from Pecos:

This looks like a metal post to me...and its sister on the other side

...I knew where to replace the couple of metal posts.

So here's the first:

IMG_7737.jpgIMG_7737.jpg

...which, in retrospect, I should have known, as it was hanging sloppily over the edge of that playfield hole. Not to mention, on closer inspection...

Quoted from Pecos:

the indentation in the playfield is...smaller (metal post).

IMG_7747.jpgIMG_7747.jpg

With all that figured out, here's the appropriate metal post appropriately screwed into its appropriate spot.

IMG_7748.jpgIMG_7748.jpg

The same switcheroo was done on the opposite side of the PF, and the two newly-freed posts were moved to THEIR appropriate positions:

IMG_7751.jpgIMG_7751.jpg

Now I'm down to only one extra screw. Maybe one day I'll find that errant post.

In the meantime, I've been itching to test out my new...

Here's the first candidate, some metal underneath the apron (in case this test goes horribly wrong):

IMG_7753.jpgIMG_7753.jpg

It worked pretty well...

IMG_7755.jpgIMG_7755.jpg

...but if I'm being honest with myself, it was probably a little coarse. I got a hot tip from a surly big box employee about a location I can go to get a better polishing tool. I might swing by there today with my little helper if we have some time between the park and nap time.

#182 8 years ago

"Dada! I want clean peembah m'sheem!"

Who am I to keep a boy from his dreams?

IMG_7762.jpgIMG_7762.jpg

Today we polished some metal parts together. My son was on GSB detail, while I worked the the wire wheel:

IMG_7757.jpgIMG_7757.jpg

...via...

Yes. A hand drill.

We probably got to about 3 or 4 small parts of the ball trough before Owen's interest waned. Here's some before and after shots of a couple of the parts we photographed:

Before:

IMG_7773.jpgIMG_7773.jpg

After:

IMG_7775.jpgIMG_7775.jpg

Before:

IMG_7777.jpgIMG_7777.jpg

After:

IMG_7785.jpgIMG_7785.jpg

Before:

IMG_7779.jpgIMG_7779.jpg

After:

IMG_7788.jpgIMG_7788.jpg

Eating our elephant over here.

#184 8 years ago
Quoted from bingopodcast:

Good job on the bakelite reduction. ... Your fix will work fine and you were right to do it.

Oh, good! *phew*

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Your switch will need to be adjusted differently.

I'll keep that in mind. *records it in the list of things to do once the...

...is powered-on.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Expo...Short answer, yes, it's running now. The long answer involves lots of grease and hair.

#185 8 years ago
Quoted from davideokills:

I wouldn't worry about your botched switch. ... Once you have the game working and you are making design choices on the retheme that is when you want to decide if you are going to use the same square yellow targets or something different.

Thanks for the reassurance. ...and I'd been thinking about the possibility of different color stand-ups. Something to ponder after I have it up and running. In the short(er) term, I'd like this target to simply be functional for play-testing purposes, which made me think a quick switch stack tube-thing would be the easiest thing to aquire. However, you make a good point; maybe I just start buying some of those alternate colored stand-up targets a little sooner. Hmmm...

Quoted from davideokills:

If you do decide to use those yellow ones i have a bunch of old switch stacks you can have. I can bring them to the cleveland pinball show if you happen to be going to that.

Oh...wow. That would be incredible. Unfortunately, I don't believe we'll be attending, but I'll drop you a line if that changes. Just out of curiosity, will you be attending the Chicago Pinball Expo?

Quoted from davideokills:

flatten the switch leaves out before mounting them back on the playfield. If you make the switch look as close to straight and flat as possible it will probably be gapped correctly once new rubbers are installed.

Not being obtuse here, but...are those slingshot switch leaves supposed to be straight?

IMG_7726.jpgIMG_7726.jpg

*LOL* I kinda thought they were, but then I looked at the others and the all seem to be bent (mangled?) in a very similar style, so then I began to question myself.

#186 8 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

How do you hold those parts?

IMG_7697.JPGIMG_7697.JPG

Quoted from dmbjunky:

If you had a vise, you could clamp it in polish away.

That would be the smart thing to do. I might have to invest in one of those. I've thought about it several times but haven't pulled the trigger yet. One caught my eye at the big box store the other day yesterday and the small ones weren't as expensive as I'd feared.

Quoted from dmbjunky:

Another way is a vise-grip. We use C clamp vise-grips to clamp something to a table in the cabinet shop. This frees up both hands.

Hm! More food for thought. I was considering needle-nose pliers (maybe lined with some cloth so as not to damage the metal), but I've gotta have a clamp or two around here somewhere. Having two hands to work with would definitely be a benefit. Do you put anything underneath the metal piece you're polishing so as not to damage your table? ...or do you just polish on an outcast table?

Thanks for all the suggestions, dmbJunky! (P.S. Are you a Dave Matthews Band fan?)

#188 8 years ago

detail.jpgdetail.jpg

Uhm...yah? I'd say that's pretty straight! Ha-ha!

Do you have any Jedi tricks for flattening, or just bend until appropriate?

#190 8 years ago
Quoted from PhilGreg:

PBR sells blades and contacts, you can buy a bunch and redo them.
http://www.pbresource.com/pfswitch.htm#common

Oh, cool! If the flattening doesn't work, this looks like a great option. I do have some questions, though:

1) It looks like I'd have to attach my own contacts to those blades. How does that work? (Just a bit of solder or is there riveting involved? ...or something I'm not thinking of?)

2) It appears as though there are two different types of contacts:
a. The CONTACT-SM-X are a silver alloy- gold flashed for EM/SS use.
b. The CU-CONTACT are tungstein face, copper backed for high current applications.

...my assumption is that I'd want the CONTACT-SM-X (for EM/SS use), but I guess I don't understand what a high-current application would be in this instance.

Reminder: You're speaking to an artist, not an electrician. Pardon my rudimentary questions.

#193 8 years ago
Quoted from davideokills:

When they are really bad I replace them with new blades. The contacts have a nub on the backside that you flatten down gently with a hammer. It isn't tough.
Gold plated ones are for playfield switches. The high current would go on flipper EOS switches or flipper button switches.

Quoted from PhilGreg:

I usually drop a bit of solder on the back of the contacts, IIRC they don't hold in place on their own, but I could be wrong.

If not A, then B. Cool! Sounds easily doable, if I need to go that route.

You guys are the coolest! Thanks for chiming in here, educating me, and following along.

Sincerely,
Ryan

#199 8 years ago

What exactly is a...

Quoted from FrankJ:

point-bending tool

...?

Is this anything close?

31fojsriPUL.jpg31fojsriPUL.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Knipex-3871200-8-Inch-Angled-without/dp/B000X4MP1A/ref=sr_1_30

#200 8 years ago

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC POST:

I've had a really great experience documenting this restoration/re-theme thus far, I'm incredibly thankful for the University of Electro-Mechanical Education I'm receiving, and I can't believe we're up to 200 posts already. To celebrate, I thought I'd offer a fun give-away to thank this thread's loyal followers.

I'm a comic book artist and I'd like to give away ANYTHING in my store to the first person who responds on this thread listing an interest in SOMETHING SPECIFIC. It could be a comic of mine, one of the Drop Target Zines I've contributed to, heck it could even be one of the several pinball T-shirts I've illustrated (provided I still have your size).

Here's a link to my comics store page if you'd like to sift through some product descriptions:

http://www.elephanteater.com/comics

...and here's a page with my Pinball T-shirt and Poster artwork (that I haven't had time to add to the previously mentioned store page):

http://www.elephanteater.com/10761

Good luck to the lucky winner, and huge thanks to everyone for favoriting, following, and participating in this thread.

Much appreciated,
Ryan Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
www.ElephantEater.com

#203 8 years ago
Quoted from futurepinhead:

I haven't really contributed anything helpful just Favorited and followed the process but if that counts for anything I missed out on the Pinside posters and would love to have one to hang up.

Hi FuturePinhead,

The Pinside poster is ALL YOURS!!!

2890.gif2890.gif

I just sent you a PM to find out where you'd like me to send it. We can work out details there.

Thanks for chiming-in here. It's nice to meet one of the quiet followers.

...and thanks to everyone for making this experience so enjoyable. It's been a lot of fun sharing the process and, as I mentioned, I'm learning A TON!

Sincerely,
Ryan

#205 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

I love your Pinside official t-shirt...

Thanks for saying as much, Mk1Mod0!

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

The thread is pretty awesome too!

My new goal is to surpass the number of faves on your acrylic pinball thread.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-acrylic-pinball-project-i-am-clearly-insane

Only 165 to go!

(For anyone interested in getting their socks blown off, take a peek at that thread.) ^^^

DMB was the first concert I ever attended (during his Under the Table and Dreaming tour). Many fond memories, and many DMB albums in my collection.

Quoted from dmbjunky:

Find a 2x4 or cinder block or something heavy to anchor your piece to and you should be good to go.

Ha-ha! Duh... Of course. Why didn't I think of that?

(Thanks for reminding me about common sense.)

#206 8 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

Your drop-zines look interesting.

I am a very small contributor to the Drop Target Zines:

http://droptargetzine.blogspot.com/

...a fantastically executed pinball zine. The lion's share of the content is produced by Alec Longstreth and Jon Chad, a couple of cartoonists I'm proud to call my friends. I've conducted interviews in the past couple issues:

- DTZ#7: Gerry Stellenberg
- DTZ#6: John Youssi

...and in DTZ#5 (my first contributing issue) they asked me to submit a Dream Machine (an illustrated pinball machine you WISH existed). I based mine on a comic book, "Groo the Wanderer," by my favorite cartoonist, Sergio Aragones (of Mad Magazine fame):

ClaytorGrooPinballColor2.jpgClaytorGrooPinballColor2.jpg

The issue includes diagrammatic breakdowns of various Groo pinball mechs and an exhaustive ruleset.

Aside from these few contributions of mine, the zines are FILLED with great articles, illustrations, interviews, and comics all about pinball. It was my favorite pinball publication even before I had anything to do with it.

#208 8 years ago
Quoted from FrankJ:

You missed it in my earlier post - PB Resourse part # ADJ. $4.56

Sure enough! Thanks for the reminder.

---------------------

So, we're on our way out of town for an out-of-state wedding, but we barely started the morning before there was a fervent request to...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...clean peembah m'sheem!

Since the rubbers arrived last evening, we took those downstairs for a brief "cleaning" session:

photo.JPGphoto.JPG

Not many rubbers were attached, but we can now mark this as another day of progress.

Have a great weekend, guys.

P.S.

Quoted from futurepinhead:

I missed out on the Pinside posters and would love to have one to hang up.

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I just sent you a PM to find out where you'd like me to send it. We can work out details there.

Just wanted to let you know I received your info and I'll ship your poster first thing next week, FuturePinhead.

#209 8 years ago
Quoted from FrankJ:

point-bending tool

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

What exactly is a point-bending tool?

Quoted from FrankJ:

You missed it in my earlier post - PB Resourse part # ADJ. $4.56

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

Thanks for the reminder.

conadj.jpgconadj.jpg

Oh, a contact adjuster! I have one of those!!! Ha-ha!

(Didn't realize it went by another name.)

#210 8 years ago

Back from the wedding. It's late, but managed to undo some of my work once I arrived home. This:

photo 1.JPGphoto 1.JPG

...turned into this:

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

...before the night was over, as I was reminded that I forgot to wax my playfield before starting reassembly. (At least it was just the posts and a couple rubbers.

Anyhow, I waxed-up the ole' playfield, but I didn't see it getting hazy. This was my first playfield waxing experience, so I was told to:

1) Wipe wax on PF
2) Allow it to sit and become hazy
3) Wipe wax off

I took another look at the wax and it looked kinda grainy:

photo 3.JPGphoto 3.JPG

I'm guessing this isn't a good thing. Not to mention, my canister of wax was a bit old (1.5 yrs since purchase date). All this to say, I'll be making a trip to the auto parts store soon.

In other news,

Quoted from futurepinhead:

I missed out on the Pinside posters and would love to have one

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I just sent you a PM to find out where you'd like me to send it.

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I received your info and I'll ship your poster first thing next week, FuturePinhead.

Packaged, addressed, and ready to go, FuturePinhead!

photo 4.JPGphoto 4.JPG

#212 8 years ago

Yup. I removed those post before to clean them...

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme/page/2#post-2594061

...and already screwed 'em back onto the PF (first pic from my last post). But I had to take them all off AGAIN (only took 10 minutes, I was just being a baby about it) in order to wax the PF appropriately.

#215 8 years ago
Quoted from davideokills:

You're killing me. ... Maybe it's a bit selfish but I'm really chomping at the bit to see what you are going to do creatively and all this meticulous restoration is getting in the way.

Quoted from futurepinhead:

Agreed, I wonder what direction you are going with on the artwork.

Ha-ha! Thanks for your interest in the project, guys. Believe me, no one is more anxious to get to the ART-ING than I am. However, as I did my best to warn potential readers back in the ancient days of page one...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I'm going to be honest, this thread is going to be tech-heavy at first. I want to make sure this machine can and will run 100% before I spend a bunch of time on aesthetics. So, my re-theme reveal may take a little while.

So, it will happen, I'm certain of it. I'm also certain it won't be a quick process. As we all do, I juggle a busy life and squeak this in when I should be sleeping.

I'll understand if you get weary of my tech updates. Occasionally I do, too:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme/page/2#post-2466304

...but I'm doin' my best to make incremental steps toward functionality each day and document that process along the way.

Sincerely,
Ryan

#219 8 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

back on topic, maybe you can give us a hint to your retheme. Is it going to be an original theme or taken from another property? My imagine with your background it would be something original but you never know.

I'd really like to announce it with some artwork. Which, again, is a ways out. Just tryin' to be up front and honest. Sorry to be such a tease.

----------------------

In the meantime, here's what happened tonight. Picked my son up from school and we took a trip to the auto parts store for some carnuba wax, this one to be precise:

IMG_7871.JPGIMG_7871.JPG

Which, thankfully, was not all grainy.

IMG_7849.JPGIMG_7849.JPG

So, we tried to follow the recommended procedure:

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

1) Wipe wax on PF
2) Allow it to sit and become hazy
3) Wipe wax off

IMG_7851.JPGIMG_7851.JPG

...but when it didn't haze-up after a few minutes (5-ish?), our attention spans were spent:

IMG_7857.JPGIMG_7857.JPG

So I ended up wiping it up anyway. It was pretty shiny...

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

...but streaky enough that I tried another coat. This time I let it sit for a bit longer (3 hours), through bath, bedtime, and then some bad television.

After all that, I came downstairs to some haze:

IMG_7865.JPGIMG_7865.JPG

...which clean-up remarkably well:

IMG_7868.JPGIMG_7868.JPG

...leaving a lustrous shine:

IMG_7867.JPGIMG_7867.JPG

I'm tempted to do another coat or two, but this will be plenty good enough for testing.

#220 8 years ago
Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I'm tempted to do another coat or two, but this will be plenty good enough for testing.

265.gif265.gif

See, davideokills, futurepinhead, and dmbjunky? I'm showing restraint!

#223 8 years ago
Quoted from yancy:

Mothers "Pure Brazilian Carnauba Wax" next time.

Not a bad suggestion! (Makes a calendar note for 2018.)

Quoted from dmbjunky:

I'm kind of creeped out with the way that llama is looking at me but I do laugh a little harder each time I see it.

730.gif730.gif

--------------------------

Tonight.

Start:

photo 1.JPGphoto 1.JPG

Finish:

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

I swear that after shot is a new picture and not just a repeat from two days ago. The silver-lining to re-screwing these posts in a couple times over is that I'm getting faster. All posts completed in less than 20 minutes. I imagine I'm not setting any landspeed records, but it was a healthy pace for me.

Small victories!

#228 8 years ago

Lights.

IMG_7882.jpgIMG_7882.jpg

Installed.

IMG_7883.jpgIMG_7883.jpg

Ska-doosh.

IMG_7884.jpgIMG_7884.jpg

Dirty plastics.

IMG_7887.jpgIMG_7887.jpg

Novusized.

IMG_7888.jpgIMG_7888.jpg

Before/After.

IMG_7889.jpgIMG_7889.jpg

Cleaned.

IMG_7891.jpgIMG_7891.jpg

#229 8 years ago

Another.

IMG_7892.jpgIMG_7892.jpg

Cleaned.

IMG_7893.jpgIMG_7893.jpg

This many.

IMG_7898.jpgIMG_7898.jpg

Was taking glammy shots...

IMG_7901.jpgIMG_7901.jpg

...and realized I forgot to install rubbers.

shake.gifshake.gif

Current state.

IMG_7902.jpgIMG_7902.jpg

First day back teaching.

Zzzzz...

#232 8 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

With those musical note plastics maybe there's a music based retheme.

Quoted from dmbjunky:

The more I look at this game the more I like it.

Another Swinger enthusiast!

Quoted from dmbjunky:

Do you have to hit both rollover buttons to raise the center post?

I honestly don't know (mine never worked and it's been a while since I played one), but...

Quoted from FrankJ:

Nope, just have to hit one.

...it sounds like we have our answer.

Also...

Quoted from FrankJ:

If the pops and slings are tuned, this game plays fast. Ball times can be short. The outlines are brutal. But, it's fairly easy to light all three ball saves. To score big, you want to light the pops and bang away. A good shot will light the center feature, but timing is everything. You want 5000, not 1000. Shots at the middle feature target always has the risk of rebounding to the outlane. Be ready to nudge.
Simple, EM fun. One game you own the machine, the next it laughs back at you.

...loved this review! It's got a few features that I enjoy (several ball savers, swinging target, etc.) but I haven't put a ton of time on this title.

#233 8 years ago
Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I forgot to install rubbers.

So...rubbers:

IMG_7957.jpgIMG_7957.jpg

The one uncertainty I had was on the right-middle playfield. I tried a few different configurations. This one...

IMG_7955.jpgIMG_7955.jpg

...didn't seem correct because the rubber was TOUCHING the lamp in the middle of that white triangle.

This next attempt...

IMG_7956.jpgIMG_7956.jpg

...was not only very tight, but it also prevented the stand-up target (near the bottom) from closing its switch when hit.

So I settled on this...

IMG_7954.jpgIMG_7954.jpg

...which for some reason seemed odd to me, only going around two posts (and slightly interacting with that nail), but I'm guessing it's the intended configuration.

Here's the Swinger/Fun-Fest rubber list, if anyone cares to take a look and tell me otherwise:

Williams_1973_Fun_Fest_Rubberlist.jpgWilliams_1973_Fun_Fest_Rubberlist.jpg

Also cleaned the remainder of the plastics:

IMG_7959.jpgIMG_7959.jpg

IMG_7962.jpgIMG_7962.jpg

And reassembled the lot of them:

IMG_7970.jpgIMG_7970.jpg

Gonna call it a night.

#238 8 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

There's a swinger on CL for $900.

Yeesh! Sounds like a dream price. That really surprises me. ...especially since you're in the midwest, not California or some inflated market. I saw one around here only a few months ago (May 2015) at the Ann Arbor Pinball Showcase for $375 asking price. (Who knows what it sold for, or even IF it sold. ...number is right there if you'd like to check. It looks like you're only the next state down.)

407254.jpg407254.jpg

Quoted from dmbjunky:

There's a great PAPA gameplay vid.

REEeeally? That surprises me. I'll have to poke around for that.

Quoted from dmbjunky:

Where'd you get your rubbers from?

Steve Young, Pinball Resource

Quoted from dmbjunky:

It's amazing that center post don't wear out from how many times it raises and lowers.

Quoted from davideokills:

The center post will snap right off sometimes.

Didn't realize I was so lucky to have one that is intact.

Quoted from davideokills:

The mechanism to raise and release the center post works a lot like a drop target and it often needs cleaned and new sleeves installed like any other solenoid.

Huh. Interesting. I guess I'll find that out once I put the top of this PF back together.

Quoted from davideokills:

...rubber configurations...

I would go with how you have it as long as the rubber doesn't have too much play in it making it possible for the ball to get stuck behind the rubber.

Seems like this current configuration is tensioned appropriately and not obstructing anything. I guess I'll find out with gameplay whether or not the ball will get lodged underneath.

Quoted from davideokills:

Did the people that provided the rubber kit supply the drawing?

Nope. Just got it off IPDB.

Quoted from davideokills:

Maybe you can complain that it is wrong and have them send you a couple post rubbers.

I'm actually convinced they sent me exactly what I needed. Pretty darn happy with PBR. Yay for Steve.

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Never seen rubbers go around a post and a bumper together. How strange.

OH! COMPLETELY! I was looking at that top configuration several times over, wondering if I was reading it correctly. Ultimately, I figured I'd deal with it once I got my pops back in.

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Also, now would be a good time to check the gap of the switches behind the rubbers to make sure they aren't touching.

Right! Thank you. Seriously. This is the kind of reminder I need. Despite 5 pages of documentation, I'm still wet behind the ears with all this stuff.

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

This is one of the things that will cause a solenoid lock on upon power up. Usually of the 10 or 100 point relay.

Filing in the ole' memory banks.

Thanks, guys!

#240 8 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

If you zoom in you can see that rubber next to the target taking a sharp turn like it is around that third post like in your first pic.

Whoa! You're right! That's wild! Thanks for your super-sleuth work, DMBJ!

I'm really hesitant about pounding another nail into my playfield, which is what it would take to avoid that lamp. I guess it is also possible the ipdb shots aren't perfectly accurate. With the scant information available and differing opinions, even on this one thread, I'm guessing we'll never know for sure, although it certainly adds an interesting dimension to this puzzle.

For the moment, I think I'm gonna stick with my final configuration choice because of the aforementioned reasons, but on second inspection:

Williams_1973_Fun_Fest_Rubberlist.jpgWilliams_1973_Fun_Fest_Rubberlist.jpg

...despite the diagram's lack of clarity (hard to tell the difference between a rubber and the edge of a plastic), I believe it suggests the rubber only wraps around the two posts, not three.

#242 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Also, now would be a good time to check the gap of the switches behind the rubbers to make sure they aren't touching.

Off we go...

Right sling switches adjusted:

IMG_7984.jpgIMG_7984.jpg

Left sling switches adjusted:

IMG_7985.jpgIMG_7985.jpg

Mid-left rubber before:

IMG_7986.jpgIMG_7986.jpg

Mid-left rubber adjusted:

IMG_7988.jpgIMG_7988.jpg

Mid-right rubber before:

IMG_7990.jpgIMG_7990.jpg

Mid-right rubber adjusted:

IMG_7991.jpgIMG_7991.jpg

Upper-Left Stand-up adjusted:

IMG_7995.jpgIMG_7995.jpg

#243 8 years ago

Upper-Middle-Left Stand-up adjusted:

IMG_7997.jpgIMG_7997.jpg

Upper-Right rubber before:

IMG_7998.jpgIMG_7998.jpg

Upper-Right rubber adjusted:

IMG_7999.jpgIMG_7999.jpg

Upper-Middle-Right Stand-up before:

IMG_8002.jpgIMG_8002.jpg

Upper-Middle-Right Stand-up adjusted:

IMG_8006.jpgIMG_8006.jpg

This is my first time adjusting playfield switches, so I'm open to discussion on my success/failure.

#245 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Looks dead on the money to me.

yeah.gifyeah.gif

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

One of the hardest for me to find was a switch that had good separation between the contacts but was touching right where it passes through the play field. ... It helps to start out with reasonably straight legs in the first place.

Ah-ha! Good tip!

Brief aside #1: That playfield is...SO cool!

Brief aside #2: Please tell me that is a ground-braid and not a crack in the plexi (running from middle-left to top-right corner).

#246 8 years ago

I'm at a bit of an impasse regarding reassembly of the pop bumpers, as I need to place a parts order for all those busted bodies. I also had a few questions about upcoming purchases for ole' Swingy. Thankfully, after a phone conversation with Nick Baldridge, I felt a lot better. I think I have a pretty good handle on what I need, and we even added a couple of items to my already exhaustive wunderlist (www.wunderlist.com):

Untitled-1.jpgUntitled-1.jpg

Because I'm on hold with the pops, I started polishing some disassembled metal parts. Tonight I prettied-up the ball arch separators (or whatever they're called). Mine were corroded and rank after spending lord-knows-how-long in a barn:

IMG_8066.jpgIMG_8066.jpg

Cheese-tastic:

IMG_8067.jpgIMG_8067.jpg

The top of the separating bar (above photo) was pretty gross, but the sides (the visible portions through the ball arches) weren't fabulous either:

IMG_8069.jpgIMG_8069.jpg

I took my new wire wheel and used it to sand-down the big, stubborn, stains:

IMG_8075.jpgIMG_8075.jpg

The end result wasn't bad, but pretty grainy:

IMG_8070.jpgIMG_8070.jpg

I hit it with some green scotch brite pads for as long as I could manage. I felt like it knocked down the larger grain considerably...or maybe that's just what I convinced myself of after my muscles began to atrophy:

IMG_8074.jpgIMG_8074.jpg

Does anyone have suggestions for a way to add power to a less coarse/higher grit sanding substrate? I have that wire wheel I can jam in my cordless drill, which works great, but is there something like a green scotch brite pad level of coarseness that could also be mounted into a cordless drill to speed up my progressive smoothing of the metal? Or perhaps some way to jerry-rig it so that I just wrap the green scotch brite pad around a cordless drill bit so it won't come off when it spins and sands? I've been trying to think of a way to do that, but my ideas don't seem like they would hold-up very well.

Open to suggestions.

Lastly, here are a couple of final shots:

#247 8 years ago

Final shot #1 (Tops):

photo-1.jpgphoto-1.jpg

Final shot #2 (Sides):

photo-2.jpgphoto-2.jpg

#249 8 years ago
Quoted from yancy:

Lookin' good!

Thanks!

Quoted from yancy:

Metal refinishing is one of the more satisfying steps of pin restoration.

I can see why.

Quoted from yancy:

Especially lockdown bar receivers, which usually look like the inside bottom of a dumpster. I know you can't see 'em when you play, but they bug me all the same.

Oh my god, I've been looking forward to cleaning that little cesspool ever since I saw Doug polish-out one of his...it had to have been on one of his Trilogy Beer machines documentations. I just remember thinking, "THOSE THINGS COME OFF? ...AND YOU CAN CLEAN THEM???"

Then I mopped the drool off my keyboard.

#254 8 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

Here's a metal polishing thread.

Oooo...thanks for the suggested read. Just went through it (and followed all the links down their respective rabbit holes). It's making me ponder that polisher suggested by Hilton (whysnow). With the current sale price (Labor Day? ...or usually on sale, not sure), plus 20% off, it's hard to beat for 30-ish dollars.

For anyone wondering, here's the 6in. Buffing Tool (Reg. $54.99, Sale $39.99)

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-buffer-94393.html

Minus the Harbor Freight Coupon:

http://images.harborfreight.com/hftweb/home-page2015/images090415/labor-day-coupon-bw.jpg

...ends up coming to $31.99.

Tempting.

Quoted from jwilson:

Just a note that the bulb on the right might work right now but it's going to burn out very soon. I try not to recycle bulbs unless the glass is clear.

Quoted from dasvis:

They might work when they are black like that, but run extra hot. Always replace these to avoid melting plastics.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Absolutely correct. Any silvered or darkened bulbs will fail soon and run really hot until they do.

Advice taken:

IMG_8102.jpgIMG_8102.jpg

New bulb (above right) now installed in previous location:

IMG_8103.jpgIMG_8103.jpg

Thanks for the continued education, guys!

#255 8 years ago

Before starting tonight, I've gotta credit Yancy...

Quoted from yancy:

Metal refinishing is one of the more satisfying steps of pin restoration. Especially lockdown bar receivers, which usually look like the inside bottom of a dumpster. I know you can't see 'em when you play, but they bug me all the same.

...for gettin' my dander up about the lock-down bar polishing.

So, I took another look at mine:

IMG_8094.jpgIMG_8094.jpg

...and decided it needed to come out.

I know many of you guys have dealt with creatures and "leavings" and other unspeakable things, but...c'mon, this is pretty rank, right?

IMG_8095.jpgIMG_8095.jpg

...or does it get a lot worse?

Regardless, here are some more flattering angles:

IMG_8084.jpgIMG_8084.jpg

All that rust seems to have left some more mold/mildew on the inside of the cab:

IMG_8089.jpgIMG_8089.jpg

...which I'm guessing I'll have to sand or clean out somehow. (As usual, I'm open to suggestions on strategies for remediation.)

The other side of the lockdown receiver wasn't as bad:

IMG_8085.jpgIMG_8085.jpg

...but still needs some cleaning, which got me wondering how I take this thing apart!

#256 8 years ago

So, I tried figuring out how these locking components might separate from one another...

IMG_8096.jpgIMG_8096.jpg

...but was having a difficult time wrapping my head around its disassembly. I understood that there were a couple of screws that could be removed (next to my hand in the above shot), but even if that portion was removed, the moving bar still seemed to be locked in place at either end.

So I started investigating the bar holders (nomenclature???) and only found these odd sunken screw things:

IMG_8098.jpgIMG_8098.jpg

...without a screw head on either side:

IMG_8099.jpgIMG_8099.jpg

I was baffled and just sort of resigned myself to an unproductive evening, at which point I came here to my support group and started uploading my customary gaggle of photos. Which is when I saw THIS(!!!):

IMG_8097.jpgIMG_8097.jpg

There's an OPENING in one of the bar holders!!!

So of course, as soon as I unscrew those two screws (which I should have just attempted in the first place) everything came falling apart as it should:

photo-1.jpgphoto-1.jpg

So...NEVERMIND! No questions here.

Well, maybe one...

photo-2.jpgphoto-2.jpg

...about those "bar holders" I mentioned before. They're still firmly in place on the main unit and I still don't understand how those might come apart.

photo-3.jpgphoto-3.jpg

Without their removal, I'm not sure how I would clean them to my usual fastidious standards.

#257 8 years ago

Before I completely sign-off for the evening, I have another question relating to...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

the 6in. Buffing Tool

...mentioned above.

So, here's something weird...I think I might have one?

IMG_8090.jpgIMG_8090.jpg

We moved into our current house about a year ago, and this was left behind in our garage. It works, but I have no instructional manual, so I'm not really sure if that wire wheel and sander are replaceable. Do I just unscrew that nut on the end...

IMG_8091.jpgIMG_8091.jpg

...in order to replace that particular component (wire wheel, sander, whatevs) with a polishing unit of some sort? ...and if so, are all wheeled tool shafts (again...nomenclature???) interchangeable? Do I need to need to know a shaft size when I go to purchase one?

Thanks, as usual, for taking pity on this Luddite.

#259 8 years ago
Quoted from OuterDork:

Can you take a close up picture of the red sticker in the middle? If it's at all legible we can probably find you an owner's manual online. I can also run it past my dad, I know he has had one like that bolted to his work bench for as long as I have been alive. Usually the wheels are replaceable, but I don't know if the parts are universal or not.
-Andy

Oh, right, the internet!

image.jpgimage.jpg

Thanks, OuterDork! Good to see you're still around here.

#261 8 years ago

I used that hand-me-down grinder today:

IMG_8123.jpgIMG_8123.jpg

...and started cleaning up some of that lock-down bar receiver. If you recall, it looked like this before:

IMG_8094.jpgIMG_8094.jpg

...but after some wire wheel action:

IMG_8124.jpgIMG_8124.jpg

Admittedly, a bit patchy, but a far cry from the petri dish of yesterday.

The rusty part of the lockdown bar receiver:

IMG_8084.jpgIMG_8084.jpg

...cleaned up mostly:

IMG_8125.jpgIMG_8125.jpg

...save for a REALLY rough a pitted spot that had some heavy-heavy rust:

IMG_8126.jpgIMG_8126.jpg

I could not for the life of me abrade that out of there. As usual, I'm all ears for suggestions.

Finally, I got the major schmutz off the next couple of parts.

Before:

IMG_8122.jpgIMG_8122.jpg

After:

photo-1.jpgphoto-1.jpg

#262 8 years ago

(One more.)

Before:

IMG_8121.jpgIMG_8121.jpg

After:

photo-2.jpgphoto-2.jpg

Mighty-night, all.

#264 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

My polishing machine is just that. A re-purposed bench grinder.

Quoted from dmbjunky:

You probably won't buy a better grinder than that one. You just have to find the right wheel combination and you are set.

This is great news! Thanks for the reassurance, DMBJ and Mk1Mod0!

#267 8 years ago
Quoted from OuterDork:

Yep, not going anywhere, following with interest.

I mean...

Quoted from OuterDork:

OK the down side is that model appears to be old enough I can't find a manual online.

Bah well. Thanks for doin' my dirty work for me, though, OuterDork. I really just need to take some time and get in there with a couple of wrenches and see if I can pop those wheels out of there.

Quoted from OuterDork:

It looks like Dayton is still around, but only sold through http://www.grainger.com/

Funny you should mention this, I have a physical Grainger location about a 5 minute drive from my house. Woo-hoo!

Quoted from futurepinhead:

The metal work is looking amazing.

Thanks a lot. I guess I have more of a perfectionist streak in me than I'd like to admit, because I still see a lot of flaws, even in the clean pieces. But comments like this help me move forward with more important aspects, like functionality!

Quoted from futurepinhead:

I am jealous of your tools there.

Ha-ha! First of all, in an effort to not dismiss a compliment, thank you. But to be completely transparent, I am *such* a dunce when it comes to working with my hands...in a traditionally practical way. I can art my way around what I need to, but I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to tinkering with or fixing mechanical things. Many of the tools I've mentioned in this post I've only purchased (cheaply!) for the sake of working on this project (with the hopes there may be more in my future). Or in the case of the bench grinder, it fell out of the clear blue sky and onto my garage wall when we purchased our house...and I forgot about it...until I had a need. Regardless, these things can be had for really reasonable prices...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

For anyone wondering, here's the 6in. Buffing Tool (Reg. $54.99, Sale $39.99)
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-buffer-94393.html
Minus the Harbor Freight Coupon:
http://images.harborfreight.com/hftweb/home-page2015/images090415/labor-day-coupon-bw.jpg
...ends up coming to $31.99.
Tempting.

...if you're interested in them and poke around enough.

#268 8 years ago

So I did a couple more minutes of wire wheel on the lock-down bar receiver before putting it back together:

photo-1.jpgphoto-1.jpg

Did I mention it was hot in the garage? *phew*

sc.gifsc.gif

I almost forgot about the sludge caked on my cab underneath the lock-down bar receiver:

IMG_8089.jpgIMG_8089.jpg

So I did my best to clean that up. I didn't know what to do exactly, but started with a little hand cleaner to remove the majority of it and ended with a little alcohol to remove any hand-cleaner residue and get it nice and dry.

photo-2.jpgphoto-2.jpg

*shrugs*

By the end of the night the receiver was reattached:

photo-3.jpgphoto-3.jpg

As I mentioned before, there's still a lot more I'd like to do to it, but several sources are telling me to move on and get to more important things, so I'm going to listen to them.

photo-5.jpgphoto-5.jpg

...and make "a further cleaning of my receiver" a list item of things to do once this project is complete.

#272 8 years ago
Quoted from dasvis:

Unless you give that a coating of clear or maybe wax it heavily, it's going to rust in the future. The plating is mostly gone now.

Quoted from PinballFever:

Dasvis is right. Steve Fury uses Minwax to protect them

Thanks, Dasvis and Bruce. I've got that on my "to do after everything is done" list. ...it's all coming apart again for the re-theme anyway. But thanks for the reminder. I'm sure many metal parts will be getting the wax treatment at that time.

Quoted from futurepinhead:

I got my poster in from Ryan's giveaway. Here is my shout out thread for him.

Wha--

ggwuv.gifggwuv.gif

This is pretty-much the coolest. Thanks, Jared. I truly appreciate the kind words and dedicated thread.

#273 8 years ago

Started out the evening making ball trough things shiny.

Before:

IMG_8163.jpgIMG_8163.jpg

After:

IMG_8167.jpgIMG_8167.jpg

Before:

IMG_8165.jpgIMG_8165.jpg

After:

IMG_8166.jpgIMG_8166.jpg

Before:

IMG_8168.jpgIMG_8168.jpg

After:

IMG_8169.jpgIMG_8169.jpg

#274 8 years ago

So this...

photo-1.jpgphoto-1.jpg

...now looks like this...

photo-2.jpgphoto-2.jpg

...except, I couldn't figure out where this piece went:

photo-4.jpgphoto-4.jpg

...but, boy was it ever shiny.

ggyah.gifggyah.gif

I scanned that whole apron area...

photo-3.jpgphoto-3.jpg

...and couldn't even find a set of holes to screw it into. I was about to come whine to you guys and see if you could solve all my problems (again), but then I decided to comb this thread, which lead me here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme/page/3#post-2625078

...more precisely, to this dumb gif I made:

troughani.giftroughani.gif

While that gif didn't answer my question, it at least gave me a date to search for in my copious mounds of documented photos:

pix.jpgpix.jpg

Thankfully, my 25-day-younger self had a sinking suspicion my mind would fail nary a month later. Here are the couple of month-old shots that solved it:

IMG_7469.jpgIMG_7469.jpg

#275 8 years ago

Not to give myself too much credit, I did end up with a couple of extra screws after all that:

IMG_8181.jpgIMG_8181.jpg

zack.gifzack.gif

Next, apron cleaning and reassembly.

Before:

IMG_8175.jpgIMG_8175.jpg

After:

IMG_8177.jpgIMG_8177.jpg

Before:

IMG_8178.jpgIMG_8178.jpg

After:

IMG_8179.jpgIMG_8179.jpg

Now:

IMG_8180.jpgIMG_8180.jpg

#277 8 years ago
Quoted from Pahuffman:

...print out some score cards.

I dunno, I think they look...

prettyprettygood.gifprettyprettygood.gif

Actually, I'm waiting to deal with those later, as I'll eventually make them re-theme specific. Didn't see any reason to make 'em twice. But thanks for the linkage, Pahuffman. Downloaded 'em for later.

-----------------------

Today I polished more stuff. Ball arch looked like this at the start of the day:

IMG_8183.jpgIMG_8183.jpg

IMG_8185.jpgIMG_8185.jpg

...with a bunch of calcified stuff on the other side:

IMG_8187.jpgIMG_8187.jpg

At the end of the day, it looked like this:

IMG_8188.jpgIMG_8188.jpg

IMG_8189.jpgIMG_8189.jpg

#278 8 years ago

Then this:

IMG_8191.jpgIMG_8191.jpg

...and a few screws...

IMG_8192.jpgIMG_8192.jpg

...turned into this:

IMG_8194.jpgIMG_8194.jpg

Now I have one less of these clogging up my basement:

IMG_8196.jpgIMG_8196.jpg

Look at it SHINE!

IMG_8198.jpgIMG_8198.jpg

#280 8 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

'bout ready to fire it up!

Laughing-then-stops-laugh-GIF.gifLaughing-then-stops-laugh-GIF.gif

#283 8 years ago

Bah! Darn iPhone. Edited and fixed.

#284 8 years ago

PBR achievement...

photo 1.JPGphoto 1.JPG

...unlocked.

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

The pop-bumpers. They will be rebuilt.

#285 8 years ago

This morning, my son and I went down to investigate our new parts.

IMG_8221.JPGIMG_8221.JPG

Naturally, being a man of exquisite taste, he wanted to play with the $10 pop bumper cap first.

IMG_8217.JPGIMG_8217.JPG

We grabbed a few parts and did our best to reverse engineer the new parts into the old pop bumper configuration:

IMG_8224.JPGIMG_8224.JPG

From there, things became pretty astounding:

IMG_8225.JPGIMG_8225.JPG

He grabbed a pop bumper, and without education or prompting, he started putting it into the playfield...right where it was supposed to go(!!!!):

IMG_8228.JPGIMG_8228.JPG

Then after a few short tries, he proclaimed, "I DID it!!!"

IMG_8229.JPGIMG_8229.JPG

Indeed he had! (He's only 2, BTW.)

#ProudDadStuff

#FeelingLuckyToHaveHadACameraHandyAtThisMoment

THEN(!!!) we were looking at the old pop-bumpers in an attempt to extract the existing lamp sockets and leads, when we ran into this delay:

IMG_8231.JPGIMG_8231.JPG

...a ball of solder preventing the lead from being extracted and put into the new bumper. I showed him why we couldn't pull it out, and he said,

"Solder-Sucker."

To which I responded, "

what.gifwhat.gif

"
Then he said again, clear as day,

"Solder-Sucker, Dada."

I swear I've showed him a solder-sucker, like...maybe, once. And that was probably a month ago when I bought it for another project.

Until next update...still astounded.

#288 8 years ago

Started to piece together the new pop bumper parts. In doing so, I found myself continually confusing the part names of the pop bumper assembly, until I found this image:

7.jpg7.jpg

...found on this page from the PAPA website:

http://papa.org/learning-center/collector-resources/rebuilding-pop-bumpers/

Thanks, P.A.P.A.!

So here's a quick comparison of my new and old bodies (Bottom: New body from PBR. Top: Old, cracked and yellowed body from Swingy.):

photo 1.JPGphoto 1.JPG

I ended-up getting new bodies, skirts, bases, and rod/ring assemblies for all my bumpers. Decided to keep the same springs and lamp socket/leads, as those seemed like functional parts of the top-side assembly. Here's a comparison of an old assembly and a new one (well, mostly new):

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

The more I think about it, the more I wonder why I didn't just SPRING for the couple of other new parts. Despite me being a skinflint, they probably wouldn't have been that much money. Now, (after receiving my order) I'm looking back at the powered-up image of Swinger and noticing that 6 of the 7 bumpers seem to be dark:

387592.jpg387592.jpg

I'm sure this could very well have just been due to a bum lamp rather than a faulty lamp socket/lead, but just in case anyone has some feedback about them, I thought I'd include some visuals of the socket/leads.

Socket:

photo 3.JPGphoto 3.JPG

Leads:

photo 4.JPGphoto 4.JPG

I managed to piece together all top-side bumper assemblies (both pops and passives) by the end of the night (but none of them are attached/resoldered yet):

photo (1).JPGphoto (1).JPG

...maybe tomorrow night, unless I get some bad news about those sockets.

In the meantime, boy-howdy, this game keeps looking better and better!

woohoo-o.gifwoohoo-o.gif

#291 8 years ago
Quoted from girloveswaffles:

Those old bumper parts would be great to test the peroxide / UV light yellowing removal on.

Good call! Thanks for the suggestion, Gir.

For those curious: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/say-goodbye-to-old-yellowed-plastics

Quoted from bingopodcast:

I would have replaced those sockets.

Quoted from girloveswaffles:

And I'd also replace the old sockets.

1081.gif1081.gif

#296 8 years ago
Quoted from girloveswaffles:

do you have a theme for the game yet?

Hey, Gir, no problem. This thread is likely getting a bit unwieldy to process from the beginning to end, so it's probably time I mention this again for any new-comers:

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...this thread is going to be tech-heavy at first. I want to make sure this machine can and will run 100% before I spend a bunch of time on aesthetics. So, my re-theme reveal may take a little while.

Thanks for asking, though.

My goal is to get this puppy working 100%, I'll play-test for a while (so I can make more informed decisions about naming/re-theming various play-mechanics) and then start on art. Once I finish the first piece of artwork, this thread will be the first place I post and announce my re-theme. But again, that'll be...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...a little while.

#298 8 years ago
Quoted from davideokills:

The sockets are fine and they are controlled by the game so they won't come on with the rest of the GI. Once you have the game starting up you can hit the "On Bumpers" switches at the top to double check that the lights in the bumpers are all good.

I've been giving this a lot of thought, actually. On first thought, this...

Quoted from davideokills:

...they are controlled by the game so they won't come on with the rest of the GI...

...would seem to be a logical conclusion. However, this...

Quoted from davideokills:

Once you have the game starting up you can hit the "On Bumpers" switches at the top to double check that the lights in the bumpers are all good.

...would require that I repopulate and solder into place a bunch of potentially bum sockets and leads with the chance of them not working.

Also, the more I look at this picture (the last time the game was powered on):

451609.jpg451609.jpg

davideokills' statement could be correct: the pops are not lit because they haven't been turned on yet.

~or~

They could be off because the sockets are bad

~or~

They could be off because bulbs were bad

~but~

The TOP passive bumpers should be on, but with only one lit that tells me I've got a 50/50 chance of the socket being the culprit (the other chance is a bad bulb).

Finally, the CENTER POP bumper is not lit by a roll-over (to my knowledge, correct me if I'm wrong), it's simply a 100 point pop all the time.

So, with this knowledge, I think I'm going to do something unexpected, which is to use the old sockets/leads. The reason for this is several-fold:

1. I'll be pulling everything off the playfield again after I'm done play-testing, in order to sand-down and retheme the game. If the sockets are truly bad, I can replace them at that time.

2. I suck at soldering. ...and if I used shiny new sockets/leads, and I had to solder them in two times over, I'd fear my sub-par soldering work wouldn't live up to the pristine nature of those new leads.

3. After this minor debate, I'm really curious to see if they work or not.

4. I'm really cheap.

Anyhow, in the coming nights I'll plan on doing that. Thanks to everyone for giving me some food for thought.

#300 8 years ago
Quoted from PinballFever:

Will this work with old white flippers, posts, ball guides?

Well...I've got a couple cracked flippers I could throw in the mix. ...not sure when exactly that will happen, but I'd be curious to find out, too.

#301 8 years ago

Last night, as I debated what to do about my lamp sockets/leads, I popped the hood and started working on the:

IMG_8253.JPGIMG_8253.JPG

...which looks like this:

IMG_8265.JPGIMG_8265.JPG

If you recall, this was briefly mentioned when I came across the 87th use of a grocery store rubber band in this machine.

IMG_8254.JPGIMG_8254.JPG

I managed to get all the mechanical elements removed from the front side (no pic of parts, sorry), but stopped short as I looked at the PCB side:

IMG_8284.JPGIMG_8284.JPG

...mainly because I was trying to figure out an issue I noticed:

IMG_8263a.jpgIMG_8263a.jpg

It's really difficult to photograph, but these two arms of the spider wheel are not touching the PCB. Here's a marginally different angle

IMG_8261a.jpgIMG_8261a.jpg

So I guess I'll have to slightly bend them, once the spider-wheel is removed, in order to get them to make contact once again. Has anyone dealt with this before and have some tips?

Also of note, my lovely wife accompanied me down the basement last night as I tinkered around on ye olde' advance unit. Unfortunately she promised me Swinger would be my new bed if I posted a picture of her on Pinside. On the positive side, she pointed out some more things I need to take care of, namely the shooter rod housing:

IMG_8268.JPGIMG_8268.JPG

...which, she informed me, was plastic. We have a Jubilee, which came out from the same manufacturer only 1/2 a year later, and it has a metal housing. So, I've been told I should replace it. Along with the spring:

IMG_8270.JPGIMG_8270.JPG

...which, I've also been informed, is too rusty.

Today, I confirmed with Steve Young, that both parts are available and I'll be adding it to my next order.

#306 8 years ago
Quoted from Pecos:

Even with a lousy, cheap woodburning iron that shouldn't be used for soldering, it was a snap to do.

Ha-ha! So awesome.

...I'll bet your wood-burning looks awfully fancy now.

Quoted from Pecos:

Pre-tinning the leads

Does "pre-tinning the leads" mean, put a little solder on the leads before REALLY soldering them to another wire?

Quoted from Pecos:

A little practice and you will soon be a pro!

Thanks for the words of encouragement.

Got that!

Quoted from Pecos:

Bending them should be the last thing you do

Good to know!!

Quoted from Pecos:

Tighten the nut properly when putting it back together and the contacts should once more make contact.

Intellesting!!!

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Pecos is correct about bending the legs of the spider, however, if after rebuild they still don't touch properly, you will need to bend.

Great! Now I have a plan of action!

Quoted from Pecos:

my 1969 Williams Expo has a plastic shooter rod housing ... Be advised though that the plastic housing on my Expo was broken where one of the screws went into the plastic.

PM me and we can work out details to get you my plastic shooter rod housing (assuming it's the kind you need for your Expo). I plan on ordering a metal one when I make my next parts order.

Quoted from Pecos:

brass spring at Marco's

Noted!

Quoted from Pecos:

Honestly, no one ever looks at the thing, but you are the one who has to be happy in the end! It's one of those detail items that only bothers the person who owns the machine.

So...SO true. *a-hem*MyLockDownBarReceiver*a-hem* ...'scuse me. Little frog in my throat, there.

Many thanks for all the feedback, guys! Truly appreciate it.

There he goes again with Bingo this and Bingo that. Has it been too many pages since I mentioned your podcast, Nick?

Take it easy, everyone!
Ryan Claytor
Proud Artist for For Amusement Only: The EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast

#309 8 years ago
Quoted from girloveswaffles:

I have a complete '70s Williams ball shooter assembly with the metal shroud.

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

PM me and we can work out details to get you my plastic shooter rod housing

PM's have been sent/exchanged. Thanks, guys!

Quoted from Pecos:

Pre-tinning the leads...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

Does "pre-tinning the leads" mean...?

Quoted from Pecos:

Yep, that's exactly what it means.

Ah-ha! I'll give that a try. Thanks for the suggestion, Pecos!

#310 8 years ago

These are my existing pop caps:

IMG_8314.jpgIMG_8314.jpg

These just came in the mail today:

IMG_8307.jpgIMG_8307.jpg

Steve Young (http://www.pbresource.com/) does an amazing job hot stamping these (and, yes, I made a special request that he send me blanks, without colored sunbursts):

IMG_8310.jpgIMG_8310.jpg

Eventually I'll be airbrushing them (a la, my Jubilee pop caps) to suit the re-theme color scheme. For those interested in a quick result from my Jubiliee:

DSC08370.jpgDSC08370.jpg

For those interested in sleep-aid...er, I mean...an exhaustive step-by-step process recap (you are following THIS thread, after all):

http://www.elephanteater.com/9720

I also received these:

IMG_8312.jpgIMG_8312.jpg

...for when I start filing contacts, at some point. They were pretty cheap, for anyone interested:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BYR3BO

I also got some work done this evening. Took off the advance unit's questionable spider wheel I mentioned last time. So, this:

IMG_8315.jpgIMG_8315.jpg

...now looks like this:

IMG_8316.jpgIMG_8316.jpg

...and ultimately, I was left with this:

IMG_8317.jpgIMG_8317.jpg

#311 8 years ago

I neglected my usual glam shots for most of the cleaning, but here are a couple.

Before:

IMG_8318.jpgIMG_8318.jpg

After:

IMG_8319.jpgIMG_8319.jpg

This unit was pretty much a mess. Quite greasy/oily/sludgey, and then there's the whole spider wheel debacle. I think I may have figured-out why some of the contacts weren't connecting with the PCB. Again, this is really difficult to photograph, but some of the arms seem to have been bent back a bit. You can see the mild crease here:

IMG_8323.jpgIMG_8323.jpg

...and it's evident in profile, too:

IMG_8324.jpgIMG_8324.jpg

This is a different arm, with a different bend:

IMG_8325.jpgIMG_8325.jpg

Of course I didn't keep track of which arms were making contact and which weren't, so I can't confirm these arms are the culprits.

Nevertheless, these parts are now clean...

IMG_8326.jpgIMG_8326.jpg

...and with the exception of cleaning/lubing the PCB, the Advance Unit should be ready for reassembly next time.

Mighty-night.

#320 8 years ago
Quoted from davideokills:

This video captures the joy of making things shiny.

drool.gifdrool.gif

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I also received these...pretty cheap

Quoted from FrankJ:

flexstone from PBR at a buck a piece. You want to clean the contacts, not file them.

Quoted from girloveswaffles:

I'd recommend something like this for the wiper contacts

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Flexstones...
Ignition files...

CONTROVERSY!!!

This thread is about the erupt...I can feel it. Get ready for things to go all J-Pop up in here!

croc.gifcroc.gif

On a different note:

How does that compare to using something like the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser? Totally different? (Serious question.)

#323 8 years ago
Quoted from girloveswaffles:

BTW heat stamping on those white sunburst caps look sweet.

Word-up! Here's a quickie from my Jubilee pop cap resto I mentioned above:

jubi.jpgjubi.jpg

OOOooooooo...yeah. (Say it like Barry White.)

#330 8 years ago

Wow. That is a thing of beauty, Gir.

I know, that emblem is pretty great, isn't it. PBR lists it as the "squiggle" but atom is pretty fitting. There's one on Swinger and I've got a couple on my Jubilee...as you probably saw above.

Quoted from girloveswaffles:

I've used them for years...

Quoted from bingopodcast:

...nice to see another method!

I get the feeling there's a bunch of 'em (methods, that is)!

---------------

So, it had been a few days since my little guy had been down to help...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

clean peembah m'sheem!

I was trying to think of task we could do together, since my current pile of parts...

IMG_8326.jpgIMG_8326.jpg

...isn't something that's well suited for his ability level. (Heck, it's barely suitable for mine.)

But then I remembered talking about...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

my existing pop caps

...last time. Since I purchased new ones to custom paint, I was just gonna slap the old caps on as place-holders for play-testing, without cleaning, until I strip the machine again for the re-theme. I figured those were pretty safe items for him to clean, and when I looked back at them, they were a lot less filthy than I had in my mind. So we started by putting some "MAVIS" on an old cloth:

IMG_8345.jpgIMG_8345.jpg

(Did I mention he's a Thomas the Train fanatic?)

mavis.jpgmavis.jpg

Then some rubbing:

IMG_8335.jpgIMG_8335.jpg

...and then some admiring:

IMG_8337.jpgIMG_8337.jpg

With a little help from daddy (this is the before image):

IMG_8332.jpgIMG_8332.jpg

...we managed to get some pretty decent results!

IMG_8360.jpgIMG_8360.jpg

I was surprised how durable that paint was!

IMG_8361.jpgIMG_8361.jpg

A tiny bit came off on the rag, but the slight removal was unnoticeable on the cap.

(A couple more examples to come on the following post.)

#332 8 years ago

Before:

IMG_8334.jpgIMG_8334.jpg

After:

IMG_8348.jpgIMG_8348.jpg

Before:

IMG_8343.jpgIMG_8343.jpg

After:

IMG_8363.jpgIMG_8363.jpg

Here's what we managed to get done before attention spans ran short:

IMG_8365.jpgIMG_8365.jpg

'til next time!

ron.gifron.gif

#333 8 years ago

Alright, back to the Advance Unit. I started by cleaning the PCB in the same way I did the score reels' PCBs, using green scotch brite pads. The dirt was pretty caked on this one, so I used a dab of 91% isopropyl alcohol to persuade it out. Here's the end result:

IMG_8371.jpgIMG_8371.jpg

From here I had my...

I would...

Quoted from Pecos:

Tighten the nut properly

...which still yeilded this...

IMG_8374.jpgIMG_8374.jpg

If you don't recall...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...these two arms of the spider wheel are not touching the PCB.

Here's a closer version:

Untitled-2.jpgUntitled-2.jpg

At this point, I took note which arms were not touching (small black sharpie mark on each arm) and then took off the spider wheel. With the wheel removed, I put super lube on the PCB (the thinnest of coats!)...

IMG_8376.jpgIMG_8376.jpg

...as I've been warned previously to...

Quoted from bingopodcast:

...use my finger...

...and apply sparingly.

So, continuing my...

Which stated...

Quoted from bingopodcast:

...if after rebuild they still don't touch properly, you will need to bend.

So, bend I did, with the spider wheel unattached. After reassembling, the couple arms that needed a solid connection had it, and every other arm was hitting their mark, save for this guy...

IMG_8379.jpgIMG_8379.jpg

...which was kind of landing on a mid-point. It was questionable (to my eyes) whether or not the contact was resting on the lead or on the bakelite:

Untitled-1.jpgUntitled-1.jpg

So, after another gentle coaxing with the switch adjuster...

bend.jpgbend.jpg

...that arm, too, began to behave:

IMG_8383.jpgIMG_8383.jpg

#334 8 years ago

After dealing with the sketchy spider wheel, there was still another issue to quell on this Advance Unit, the springs:

IMG_8386.jpgIMG_8386.jpg

Reminder: Prior to disassembly and cleaning, this...

rubberband.jpgrubberband.jpg

...had me thinking that I needed another spring. So I bought a pack of a couple springs from PBR...

IMG_8389.jpgIMG_8389.jpg

...however, when I compared the diagram with my advance unit, it appeared as though only two springs were needed:

IMG_8389a.jpgIMG_8389a.jpg

...which happen to already be on my Advance Unit:

IMG_8389b.jpgIMG_8389b.jpg

Still uncertain, I tried putting the smaller of the two springs in the location where the rubber band was previously located. However, not only was there hardly any clearance between the existing spring and the location for the rubber band replacement, but the metal loops on the ends were too small to fit on the post:

IMG_8390.jpgIMG_8390.jpg

Then I tried the larger spring, but even holding it up to the area at rest revealed that the spring (green hands) was longer than the posts upon which the rubber band sat (red hands):

IMG_8391.jpgIMG_8391.jpg

All this to say, I'm reasonably certain that I only need the couple of springs that were already on my Advance Unit, and it does not need a third. I'm just a little confused as to why a previous owner felt the need to string a rubber band around a couple more posts.

Anyhow, I'm calling this one done and moving on to pop bumpers.

IMG_8377.jpgIMG_8377.jpg

#336 8 years ago
Quoted from Pecos:

That is correct - only two springs needed for that stepper unit.

Excellent! Thanks for the confirmation.

Quoted from Pecos:

You have two brand new springs so you might as well replace the two old springs with the two new ones.

Not a bad idea. Okay, here we go.

Old springs:

IMG_8408.jpgIMG_8408.jpg

Not in horrible shape, but as Pecos mentioned, if I've got the new ones, why not? So I hand one of the springs to my son and ask him where he thinks it might go:

IMG_8409.jpgIMG_8409.jpg

He was pretty close, but opted for a hole in the back of the playfield, which led to the inside of the ball arch.

jim.gifjim.gif

So a-fishing I went (with one of those extend-o magna-gadgets):

IMG_8411.jpgIMG_8411.jpg

When that didn't work, I was getting fearful that another ball-arch disassembly was eminent. That is, until I remembered that the ball arch is not a sealed unit:

IMG_8410.jpgIMG_8410.jpg

Batdance.gifBatdance.gif

Finally, here are the new springs, right where they should be.

IMG_8412.jpgIMG_8412.jpg

COMPARISON!!!

comp.jpgcomp.jpg

#337 8 years ago

Before the morning got away with us and naptime was nigh, we also cleaned the last couple of pop caps together.

A before shot:

IMG_8398.jpgIMG_8398.jpg

(Here I was being told about some dirt we needed to deal with):

IMG_8399.jpgIMG_8399.jpg

After dealing:

IMG_8404.jpgIMG_8404.jpg

Before:

IMG_8401.jpgIMG_8401.jpg

After:

IMG_8402.jpgIMG_8402.jpg

Pop caps, ready for...playtesting?

IMG_8407.jpgIMG_8407.jpg

Aside from the burned 100 squiggle/atom cap, I'm pretty impressed with how these cleaned up. If I wan't rethemeing the machine, I probably would have only replaced that one.

#339 8 years ago

Agreed. My Jubilee, which is from the same manufacturer, essentially the same age, and was in far better condition had pop caps that were HOSED!!! Not only was the plastic yellowed, but the sunburst colors were all but gone. These Swinger caps seem practically new, aside from the minor burn on the 100 squiggle. Astounding.

Edit: Because pictures.

My Jubilee pop caps on arrival:

DSC08328.jpgDSC08328.jpg

Yeesh.

DSC08329.jpgDSC08329.jpg

Before, as they came. After, new blank caps with airbrushing:

beforeAfter.jpgbeforeAfter.jpg

Swinger Caps, stock...only cleaned:

IMG_8407.jpgIMG_8407.jpg

#341 8 years ago

Wha--!!

clapping.gifclapping.gif

Quoted from girloveswaffles:

... but with some help from a friend

Ha-ha! MOAR POWAH!!! Looks like your dremel made short work of that ole' mushroomy shooter-rod. *LOL*

P.S. PM Sent, and many thanks for unearthing that housing for me!!!

#342 8 years ago

I'm at the point of trying to get my pop-bumpers back in order. In doing so, I spent about half an hour trying to (unsuccessfully) solder this lead to this wire:

photo-3.jpgphoto-3.jpg

It was an exercise in patience tonight. One I likely failed.

Tomorrow's another day and I'll follow the fine soldering advice given on this thread a lot more closely next try.

#347 8 years ago

You guys are a bunch of bosses.

bowieboss.gifbowieboss.gif

Thanks, as always, for helpin' out an electronically-inhibited artist. Of course, I'll update with my more successful results (it would be difficult to have a less successful session than last night).

#349 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Please tell me you are not trying to solder this upside down at an angle?!!!???

I did mention I'm an artist, right? I figured I'd go all Sistine Chapel on this restore.

really_.gifreally_.gif

Honestly, I'm workin' like this:

IMG_8523.jpgIMG_8523.jpg

Open to thoughts and suggestions of alternate working methods.

Quoted from davideokills:

I hope you are soldering the lead with the rest of the pop bumper mech off at least.

To be completely honest, I wasn't initially. ...which certainly added to the challenge (impossibility) of the situation. However, about half-way through my exercise in futility, I did realize I should probably take off that coil housing thing that attaches to the playfield. Despite a little extra room to maneuver, I still failed to complete the job the other night.

Quoted from davideokills:

...tin the leads before you put the pop bumper base back on the playfield.

Oh my god, yes! That's brilliant. I will do that for all of the following bumpers. Thank you.

Quoted from Pecos:

You win the "Patience Award of the Day" for pinball repair!

Oh, I dunno. My wife, god bless her, was keeping me company in the basement for that little work session. By the end of it she was wondering why I'm interested in doing this at all. Ha-ha! Of course, she chose the least productive tinker-sesh to witness.

Quoted from Pecos:

Here is a picture that shows pretty much how the pop bumper lead should look

I'm still trying to figure out if you used one of my own images against me or if you developed another ridiculous hand-pointer for an image of your own.

*thread scan*

Okay, wows. That was from back in the ancient days of page 3. Pecos wins the thorough award. Nicely done, good sir!

===========

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, thank you ALL for your help and encouragement. Seriously.

waynesworldnotworthy.gifwaynesworldnotworthy.gif

#351 8 years ago

Alright, another work sesh under my belt this evening. Here's how it went after re-reading everyone's suggestions several times over.

I started-out trying to tackle that same pesky lead and wire that gave me difficulty the last go-round. This time, however, I would...

Quoted from Pecos:

Carefully bend the lead...and slide it under the wire

The larger, more stable lead gave the flimsy wire a more stable base (in comparison to last time when I had the wire underneath and was trying to press the lead down on top...not the business). Thanks, also, to Nick for privately suggesting this!

I also...

Quoted from Pecos:

...Put a little flux on both the wire and the lead...

...using my trusty plastic fork, minus the middle tines (left hand points to wire, right hand points to plastic-fork flux applicator):

IMG_8525.jpgIMG_8525.jpg

After pre-tinning, fluxing, bending lead, aligning lead and wire, removing solenoid from PF to give myself additional room to move, and revising my Sistine Chapel stance , I believe I set myself up for success. Here's the result. Not beautiful, but I think it will work!

IMG_8535.jpgIMG_8535.jpg

Next, the second side of this lamp lead and corresponding wire.

IMG_8530.jpgIMG_8530.jpg

Same prepping procedure on this side. Here's the plastic-fork applicator and resulting flux (alternate methods for flux application are welcome):

IMG_8531.jpgIMG_8531.jpg

Finally, a dandy bead of solder on this side as well.

IMG_8533.jpgIMG_8533.jpg

Once both leads were soldered back into place, I reattached the coil:

IMG_8537.jpgIMG_8537.jpg

One thing that gave me pause was the gap in the pop-bumper switch stack. This is supposed to be open:

IMG_8541.jpgIMG_8541.jpg

...and then it closes for a split second when the coil fires. I'm guessing this gap should be larger? ...but I'm not sure. As usual, I'm leaning on you more experienced folks for some clarity.

Aside from the switch gap that is potentially too closed, I'm pretty certain this pop bumper is ready to be put to bed. So on went the cap:

IMG_8542.jpgIMG_8542.jpg

That felt pretty good.

#354 8 years ago
Quoted from RyanClaytor:

alternate working methods[?]

Quoted from bingopodcast:

portable sawhorses

Quoted from Pecos:

I don't want to sound like your mother, but I could never forgive myself if the playfield slipped

Stopped at an estate sale today in search of sawhorses. Didn't find any, but they're now on my radar. I'm half wondering if I should just get/build a rotisserie, but in all likelihood it'll be a while before that happens so sawhorses seem like a logical and more immediate purchase. Thanks for the suggestions and concern, guys. ...but, hey, at least I stopped doing this with my playfield:

heldByFriction.jpgheldByFriction.jpg

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

After pre-tinning, fluxing, bending lead, aligning lead and wire, removing solenoid...

Quoted from Pecos:

Fluxing first should give you better results

I actually did that but wasn't completely accurate with my descriptive update. But thanks for the reminder! As you'll see in a moment, it worked wonders this evening.

Quoted from Pecos:

I like to have my contacts close together, but not so close that it won't activate when another pop bumper is activated. Lightly pounding on the playfield...

Quoted from yancy:

This is good advice, even for solid state games.

Great to hear! Thanks for the confirmation, Pecos and Yancy!

#355 8 years ago

This evening started with a bit of house-cleaning. My lovely wife had been teasing me all day that she'd purchased "something big" for me that would be arriving this afternoon. She wouldn't say what it was, but sure enough when I returned home tonight there was a gigantic Amazon box awaiting me:

photo-(4).jpgphoto-(4).jpg

Inside of which were two smaller boxes:

IMG_8558.jpgIMG_8558.jpg

Inside of which were two sturdy cases of parts bins!

IMG_8559.jpgIMG_8559.jpg

Despite being a clean-a-holic, my wife has been pretty great about putting up with my tinker-space in the unfinished portion of our basement. Just to give you an idea of what she's been dealing with, here's what it looked like up until about 3 hours ago:

photo-(5).jpgphoto-(5).jpg

I've gotta admit, when I got some objective distance from this project through the lens of my camera, I was a little ashamed and kinda felt bad for my wife. I'd turned this place into a freakin' sty. Her personality is not well suited to this type of mess, but like a dude, I can tune-out most things (mess, noise, severed heads) when I get focused on something. Nevertheless, she's been taking this like a champ.

But tonight I came to the realization that each night I've been coming down the basement to work, I kinda get focused on one tree or another and over the course of the past several months have lost sight of this increasingly unsightly forest. So, when my wife was kind enough to get me something I desperately needed, I had this spare table assembled and new organizational system set-up in about 10 minutes.

IMG_8560.jpgIMG_8560.jpg

...which is going to make working so much easier.

To top it off, my thoughtful wife (who still refuses to show any of you slobs her enchanting visage), hung-out with me this evening as I worked on another pop-bumper and helped label many of my new drawers!

IMG_8570.jpgIMG_8570.jpg

Here's some of the labeled goodness.

IMG_8584.jpgIMG_8584.jpg

Like many of you, she didn't understand how an "ignition file" had any business inside a pinball machine if it was meant for a car engine, and she thought that surely there must be an alternate name for "rubbers."

IMG_8585.jpgIMG_8585.jpg

Thanks for the much needed gift, Honey!

#356 8 years ago

As I mentioned above, during an organizational assist from my wife, I was busy attempting a reassembly of pop bumper #2. With everyone's helpful comments ringing in my ears,

"use some flux,"

"pre-tin the leads,"

"do that prior to sinking them into the playfield,"

"position your soldering iron thusly,"

"don't be such a patsy,"

I set out to do all of that. So here's the first step, fluxxin' that lead to the max:

IMG_8562.jpgIMG_8562.jpg

Dunking the lead into the vat proved to be easier than applying flux via the "devil fork" (term coined by my wife tonight as she filed it away in an organizational bin):

photo (6).JPGphoto (6).JPG

I made sure to pre-tin the leads before mounting the pop bumper body to the playfield...

IMG_8573.jpgIMG_8573.jpg

...then down it went:

IMG_8575.jpgIMG_8575.jpg

Then I started soldering in beast mode, because before I knew it everything was right in the world: leads and wires were soldered, yokes were replaced, and coil mechs were screwed back into the bottom of the playfield. Here's proof (with one of the soldered leads being pointed at):

IMG_8579.jpgIMG_8579.jpg

...and the other lead also soldered to its appropriate wire:

IMG_8581.jpgIMG_8581.jpg

I gave each wire a few tugs to make sure the solder joints were secure. Each seemed to be quite solid.

So here's the whole darn thing reassembled:

IMG_8582.jpgIMG_8582.jpg

with a cherry on top:

IMG_8586.jpgIMG_8586.jpg

2 down, 5 to go (3 pops, 2 passives)!

Finally, I just wanted to say thanks again for everyone's words of wisdom and encouragement. After my wife witnessed Tuesday's half-hour failed soldering debacle, I was able to feel like a man in front of her once again, as I successfully rebuilt a pop bumper in her presence and she truly did not give two shits.

Toodles...

#358 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Please define "not an allen wrench fancy double headed screwdriver."

Ha-ha! I read this to my wife and we both got a good chuckle. During our organizational session, she picked-up this tool from my heap and said, "What is this, an Allen wrench?"

photo (7).JPGphoto (7).JPG

I laughed a little and told her that was not an allen wrench.

She asked, "Well, what's an Allen wrench, then?"

I showed her one with a hexagonal head.

Then she responded, "So what's this thing?"

I told her, "I don't know, but it's part flat-head and part phillips. Not sure what to call that, though."

Now we all know what to call it.

#359 8 years ago

ANOTHER...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC POST:

As I've mentioned before...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I've had a really great experience documenting this restoration/re-theme thus far, I'm incredibly thankful for the University of Electro-Mechanical Education I'm receiving...

...and I just noticed that we're up to 30 faves(!??!).

fave.jpgfave.jpg

To celebrate, let's do another give-away. In case anyone forgot (or is new to the thread):

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I'm a comic book artist and I'd like to give away ANYTHING in my store to the first person who responds on this thread listing an interest in SOMETHING SPECIFIC. It could be a comic of mine, one of the Drop Target Zines I've contributed to, heck it could even be one of the several pinball T-shirts I've illustrated (provided I still have your size).

So...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

Here's a link to my comics store page if you'd like to sift through some product descriptions:

http://www.elephanteater.com/comics

...and...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...here's a page with my Pinball T-shirt and Poster artwork (that I haven't had time to add to the previously mentioned store page):

http://www.elephanteater.com/10761

Also, Terry and I JUST released news of a new shirt (so, it's not on the pinball art page yet), but I recently illustrated Pinball Life's Expo Open House event shirt for the second year in a row:

pbl15.jpgpbl15.jpg

So, I have some of those too...for anyone secure enough to wear pink. In case you're skeptical, here's how glorious you, too, can look as you protect your son from goats:

goats.jpggoats.jpg

Good luck to the lucky winner, and thanks again for all the favorites, posts, and HELP on this first EM journey of mine.

Sincerely,
Ryan Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
http://www.ElephantEater.com

#365 8 years ago

I worked on another pop-bumper today and feel like I'm starting to get my stride with these things. Here it is with the coil mech removed (far more room to solder the lamp leads and wires together now! ):

IMG_8640.jpgIMG_8640.jpg

It may be difficult to see from the above image, but this is what the pre-tinned leads and wires looked like all lined up and ready to go (but not soldered into place):

Untitled-2.jpgUntitled-2.jpg

And here's what they look like soldered together:

IMG_8649.jpgIMG_8649.jpg

Wires were tugged and tested. All seem solid. I'm still amazed at how these leads and wires almost solder themselves into place with the flux and pre-tinning that was suggested. Again, many thanks for all the advice I was given. On one hand it's a little painful to look back at Tuesdays post, but at the same time it's reassuring to see the progress and comfort able to be achieved in a relatively short amount of time.

Anyhow, THREE!!!

IMG_8651.jpgIMG_8651.jpg

After putting together a few pop-bumpers now, I've realized a pattern: Despite being a lot more comfortable than I was a few short days ago, inevitably I still accomplish some task out of order, then have to go back, do the right thing, proceed with the rebuild, and do that another time or three before I have the pop-bumper rebuilt. This time I started making a list:

IMG_8653.jpgIMG_8653.jpg

Which, even to me, was quasi-indecipherable. So, here's what I ended-up with after additions, cross-outs, and re-orders:

1. Open Window
2. Clean Soldering Iron with Green Scotch Brite Pad
3. Plug in Soldering Iron
4. Flux Lamp Leads
5. Pre-Tin Lamp Leads
6. Unscrew Coil Bracket from Playfield
7. Unscrew Coil Plunger Guide/Stop from Coil Bracket
8. Clean Sleeve/Plunger/Coil with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol
9. Replace Yoke
10. Reassemble Coil Mech (but do not attach to playfield)
11. Mount/Screw Bumper Body to Playfield
12. Pre-Tin Wire
13. Bend Leads Close to Playfield and Position Under Wires
14. Solder Lamp Leads and Wire Together
15. Mount/Screw Coil Mech to Playfield
16. Nylock Nut the Yoke into Place
17. Insert Bulb into Bumper Body
18. Attach Bumper Cap
19. Adjust Spoon Switch
20. Close Window

Another update...ALPHABETICALLY ORGANIZED!!!

IMG_8636.jpgIMG_8636.jpg

Woo-hoo!!!

IMG_8637.jpgIMG_8637.jpg

Ska-doosh!

#367 8 years ago

Thanks a bunch, Zerbam!

Quoted from zerbam:

hope to see you at expo.....explosion.....and dayhuffs

My family and I will be at all of the above. Please pull me aside and say hello! I'd love to chat.

Quoted from zerbam:

12 hours of pinball

Quoted from zerbam:

is not until november

Quoted from dmbjunky:

I plan on going too.

Same response as above! Seriously.

Quoted from girloveswaffles:

I have to use one of those once in a while (generally not on pins). I like to refer to it as "The Abomination".

*LOL* Apropos.

I feel like it's one of those cheapy tools that come with a set of build-it-yourself furniture that I'll never use again, but of course, I can't bring myself to throw it out.

golden-girls-o.gifgolden-girls-o.gif

#372 8 years ago

I must admit, when you first wrote that line,

Quoted from Pecos:

Sit back and wait for applause.

I wondered if I'd ever see the day. Ha-ha! Thanks for your helpful suggestions, Pecos, and your applause.

Quoted from Pecos:

Very nice list!
It seems simple, right? And then you write it all down and WOW - not so simple after all!

TOTALLY! I mean, all the parts are there and they basically go in their designated spots, but man, sometimes I surprise myself with the number of alternate (incorrect?) ways to approach a rebuild. *LOL*

Quoted from Pecos:

The best part of your list is that not only you benefit but all who follow benefits too.

That's one of my hopes for this thread, honestly. I mean, I'm not gonna lie; selfishly, I'd like to see this game up and running, and I'm completely benefitting from all the generously dealt knowledge here, but I'd also like this to serve as a resource for other folks entering the hobby who have ZERO electronic experience to prove that this is a rewarding and COMPLETELY approachable, albeit daunting, task.

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

I am certainly a member of the "completely reassemble the pop and solder the lamp leads before you figure out you forgot to add in the little activator ring return spring" club.

Maybe we need to start our own thread, Mk1Mod0.

Also, you mention a good point. I've got a pile of pre-assembled pop-bumper bodies, rod/ring, skirts, springs, etc all sitting in a box. (I simply used the old bodies as templates to reassemble the new ones all at once.) So, that's why that step is mysteriously absent from my list. BUT THAT BRINGS UP A FINE POINT FOR FUTURE NEWBS:

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

add in the little activator ring return spring

In other news:

Quoted from zerbam:

"I WANT THE PRIZE"

As the first person to:

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...respond on this thread listing an interest in SOMETHING SPECIFIC...

YOU GET THE PRIZE!!!

Quoted from zerbam:

...how about the pinball life explosion shirt for my grandson.

Not sure how big your grandson is, but I BELIEVE the smallest size I have in that shirt is an Adult Medium. Feel free to shift this conversation over to PM (now that a winner has been publicly shamed...er, I mean...NAMED) and I'll get you taken care of.

Congrats, Zerbam!!!

#373 8 years ago

Ska-TWOsh!

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

After a double-dose of pop-bumper reassembly, I've only got the 2 passives to go. After that, we'll see if I remember how to put the flipper mechs back together. (It's been a while.)

Not a lot of dramatics to report tonight. Although, there was one thing I was curious about. When testing one of the pops I reassembled this evening, I noticed that if I gave the skirt kind of an extreme push, the rod-thing (attached to the skirt) below the playfield would occasionally get hung-up on the spoon:

photo-1.jpgphoto-1.jpg

Does that generally happen? Is this not a concern because the ball would be pushed away by the rod/ring before the ball had a chance to push the skirt that far? ...or is there some spoon adjustment needed?

Thanks, as usual.

The final pseudo-drama of the night was this little flesh-wound:

photo-(8).jpgphoto-(8).jpg

This actually happened a couple nights ago. I was doing what I do best (soldering) and trying to hold everything at once. When I reached for the spool of solder (at the time, held in the same hand as the soldering iron) I sort of slid the soldering iron along the back of my finger as I reached for the solder.

Picard.gifPicard.gif

It's healing now, but I forgot to report my brilliance the night it happened.

'Til next time.

#376 8 years ago
Quoted from bingopodcast:

the spoon needs to be adjusted.

So, should I bend the spoon switch AWAY from the rod? ...is that how I adjust it?

Quoted from OuterDork:

Man, this machine is looking better and better each time I log in.

Thanks, OD!

Quoted from OuterDork:

You're gonna have to let me play it sometime once it's done.

Absolutely! In fact, you're welcome to come over and play the rest of the fleet even before this is done.

#378 8 years ago

Great info. Thanks, Nick!

#379 8 years ago

I was pretty excited when I saw this white package waiting on my doorstep this evening.

IMG_8681.JPGIMG_8681.JPG

I had a hunch it was a...

Quoted from girloveswaffles:

...complete '70s Williams ball shooter assembly with the metal shroud.

...from 10 states away. (THANKS, GIR!!! P.M. Sent.) Sure enough, with a bit of help, we discovered...

IMG_8686.JPGIMG_8686.JPG

...IT WAS!!!

IMG_8682.JPGIMG_8682.JPG

Although, someone was more enamored with the bubble packaging than the contents of the bubble packaging:

IMG_8688.JPGIMG_8688.JPG

With the melodious sounds of periodic popping in the background, I immediately started replacing that old...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...plastic shooter rod housing...

...but discovered something odd. Are the shooter rod assemblies supposed to have two of these metal bracket/plate/things on the inside of the cab or just one?

IMG_8691.JPGIMG_8691.JPG

I'm also curious about this...C-clip? (Or, shall we say, "CEE-sus clip"...nods to Mk1Mod0.)

IMG_8696.JPGIMG_8696.JPG

Am I just supposed to man-handle this off with a needle-nose pliers, or is there a civilized method to removing these things?

Regardless, my end goal was to combine my metal shooter rod with Gir's gifted metal-housing/shroud. But not before some quickie polishing of my plunger handle.

Before:

IMG_8699.JPGIMG_8699.JPG

After:

IMG_8700.JPGIMG_8700.JPG

#380 8 years ago

...and here's what it looks like installed:

IMG_8707.JPGIMG_8707.JPG

SOOO much better than that ole' plastic thing (IMHO). Plus the wife is happy, so that helps, too. More thanks and praise to Girloveswaffles! I'll think of you every time I plunge.

IMG_8710.JPGIMG_8710.JPG

=============

In addition to the shiny new shooter rod, I also did another thing tonight: reassembled the passive bumpers. I'll let you guess which ones are the new caps and which are old:

IMG_8714.JPGIMG_8714.JPG

Only had to adjust one of these switches.

Before:

IMG_8716.JPGIMG_8716.JPG

After:

IMG_8718.JPGIMG_8718.JPG

After installing 5 pop-bumpers in (relatively) quick succession, reassembling the passive bumpers was like going back to General Math after finishing a year of Honors Calculus.

Bing-bang-boom!

IMG_8719.JPGIMG_8719.JPG

For those interested, here's what those rubber-wrapped passive bumpers look like.

IMG_8720.JPGIMG_8720.JPG

And all the bumpers are back in place!!!

IMG_8724.JPGIMG_8724.JPG

#382 8 years ago

Hey, I have those! Oh, wait. They go UNDER those caps, don't they.

stupid.gifstupid.gif

Woopsies. (I swear I screwed on every cap without inserting a single bulb.)

LIST EDITED!!! Ha-ha!

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme/page/8#post-2709587

#383 8 years ago

Okay...

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

...all better...

photo 1.JPGphoto 1.JPG

#387 8 years ago
Quoted from OuterDork:

Better late then never

Ha-ha! My Swinger project mantra.

Quoted from FrankJ:

Two housings.

Ah! Cool. Thanks for the confirmation.

...by any chance, does anyone know why there need to be two?

Quoted from FrankJ:

Man-handle them with needle-nosed pliers. If too large after pulling it off, just bend it back when you re-install it.

Great! That's how I got it done, but felt like I might be missing a way to finesse them into place. Sounds like maybe not. My other concern was that by using my needle-nose pliers, I was kind of getting some grooves (from the texture of the pliers) dug into that little C-clip. Again, one of those elements that only an owner would know, but does anyone have tips for prying that "Cee-sus" clip off without marring it?

Quoted from dmbjunky:

I think I might have invest in a tumbler. It sounds like a time saver.

Quoted from FrankJ:

You really should have invested in a tumbler/polisher. It would have made all of that silver shine brightly (not just the shooter assembly). You are doing such a nice job, it could have been easier, shined better, and not had the brush marks from your wire wheel.

Completely agreed! Believe it or not, a week or so ago (after all the major polishing in this thread had taken place) I borrowed a tumbler from a local pinball buddy (who hasn't used it in years...so he wasn't upset about giving it up for a while). I was just so used to whipping out the wire-bit for the drill that I didn't think to use the tumbler on my shooter rod assembly.

On the bright side, this project has the added benefit(detriment?) of being done twice. Ha-ha! Once I get it back together, I'll be play-testing for a while to diagnose problems, understand gameplay, and make sure it is able to work 100%. Once I'm comfortable with all that and I have some artwork drawn-up for the retheme, I'll be stripping it all down (again) to sand down playfield and cabinet, re-art everything (backglass, plastics, playfield, cab, pop-bumpers, etc) and will be taking that opportunity to go through with a fine-tooth comb on a laundry list of house-keeping items I'm collecting. But, yes, you're a bunch of right. I need to just bite the bullet, whip out that tumbler I borrowed, and get familiar with it.

Thanks for the reminder and gentle nudge, FrankJ.

Quoted from FrankJ:

Now that your playfield shines, take care of those nasty legs and leg bolts.

More agreement. I'll likely snag some shiny new legs and bolts at the Pinball Life event in a couple weeks:

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=catalog&parent=274&pg=1

(...with artwork by some chump):

pbl15blackWhite.jpgpbl15blackWhite.jpg

They have some clearance items available:

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=catalog&parent=357&pg=1

...one of which is "Williams/Bally WPC-era Chrome Leg Sets" for only $40. I believe those will fit on this 70's-era Williams game, and I'm not too picky about keeping original flat-sided legs on this thing.

Just for comparison, it looks like PBR has flat-sided (era-appropriate) legs for not a whole bunch more ($53.60 for 4):

http://pbresource.com/legs.html#legs

...but then there will be a boatload of shipping tacked on, and I'm gonna be at PBL for their shin-dig anyhow (no shipping costs). Plus, I feel like I'd have more than $40 worth of polishing ahead of me to make my existing legs not-as-pretty as new chrome legs.

*shrugs*

I'm happy to field alternate opinions, though. Again, I'm new, and trying to reason my way through this.

#389 8 years ago

Here are the couple sets of flipper rebuild parts I got from Pinball Resource:

IMG_8731.JPGIMG_8731.JPG

Last night I focused on rebuilding the left flipper mech

IMG_8732.JPGIMG_8732.JPG

Here's the existing coil. It looks questionable to my untrained eye, but I've been advised to give this a whirl, so I'll go ahead and use it:

IMG_8733.JPGIMG_8733.JPG

It had a metal sleeve that needed a bit of convincing to come out:

IMG_8736.JPGIMG_8736.JPG

I figured the coil would need some cleaning:

IMG_8737.JPGIMG_8737.JPG

I didn't realize how right I was:

IMG_8738.JPGIMG_8738.JPG

The new nylon sleeve went in with relative ease:

IMG_8740.JPGIMG_8740.JPG

#390 8 years ago

The rebuild kit came with a new coil stop:

IMG_8741.JPGIMG_8741.JPG

...but the screws on the old one were stripped:

IMG_8742.JPGIMG_8742.JPG

So I used a pro-tip I received near the beginning of this project; use a rubber band on the tip of the screwdriver...

IMG_8743.JPGIMG_8743.JPG

...to increase the friction between the screwdriver tip and the screw:

IMG_8744.JPGIMG_8744.JPG

That worked out pretty dandy.

Next, I replaced the end of stroke (EOS) switch. Here's the old one...

IMG_8745.JPGIMG_8745.JPG

...paired next to the new one:

IMG_8747.JPGIMG_8747.JPG

(Was bakelite actually this color when it was first made decades ago? It looks so foriegn to the dark/orange/brown color I'm accustom to seeing.)

To make a long story less long, I got the new one soldered into place, being careful about soldering the correct wire to the correct switch side:

IMG_8748.JPGIMG_8748.JPG

#391 8 years ago

The new allen wrench screws were a lot easier to finger tighten into place (vs the tiny screws without screwheads on the original):

IMG_8749.JPGIMG_8749.JPG

Here's everything back in place:

IMG_8754.JPGIMG_8754.JPG

...only, when fully actuated, the EOS switch has not been broken:

IMG_8755.JPGIMG_8755.JPG

So I'm assuming this will need some adjustment, but before I go bending switches, I wanted to check here first to see if there's a way to make larger adjustments before breaking-out the ole' switch adjusting tool.

Here's the new (temporary) flipper I'm using:

IMG_8757.JPGIMG_8757.JPG

Yes, it clashes with the artwork, but (again) this will all be re-themed, so this will serve as a fine and functional flipper until I nail down actual re-theme colors and purchase appropriately colored flipper bats and rubbers. Despite color clashing, it's a good deal better than the existing:

IMG_8750.JPGIMG_8750.JPG

IMG_8752.JPGIMG_8752.JPG

#392 8 years ago

P.S. My activity on this thread will likely be sporadic/quasi-absent for the next couple/few weeks. I'm picking-up my mom from the airport today for a several day visit. Then shortly after she leaves, it's Pinball Expo time! Which reminds me, if anyone reading this thread will be in Chicago in Mid October, I'd love to meet in person. My family and I will be staying at the Westin Thursday-Saturday of Expo.

1 week later
#397 8 years ago
Quoted from futurepinhead:

Lot of crickets in here.

I know what you really missed were the animated gifs. Fine:

400.gif400.gif

Actually, this past week has been...surreal. If you're not interested in a non-pinball update, please skip to the next post.

Sunday evening, I was running around with my son in our house, something we do frequently during play-time before bed. On Sunday, however, I did not recover from our craziness as quickly as usual. We gave him a bath, got him ready for bed, and an hour later I still had a strange feeling in my chest. I felt sort of anxious/out-of-breath, like when you're standing in front of a crowd about ready to talk. I checked my pulse and it was irregular; sometimes with pauses, sometimes quick, not very consistent. Coincidentally, my mom was in town visiting (from out of state) during this time. My wife and mom both felt my pulse and felt the same thing I did. We called the hospital and talked to a doc-on-call who advised me to go to the E.R.

photo 1.JPGphoto 1.JPG

Once in the Emergency Room, I was diagnosed with aortic-fibrillation (A-fib), which is a case where one of your heart valves sort of flutters instead of allowing a regular rhythm. This can cause blood to pool in one of your heart chambers, allowing blood to coagulate, in turn causing a stroke when that coagulated blood is released. I was whisked up to the cardiology floor of the hospital for further observation. There was talk of giving me defibrillation (shock treatment) to whip my heart back into order. Before that happened, they thought to try a double-dose of drugs (Drug A: Changes a-fib fluttering back to "Sinus" (normal) heart rhythm, while Drug B: slows down the heart in order to make that transition easier). Drugs worked. By Monday afternoon I was "converted" (back to regular "sinus" heart rhythm). We just got the news of conversion and were in the midst of writing celebratory text messages when my vision started getting starry and my hearing became muffled. I told my mom and wife, both at my bedside, what I was feeling and that I felt like I was about to pass out. I hit my nurse call button, which is the last thing I remember before blacking-out.

I've since been told that I was unconscious for about a minute, during which time my heart stopped beating. Twice. Once for 4 seconds, once for 9 seconds. The next thing I recall when waking up is a bunch of people over my bed. I didn't realize I had even passed out until one of the doctors asked if I had lost consciousness. I replied, "No," and both my mom and wife exclaimed, "YES!" It truly felt like I just closed my eyes for a moment.

The good news is that even during that loss of consciousness, I did not lapse back into A-Fib and have been in sinus ever since the conversation. The bad news is that I kinda died for a little bit. Anyhow, I'm writing you now, so I'm obviously alive and aside from that minute of black-out, I remember everything (as much has my hazy brain has in the past, anyway).

So, I stayed in the hospital a second night. After the scare on Monday afternoon, they transferred me up to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where people could keep a closer eye on me in case something like that were to happen again. I slept (mostly) through the night (as much as I was able, with wires taped to every part of my body) and in the morning I was told that the night could not have gone better. My heartbeat was good, I did not lapse back into a-fib, my blood-pressure was fine, and I felt remarkably normal. Tuesday was basically a big day of waiting to be discharged from the hospital. We sat around and watched a bunch of HGTV, Cake Boss, and whatever that show is that features bitchy girls with too much money trying on wedding dresses. (If I could have found something that questioned my masculinity any further, I probably would have watched that too.)

Toward the end of my stay in ICU, I had an Electro-Pulminologist (a cardio doc who specializes in electrical heart stuff, rather than the plumbing of the heart) come in and suggest that I have a pace-maker put in. His fear was that I may lose consciousness again (due to a relapse into a-fib) and at worst, my heart may stop beating and not start again. I told him I was not interested in a pace-maker for a number of reasons:

1) It is extremely invasive surgery
2) Pace makers require multiple surgeries to replace batteries in the future
3) This is the first time something like this has happened to me and it is possible it will not happen again
4) I'm pretty young (36y.o.) and this was a huge fluke
5) No one has any answers for why this actually happened, or how I can avoid it in the future.

That last one was a huge factor. The doc thought my blackout flat-line may have occurred because of the a-fib. However, I think it may be a result of the drug they gave me that slows my heart working a little TOO well (my mom is notoriously affected by drugs and often needs a fraction of the dose to accomplish their intended result). We'll likely never know the real scenario (unless it happens again), but until then I'm not willing to risk invasive surgery on such little information. I mean, I basically answered, "No," to all their questions: I do not do drugs, I do not smoke, I do not drink, I am not overweight, I am not the traditional 60-80 year age range for A-Fib patients, I'm active, etc., etc., etc. If this happens again, I'll be having a different conversation with my wife, family, and doctors.

Anyhow, Wednesday I was at the university teaching a couple of classes, not 24 hours after being discharged from ICU. The following day I drove my mom an hour away to take her to tea before she flew home.

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

I'm feeling surprisingly fine and I almost have to remind myself that I flat-lined a few days ago. Despite feeling pretty good, I am doing my best to take things at a moderated pace, even though I was told I can go about my normal activity, be it working-out, driving, flying, etc. I also picked-up a prescribed heart monitor...

photo 3.JPGphoto 3.JPG

...that I'll wear for the coming month. This monitor remotely feeds info back to the hospital so they can see if there are any irregularities that I should be aware of. If I get a clean bill of health over the coming month, I stop using the monitor and resume life as it was before. If there are irregularities, we cross that bridge when we come to it.

alrughtyten.gifalrughtyten.gif

Aside from a healthy dose of follow-up appointments and other inconveniences, I think that's it. Figured I'd let you know why this project hit a bit of a speed-bump. I'll also be taking my new monitor to Expo next weekend, so there's some out-of-town prep happening as well. I'm guessing you'll see more regular updates here resume in late October. In the meantime, I hope this finds you all well and flatline-free.

Sincerely,
Ryan

#409 8 years ago

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the support through your public and private messages. It really means a lot during this wacky time. Just goes to reinforce what an incredible group of folks we have in the pinball hobby. Not sure what else to say but THANK YOU.

In an attempt to steer this thread back to pinball, I did have a brief question about my most recent pinball-related update (the flipper rebuild). I actually had a couple of pieces left over from my left flipper rebuild kit:

photo 1.JPGphoto 1.JPG

...a jesus clip and a ring of some sort. Not real sure where either of these are supposed to go. In case it helps, here they are beside the entire rebuild kit (right flipper rebuild kit is on the left side):

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

What do you guys think? Do I have a disassembly ahead of me or are these superfluous parts?

1 week later
#415 8 years ago

Hey there, Swinger restore family.

Again, I can't thank you enough for your supportive words, here. Health updates are slow to arrive and boring when they do, but to make a long story short; I'm feeling fine. I've been on this monitor for almost a couple weeks now with another couple to go and I'll find out the results in mid-Nov.

In other news, I attended the Chicago Pinball Expo this past weekend with fellow friend and Pinsider, Tamoore. We and an incredible time. Also had the pleasure of connecting with one our own participants on this thread, zerbam. Really great to chat in person with ya, Z! I even managed to pick up a few parts for this project at the Pinball Life party. More on that later.

For now, it feels nice to start making some baby steps back into the restore.

Not sure if you recall a botched stand-up target reassembly from about...oh...two-hundred and something posts ago...

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme/page/4#post-2641498

...but it looked like this:

IMG_9128.JPGIMG_9128.JPG

When attempting to replace the broken rivets, I purchased the smallest diameter screws I could find to replace them. However, they were just a little too wide and ended up pushing the plastic interior tubes through the bakelite. When I tried to muscle them back into place with a needle-nose pliers...well, you can see the result above.

I wasn't able to do much work while it was connected to the playfield, so I took a million pictures (to remember wire placement) and used my new-found ham-fisted soldering skills to bring it over to my work table.

IMG_9138.JPGIMG_9138.JPG

On closer inspection, the protruding side wasn't the only mushroomed portion of the tube:

IMG_9138b.jpgIMG_9138b.jpg

No wonder it wasn't slipping back into place.

Eventually, I pulled the whole switch apart in order to extract the plastic tubes:

IMG_9139.JPGIMG_9139.JPG

...and sanded down each of the mushroomed sides:

IMG_9140.JPGIMG_9140.JPG

Here they are reinstalled. Side A:

IMG_9143.JPGIMG_9143.JPG

...and Side B:

IMG_9142.JPGIMG_9142.JPG

Obviously side B is a bit rough, but the plastic tube does extend past the metal switch leaf, which I believe is all that really needs to happen.

At the end of the work session, I was essentially ready to reinstall...

IMG_9144.JPGIMG_9144.JPG

...but my new approach to this restore involves a bit more moderation than I was exercising before. Ha-ha! So I'll attempt to finish this minor task next time. See ya then.

#416 8 years ago

Heh-hey! So, 24 hours later I'm back in the basement and what do I see...

IMG_9159.JPGIMG_9159.JPG

...but my soldering iron still plugged in and hot.

Thankfully the house was not a smoldering pile of rubble when we returned home.

...and since the iron was hot, I went ahead and soldered things back into place. Silver linings.

IMG_9162.JPGIMG_9162.JPG

Oh, not sure I mentioned, but my wife has been a bit concerned about me handling lead solder, so I've obliged and started using these gloves she bought me.

Just out of curiosity, how worried should I be about touching this stuff? Safe as long as I wash my hands afterward? Is it a lot worse than that?

Anyhow, here's what my soldering job looked like:

IMG_9164.JPGIMG_9164.JPG

Surprisingly enough, the most difficult part of the whole ordeal was getting those screws through the bracket holes. It was that difficult to pass them through the plastic tubes, but for whatever reason that final half-centimeter really took some muscling. Anyhow, they came through and I got them nutted on the other side:

IMG_9168.JPGIMG_9168.JPG

Didn't really adjust switches after reassembly. They looked fine to me.

IMG_9170.JPGIMG_9170.JPG

Stand-up target is back in business!

IMG_9171.JPGIMG_9171.JPG

That's it for tonight.

One last thing, my wife has been working downstairs with me the past couple nights. She's painting a sign for our son's school. Nice to have her around as I'm poking around this project.

IMG_9165.jpgIMG_9165.jpg

#418 8 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

If I was you, I'd be more worried about those plastic gloves melting if you got to close to the iron.

Oh, c'mon, DMBJ...they're rubber, not plastic. A little heat will likely just shrink-wrap them to my hand.

#423 8 years ago

Oh, awesome!

Quoted from Pecos:

Speaking of soldering irons, it's looks like you're becoming a pro with that iron.

ohStopIt.gifohStopIt.gif

Quoted from Pecos:

Welcome back!

Great to be back!

Does that mean flux?

Quoted from girloveswaffles:

It's amazing the condition that play-field is in! There doesn't seem to be any visible wear, and the colours are vivid.

sigh_sigh.gifsigh_sigh.gif

#426 8 years ago

Good to know! Thanks, Gir!

BTW, this...

...helped a lot. I feel like I have a much better understanding of lead and rosin/flux risks than I did before. Thanks for the linkage, Pecos.

Quoted from Avatar:

Maybe a bit late, but glad you're allright!
Keep up the nice work.

Much appreciated, Avatar!

You guys rock!

#427 8 years ago

Not sure how much (if any) fixin' I'll get to this evening, but I was able to accomplish a bit of Swinger thread housekeeping. In an attempt to make this a more usable document to future EM neophytes, I went through the entire kit and caboodle here today and created a table of contents, which I edited onto my inaugural post. It looks something like this:

- -- ------ -- -

TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction (Page 1)
Backbox Cleaning
- Plywood Delamination
- Score Reels (Page 1)
- Score Reel Stuck in Bracket (Page 1)
- Score Reel Circuit Board Super Lube Discussion (Page 1)
- Score Reel Switch Adjustment (Page 1)
- Match Unit (Page 1)
- Replay Unit (Page 2)
- Ball Count Unit (Page 2)
- Realigning Circuit Board on Stepper Unit (Page 2)
Cabinet Cleaning
- Bottom Board Mold Remediation (Page 2)
- Bottom Board Relay Label Recreation (Page 2)
Playfield Cleaning
- Playfield Disassembly (Page 2)
- Playfield Disassembly: Flipper Mech (Page 2)
- Playfield Disassembly: Pop Bumper and Ball Arch (Page 3)
- Playfield Disassembly: Apron (Page 3)
- Playfield Disassembly: Ball Trough (Page 3)
- Playfield Cleaning (Page 3)
- Metal Polishing (Page 3)
- Playfield Cleaning: Magic Eraser Results (Page 3)
- Playfield Cleaning: Posts (Page 4)
- Playfield Reassembly: Posts (Page 4)
- Playfield Reassembly: Stand-up Targets (Page 4)
- Playfield Reassembly: Switch Straightening (Page 4)
- Playfield Cleaning: Waxing (Page 5)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Plastics (Page 5)
- Playfield Reassembly: Rubbers (Page 5)
- Playfield Reassembly: Switch Adjustment (Page 5)
- Playfield Cleaning: Ball Arch (Page 5)
- Playfield Reassembly: Bulb Replacement (Page 6)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Lock-down Bar Receiver (Page 6)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Ball Trough (Page 6)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Apron (Page 6)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Ball Arch (Page 6)
- Playfield Reassembly: Pop Bumper (Page 6)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Advance Unit (Page 7)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Fiberglass Eraser Results on Spider Arm (Page 7)
- Playfield Cleaning: Pop Bumper Caps (Page 7)
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Advance Unit Spider Arm Correction (Page 7)
- Playfield Reassembly: Pop Bumpers (Page 7)
- Playfield Reassembly: Soldering Advice Followed (Page 8 )
- Playfield Reassembly: Pop Bumper Reassembly List (Page 8 )
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Shooter Rod (Page 8 )
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Flipper Mechs (Page 8 )
- Playfield Cleaning/Reassembly: Switch Stack Plastic Tubes (Page 9)

- -- ------ -- -

There are still tasks to complete in this restoration, so I plan to update as needed. Currently, the list is strictly in chronological order, despite there being a couple of actions performed out-of-order and some back-tracking required as I did so. I'm debating on whether or not to re-sequence those parts to be in correct order. I guess my concern would be that it would potentially get confusing if you started reading on post #264 and the subsequent action was on post #235 (or something like that...just pulling post numbers out of thin air).

I'm open to feedback.

600full-the-skeleton-dance-screenshot.gif600full-the-skeleton-dance-screenshot.gif

#428 8 years ago

So, I dunno if you guys remember, but the last work sesh before Heart-Fluke 2015 happened, I had just completed the left flipper rebuild...

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme/page/8#post-2716326

...but the pawl was about a mile and a half away from making contact with the EOS switch when fully actuated.

IMG_9180.jpgIMG_9180.jpg

Thanks to some advice from Davideokills...

Quoted from davideokills:

...you can try loosening the screws that hold the EOS switch to the playfield and see if you can twist the switch closer to the rest of the flipper mechanism.

...last night I got a LOT closer to making things right (actual contact, but hardly any separation):

IMG_9182.jpgIMG_9182.jpg

With some minor switch adjustment, I was able to get the gap I needed. Here is the flipper at rest:

IMG_9185.JPGIMG_9185.JPG

...and fully flipped:

IMG_9186.JPGIMG_9186.JPG

Pretty sure that's about the gap I'm looking for. But you guys know, I'm here to be educated.

As you may also recall...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I actually had a couple of pieces left over from my left flipper rebuild kit, a jesus clip and a ring of some sort.

This time, thanks to Girloveswaffles, I knew...

Quoted from girloveswaffles:

The spring washer (ring) goes at the front of the coil where the sleeve goes thru the front plate.

...and...

Quoted from girloveswaffles:

The e-clip should go on the pawl arm to keep the plunger link in place.

So, here's before:

IMG_9188.JPGIMG_9188.JPG

...and after the ring was installed:

IMG_9192.JPGIMG_9192.JPG

The jesus clip, on the other hand, seemed to be superfluous. I mean, there is a clippy thing already on the pawl arm:

IMG_9182.jpgIMG_9182.jpg

So, I'm not certain I need to put it on there(?). Advice?

Another piece I picked up at Pinball Life were a couple of discounted flipper bats for a buck a piece:

IMG_9195.JPGIMG_9195.JPG

I'm not sure this will be the color of flipper bat I'll go with eventually, but they don't make my eyes scream as much as those blue ones I put on before. I replaced the left bat I already had installed and when I finish the right flipper mech install, naturally, I'll install the second one there.

Speaking of which, I got as far as installing the right side bushing before calling quits for the night.

IMG_9199.JPGIMG_9199.JPG

Next time, right-flipper rebuild.

#430 8 years ago

I did some more stuff.

Last time around, I was told:

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Your spring washer is installed incorrectly. It goes under the plate that the coil sleeve travels through and not on top of same.

IMG_9192.JPGIMG_9192.JPG

So I corrected that on the left flipper:

IMG_9266.jpgIMG_9266.jpg

Quick aside, these "spring washers," are they supposed to be a little warped?

IMG_9268.jpgIMG_9268.jpg

Because both of mine in both flipper rebuild kits looked like this:

IMG_9267.jpgIMG_9267.jpg

I guess it doesn't matter too much, as they're somewhat flexible and tend to compress when put under pressure from the bracket. Still, this is my first time experiencing a lot of this stuff and I'm curious why neither was flat. (These are pretty rigid, not just floppy.)

Also of minor note was my right flipper coil sleeve (below left). Woof! That thing was DIR-TEE!!! New one on the right, obvs!

IMG_9269.JPGIMG_9269.JPG

Just for poops and giggles, I tried cleaning it with some alcohol (not that I planned on keeping it, just curious).

IMG_9273.JPGIMG_9273.JPG

A TINY bit of the nylon started to show through, but man, this sleeve was pretty well toast. The odd thing is that the inside of the coil (after the sleeve was extracted) was remarkably clean!

shrug.gifshrug.gif

#431 8 years ago

Also in the same work sesh, I managed to get the right flipper mech back into place as well. Along those lines, here's another question; I did not install the included jesus clip on the left flipper pawl, as I had a paper-clippy-lookin' thing already in its place:

IMG_9182.jpgIMG_9182.jpg

...however, I figured I'd try the supplied jesus clip from the flipper rebuild kit this go-round and see if it functioned any differently. Well, it pretty much feels the same, but I'm not certain this e-clip is supposed to fit here:

IMG_9275.JPGIMG_9275.JPG

You can see the original size from the one in my hand (above right) and that same size jesus clip stretched to its limits on the pawl. So...what do you guys think? Should I just leave it? Replace it with the glorified paper-clip that was on the original pawl (which is still in fine condition)?

Finally, everything was screwed and soldered back into place by the end of the night:

IMG_9278.JPGIMG_9278.JPG

The EOS switch was even gapped (appropriately???) when flipper was actuated.

IMG_9279.jpgIMG_9279.jpg

I really like how the white flippers fit with the color scheme. Glad I ran across these in Terry's discount bin at Pinball Life last week.

IMG_9281.JPGIMG_9281.JPG

Another look at those vibrant colors for Gir, Pecos, myself, and all the others on this thread lamenting the inevitable.

IMG_9280.jpgIMG_9280.jpg

And now it's my pleasure to present you with a fully repopulated playfield!

IMG_9282.jpgIMG_9282.jpg

Seinfeld-dance.gifSeinfeld-dance.gif

#434 8 years ago
Quoted from bingopodcast:

Spring washers are fairly rigid and yes should be a bit 'warped'. They absorb the impact of the plunger/pawl assembly and keep it from turning your coil stop into powder.

Interesting! Thanks, Nick.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Used on flippers and other high-impact coils (replay registers on bingos, etc etc etc)

up.jpgup.jpg

Quoted from FrankJ:

I can't believe you are going to sand that playfield down. It is soooo nice for a Swinger. Mine has a million more plays on it than yours, and looks like it.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme/page/4#post-2640349

#436 8 years ago

ATTN: EM Purists...please avert your gaze.

Last night I attached some SHINY NEW LEGS to ole' Swingy! Yes, I'm fully aware they are WPC style legs with the rib going down each side. Thank you for noticing. Nevertheless, based on price and shininess (and the fact that no one except those of us deepest down this pinball rabbit hole will ever know the difference), I'm pretty darn excited. This is my first ever purchase of new legs and I think these will look great once the cabinet is sanded down, repainted, and looking immaculate. Anyhow, here's what the existing legs-from-the-barn looked like:

IMG_9293.JPGIMG_9293.JPG

Rusty inside and out:

IMG_9292.JPGIMG_9292.JPG

More:

IMG_9291.JPGIMG_9291.JPG

Next, same side (left front) as above image, only with a grand new leg attached:

IMG_9301.JPGIMG_9301.JPG

Rusty ole' barn leg:

IMG_9299.JPGIMG_9299.JPG

Lovely new leg-levelers and all:

IMG_9310.JPGIMG_9310.JPG

Crusty hand-me-down bolts:

IMG_9294.JPGIMG_9294.JPG

All-new glory:

IMG_9304.JPGIMG_9304.JPG

#437 8 years ago

And here she be:

IMG_9319.JPGIMG_9319.JPG

A needed upgrade from what I've been working with:

IMG_9293.JPGIMG_9293.JPG

If you look closely, you might notice a particular color of cabinet protectors:

IMG_9320.JPGIMG_9320.JPG

...which could maybe-might-possibly-by-chance be the slightest of hints as to what this re-theme may be (assuming you believe I'm confident enough to purchase a particular color of new cabinet protectors for this project )

[No further questions about possible theme choice will be entertained at this time.]

Now I have a pile of crappy legs. Not sure what I'll do with these yet.

IMG_9314.JPGIMG_9314.JPG

And a shiny bottom couple feet of my game.

IMG_9316.JPGIMG_9316.JPG

#441 8 years ago
Quoted from grandy:

Surprising how shiny new legs make such a difference to the overall curb appeal of a pin.

A-men!

Quoted from grandy:

I'm having a great time following this thread, nice work!

Thanks for the kind words, brandsilence!

Quoted from grandy:

Question, are you planning on sanding this down for the retheme with hand tools or similar or some other method?

I've got a hand-held orbital sander. Same one I used to sand down the bottom board:

os1.jpgos1.jpg

os2.jpgos2.jpg

I'll probably use that. (Pardon the sub-par pix. They're all I could find without making the arduous trek out to my garage to snap a new one.)

Quoted from o-din:

Those e clips that come in the kits are usually the wrong ones (too small) so I always use the old clip if there isn't the correct one in the kit.

Awesome! Thanks, O-din! That was certainly the case with my kit.

Quoted from o-din:

Using the incorrect flipper bats as you have done (should be a two piece with a notch on the shaft) may make it very hard to remove later without cutting them out. Older style bats use set screws on the pawl that dig in (thus the notch). Newer bats like you used are clamped in place on more modern machines.

Huh! Good to know, and thanks for the education. Before installing these white flippers, I clamped a different bat in place (a blue one):

IMG_8757.JPGIMG_8757.JPG

I was able to extract the blue one with relative ease and it did not have the notch in the shaft...but maybe it becomes more difficult with additional use(?). Also, I'm a little confused when you said the flipper...

Quoted from o-din:

...should be a two piece.

Don't all flipper bats and shafts come as a single piece? Honest question here. Thanks again for letting me know about the different flipper types.

Quoted from dasvis:

I bet if you gave those old legs a bath in evaporust overnight they would look fine.

You might be right, but I'm guessing with the PVC tubes, the evaporust, and the time it would take me to do it, I'd have at least $40 into it (which is what I paid for my perfect new legs at the Pinball Life party...show special), plus I doubt they'd be as pristine as these new ones. For me, it was worth it to save some time and headache. Perhaps if I continue attempting additional restores like this in the future, I may look into it. Thanks for the reminder, though, dasvis.

As usual, thanks for your encouragement and education, guys!

#445 8 years ago
Quoted from dasvis:

Save the old ones though, you never know when you might need them for another project.

Done! ...this is a dark and winding path we take.

hoarderKitchen.gifhoarderKitchen.gif

"This is my workroom!"

Quoted from Pecos:Everything you didn't want to know or care to know about the Williams brass two-piece flippers:

If I could multi-upvote, I would. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge, Pecos!

Quoted from dmbjunky:

Pinballlife gave me this idea for a bar stool where you use the old legs off a pinball machine.

#446 8 years ago

This evening I pulled out the bottom board because,

A) I dropped a screw from the left flipper mech and could not find it for the life of me
B) I need to install a new power cord

IMG_9332.jpgIMG_9332.jpg

After some gentle shaking, not only did I find that tiny black screw I was looking for, but also...

IMG_9328.jpgIMG_9328.jpg

...the elusive metal post I mentioned two months ago!

Proof: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme/page/4#post-2639824

I also started to prep for installing a new power cord. Before I threw the old one out, I was curious about how hacked-up this thing was (everything else in this pin has been).

So the investigation went kinda like this...

IMG_9335.jpgIMG_9335.jpg

...then this...

IMG_9336.jpgIMG_9336.jpg

...then a little of this...

IMG_9337.jpgIMG_9337.jpg

...then, GUH!!!

IMG_9342.jpgIMG_9342.jpg

#447 8 years ago

Alright, now that the old cord is out of the way, here's the part I could use some help with. This is what the original power cord looked like inside the cab:

IMG_9343.jpgIMG_9343.jpg

When the plastic caps came off, I was left with these copper coil/cone thingies (which I don't believe I need for reassembly):

IMG_9347.jpgIMG_9347.jpg

So I stripped the ends of my new 3-prong power cord:

IMG_9353.jpgIMG_9353.jpg

This is the part I run into a problem. Where do all these wires go?

I believe the green from the cord (ground) will be soldered to the green in the cab (see below pic), but I'm not sure which black wire I should attach to the yellow (below left), and which I should attach to the brown (snaking away below right):

IMG_9351.jpgIMG_9351.jpg

Neither one of the wires in the cord has any alternate color indication as to what it is. They're both just wrapped in black.

Also, neither one of the prongs are any longer/shorter/wider to indicate neutral or hot:

photo 1.JPGphoto 1.JPG

Here it is from a different angle...

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

...and another one:

photo 3.JPGphoto 3.JPG

So, does anyone have some suggestions about how to appropriately wire this thing up?

#453 8 years ago
Quoted from RyanClaytor:

copper coil/cone thingies

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Those should have stayed inside the plastic caps. You don't need them.

Excellent! Thanks for the confirmation, Mk1.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

the thing to remember is that the left prong is neutral. Regardless of width of prong. The right prong is hot.

Thanks, Nick! This is more great info!!! ...albeit a bit confusing (for me, anyway). Just to clarify for other newbs following along, right and left is relative to the outlet, not the plug. So:

prongs.jpgprongs.jpg

Perhaps a bit easier to understand from this next graphic...

revPolarity.gifrevPolarity.gif

...(which I stole...I mean...appropriated) from this website's section on Polarity (another tip of my hat to Nick for directing me here as well):

http://98.233.241.142/electrical.html

Quoted from girloveswaffles:

The jacket on one side of the cord should be smooth and round, the other should have ribs running down the outer side and / or with a white stripe running the length of the jacket.

The smooth side is the Hot and the ribbed side is the neutral. This is one reason why I hate flat cords: Most of them don't have colour identification (some do inside the cord when you pull back the outer insulation.

Ah-ha! There was definitely an absence of any identifying color on the hot and neutral wires, even on the inside. I'll have to look a little closer and see if I can tell a difference in texture! Great tip, Gir!

Quoted from girloveswaffles:

I tend to not use flat cord, especially on pins. If a game (pin or video) gets move over a round cord, it tends to roll over it. A flat cord usually gets damages if a foot (or in the case of a video game) or the edge of a cabinet gets on the flat cord, it can tear it up (Replaced a lot of them over the years).

Makes a lot of sense. I never would have even known to ask for a difference. NEXT TIME!

Quoted from Pecos:

shaking the daylights and two metal parts out of it.

Hulk-Hogan-Swim-Flex-hulk-hogan-gifs.gifHulk-Hogan-Swim-Flex-hulk-hogan-gifs.gif

Quoted from Pecos:

It's really good that you found those metal parts sooner rather than later. Both can short out switches and worse.

I was afraid of this. Figured it best to just be safe and find the culprit(s). If I had it to do over again, I'd either remove the bottom board completely for the duration of working on the playfield, or simply get a couple of sawhorses (as has been suggested) and work on the playfield outside of the cab. I shudder to think about all the unmentioned dropped screws I did find over the course of this project. ...life could have been so much easier.

sigh.gifsigh.gif

Quoted from Pecos:

I am looking forward to seeing pictures of Swinger all fired up and playing like a new machine.

Us too!!! My son has been really patient.

#456 8 years ago
Quoted from girloveswaffles:

The jacket on one side of the cord should be smooth and round, the other should have ribs running down the outer side...The smooth side is the Hot and the ribbed side is the neutral.

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I'll have to look a little closer and see if I can tell a difference in texture!

I CAN!!!

Ribbed, "Left" and Neutral:

IMG_9374a.jpgIMG_9374a.jpg

Smooth, "Right" and Hot (...giggity):

IMG_9375a.jpgIMG_9375a.jpg

Time to give ole' Swingy a new cord!

Neutral (back most pigtail) is soldered, while Hot (front most pigtail) is twisted together and awaiting solder:

IMG_9376.JPGIMG_9376.JPG

Neutral=capped, Hot=soldered:

IMG_9378.JPGIMG_9378.JPG

Ground=good:

IMG_9380.JPGIMG_9380.JPG

Cord=COMPLETE!

IMG_9381.JPGIMG_9381.JPG

#458 8 years ago

I'm replacing some fuses and while I'm at it I figured I'd clean up that ugly ole' label:

IMG_9387.JPGIMG_9387.JPG

Yeesh. So, unscrew...

IMG_9391.JPGIMG_9391.JPG

...peel...

IMG_9394.JPGIMG_9394.JPG

...then disinfect hands.

IMG_9395.JPGIMG_9395.JPG

So here's the scan of the label:

fuseScan.jpgfuseScan.jpg

...and my recreation:

fusesUpdated.jpgfusesUpdated.jpg

I'll be printing these out tomorrow, trimming down to size, then using some spray adhesive to mount it. In the meantime, I'm curious if anyone knows what this word is:

fuseWord.jpgfuseWord.jpg

I'm guessing "input" but I'm not really sure. Thanks, tech mentors!

#461 8 years ago
Quoted from PM_Jeremy:

Instant would be my guess.

I'm no tech, so that may be right. But my designer eye is telling me that "INSTANT" would be a pretty tight fit.

Quoted from Pecos:

My OXO fuse sticker says "INSERT."

Ah-ha! That WOULD have been the smart thing for me to do! (I have a Jubilee [another Williams pin produced about 6 months after Swinger] sitting a few steps away.)

Pecos, thanks, as usual, for...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...doing my work for me.

You're awesome!!!

- -- ----- -- -

So, I've been wrapping up some final loose ends on Swinger before plugging it in and listening for stuck coils. One such loose end was the Ball Count Unit. Way back...oh, let's see...

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-swinger-restoration-and-eventual-retheme/page/2#post-2467843

...one, two, three, four, FIVE MONTHS AGO(!??!) I left this switch unadjusted when my family and I went for a little out-of-state summer vay-cay:

407620.jpg407620.jpg

The highlighted portion above is the first step on the Ball Count Unit which is suppoed to be closed. After poking around through this thread one more time for good measure, I realized it was left undone. So now, I believe things are functioning appropriately.

Zero position, both open:

switch00.jpgswitch00.jpg

One position, both closed (this was the position with the slight gap highlighted above):

switch01.jpgswitch01.jpg

Two position, both closed:

switch02.jpgswitch02.jpg

With that problem put to bed, I think the backbox is officially done. (Fingers crossed...I guess I'll find out when I turn it on.)

Another crossing of a proverbial "T" was installing...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...the elusive metal post I mentioned two months ago!

Luckily I still had its screw bagged and waiting to be reunited:

IMG_9404.JPGIMG_9404.JPG

Did a minor polish before installation (some alcohol and green scotch brite pad):

postComp.jpgpostComp.jpg

...which seemed like it looked better in person than that comparison. Anyway, here it is installed:

IMG_9408.JPGIMG_9408.JPG

Finally, I located another missing screw that held together the flipper mech a bit more securely:

IMG_9401.JPGIMG_9401.JPG

#462 8 years ago
Quoted from girloveswaffles:

If you're using wire nuts you're not supposed to solder the wires. The nuts probably won't stay on in the long run. You should either remove the wire nuts and cover the connections in electrical tape, or cut and strip the wires together, twist them together, and replace the wire nuts (the springs inside them are probably damaged from being twisted onto hard solder).

Sorry, Gir. Forgot to respond to this in the flurry of fixing. I think the little springs inside the wire nuts came out! Here's a pic from a couple days back:

IMG_9347.jpgIMG_9347.jpg

So, I think you're right; I probably need to take those black caps off and electrical tape the ends. (Note to self...)

Also...

Quoted from Pecos:

My OXO fuse sticker says "INSERT."

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

I have a Jubilee [another Williams pin produced about 6 months after Swinger] sitting a few steps away.

Another confirmation, this time from the Jubilee on my end:

fuseInsert.jpgfuseInsert.jpg

Thanks, again, for your common sense, Pecos.

I also started cleaning up the work area. In my focus to finish this, I get kind of blinded to my surroundings. Little piles like this were everywhere:

IMG_9402.JPGIMG_9402.JPG

I started sorting a bunch of stuff, saving what I could and chucking what was broken or would never be used again:

IMG_9403.JPGIMG_9403.JPG

Now things look far more presentable:

IMG_9421.jpgIMG_9421.jpg

I even tossed my well-loved cleaning rag in the washing machine (by itself).

IMG_9410.JPGIMG_9410.JPG

...thanks, Planet Fitness.

I've gotta be honest though, part of the motivation for my clean-up was to find some parts, namely the bolts that attach the backbox to the cabinet. Unfortunately I didn't find 'em anywhere. (It's been about half-a-year since I took them apart.) So I grabbed a bolt and washer from my Jubilee and took it down to the local big box store to buy a few more:

IMG_9415.jpgIMG_9415.jpg

The original ones will surely show themselves now that I've purchased a few more.

While I was out, I also stopped by the 'Shack to grab some needed replacement fuses:

IMG_9412.jpgIMG_9412.jpg

#463 8 years ago

Finally, I figured while I was replacing that red label on the fuse holder, I may as well add another couple of janky red labels to the print-out. Here's one I spotted:

IMG_9416.JPGIMG_9416.JPG

...and another:

IMG_9417.JPGIMG_9417.JPG

So off they came. Now scanned:

scan.jpgscan.jpg

...and recreated, along with the corrected ("INSERT") fuse label:

fusesUpdatedFlat.jpgfusesUpdatedFlat.jpg

And last but not least, you're not gonna believe it (I can scarcely believe it myself), but...

IMG_9419.jpgIMG_9419.jpg

Swinger is completely reassembled (aside from those few labels shown above) and ready to be turned on. It's pretty late in the Claytor household, though, so the switch-flip is gonna have to wait until morning. Updates later.

Mighty-night.

#464 8 years ago

The switch has been flipped! Here's the skinny.

It lights up and the swinging target works (it swings back and forth...which it wasn't doing after I got it home several months ago...but seeing as though I didn't really touch that mech, I'm not sure why it is functional now).

giphy.gifgiphy.gif

The Swing REEL (single red score reel) started counting back down to zero once it was powered up.

There were three credits on the credit reel, so I pushed the start button. At that point it began to zero-out the score reels, but did not start a ball (no kicking a ball into the shooter lane). I pressed the start button again, and the light moved to indicate 2 players, instead of 1. However, still no ball in play. I manually pushed a ball into the shooter lane, but no response from the playfield when roll-overs, targets, pops or slings were hit.

Not really sure where to go from here so I turned it off at that point.

#465 8 years ago

In other news, I multiplied my labels a few times over (just in case I screw up...a few times)

screenShot.jpgscreenShot.jpg

And I now have a high-quality, full-color, laser-jet print that is ready to slice and glue:

sheet.jpgsheet.jpg

#467 8 years ago
Quoted from futurepinhead:

Excellent, I wish I got all the way into redoing labels.

I'll likely have a few extras. Other Swinger owners, let me know if you're interested.

#470 8 years ago
Quoted from xsvtoys:

Did the score reels get all zeros?

Yup!

Quoted from futurepinhead:

Looking for other swingers, eh?

(No. Really, not. *LOL*)

#475 8 years ago

More updates soon. Getting prepared for a family road trip and pinball pick-up this coming weekend (more on that soon) and working on a cool illustration gig (more on that later). In the meantime, poking around a little each night. No luck getting ole' Swingy started yet, but will report back as soon as I'm able. Thanks, as always, for chiming-in, guys! Much appreciated.

In the meantime,

Quoted from Pecos:

Hey Ryan! Are you missing a coin box?

Wha--? Actually, YES!!!

pecos.gifpecos.gif

(Lesson learned: Stick around this thread long enough and you get your own meme.)

#477 8 years ago

Really busy getting ready for this upcoming long-weekend road trip I mentioned, but in my preparations I've been listening to some podcasts and poking the internet on occasion and I wanted to mention a couple of the good folks in this thread with exciting things happening today.

If you don't get enough of Nick Baldridge on his daily(!??!) podcasts...

http://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/

...he was recently interviewed on an episode of Coast 2 Coast Pinball and gives a great, beginner's introduction to the world of Bingo Pinball gameplay. Here's the direct link:

http://www.podcastgarden.com/episode/episode-203-less-friendly-facehuggers-or-the-bingo-whisperer_62757

c2c.jpgc2c.jpg

Also, the Swinger thread's most recent meme-ee, Pecos, was the inaugural article post on Pinside's newly revamped website today:

https://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/pecos/stories/my-first-pinball-oxo-and-my-first-pinball-design-xox

It's an interesting account of his first foray into pinball, subsequent obsession, and eventual interest in redesigning a classic Williams title from the 70's. Congrats, Pecos!

And, finally, Pecos notified me that my illustrated Pinside poster is back in the top line-up on the Pinside Forum homepage

psposter.jpgpsposter.jpg

...at least it might be, depending upon how many times you refresh the Forum homepage. I believe it's randomly inserted along with another few highlighted boxes. Anyhow, it links you here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/announcing-the-first-official-pinside-poster

See everyone back here sometime next week,
Ryan

1 week later
#481 8 years ago
Quoted from RyanClaytor:

Getting prepared for a family road trip and pinball pick-up this coming weekend (more on that soon)

...as promised:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/my-art-grail-pick-up-or-a-family-pinball-vay-cay-64-bally-hay-ride#post-2790486

#483 8 years ago

Ha-ha! Awesome! How'd it play? Probably not as well without the sweaty man in the lower left of the Swinger glass:

Backglass2.gifBackglass2.gif

...love that guy.

P.S. How are your EBD and SI holding up at HAAG?

#490 8 years ago

Hello Esteemed Swinger thread participants,

Pardon my brief intermission as I recently returned from a (previously mentioned) exciting trip...

...and recovered a bit from said trip (with a few evening-time veg-out sessions with my wife).

However, that trip and recovery weren't the only things delaying my progress with Swinger. As followers of this thread know, I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to EM repair and maintainence (but I've learned a TON through this thread, receiving a great deal of help from friendly Pinsiders and doing my best to document it along the way). Every once in a while, I run into a subsequent step in the process that has conflicting opinions on how to proceed. This is one such juncture.

A couple of great buddies I've been fortunate enough to meet through this process were each PM-ing me friendly suggestions on my upcoming steps with Swinger, and they didn't match-up with one another, and neither was very interested in voicing their opinions publicly (I'm sure for want of avoiding the typical forum flame-war).

I did my best to convince each of my new-found friends that all of us had done a pretty great job of cultivating a supportive culture here on this Swinger Restore thread, and urged each of them to post their important thoughts publicly. My interest in seeing their thoughts posted here is to make this an educational document for future E.M. neophites, not unlike myself (with little to zero electrical or mechanical knowledge) and allow other hapless newbs (also, like myself) the ability to read alternate opinions and make a decision that is best suited to them.

I'm really excited to see that both folks in question, Pecos and BingoPodcast, have not only posted their differing opinions publicly, but have done so in a diplomatic and supportive way. Thank you, guys! You've each been an instrumental part of this process for me and you're both completely top-notch in my book.

I welcome additional discussion from other parties, and I think it's safe to say that each of these gentlemen would, too. As was hinted above, it's all in the name of education. My hope is that this discussion will stay on an educational and civil track, steering clear of pitfalls like hyperbole, absolutism and negativity.

Regarding my personal decision on how to proceed, this has been a topic to which I've devoted considerable thought over the past couple weeks. As odd as it sound, it sort of feels like I'm being forced to chose between two friends. But then I remind myself that, as in art, we don't critique the person, just the work (which, admittedly, is sometimes difficult to divorce the two, especially as an artist receiving critique). I see this as a similar case and hope that feelings are in tact, regardless of my decision.

Because I'd like to have a greater understanding of Swinger, certainly, but also pin-games in general (and because I'm not in a rush to bulldoze my way through this project) I'm going to be taking some time over the course of this upcoming week to chat with BingoPodcast a bit each night and ideally come to a better understanding of schematics, how electricity operates in these machines, how that might translate into me "eating" for a lifetime, rather than a day (to use the favored fishing metaphor). I figure if that doesn't work or my mind is simply incapable of comprehending electrical theory, then there's nothing to say I cannot then attempt the switch-cleaning method. And for someone not in a position to have a patient mentor like BingoPodcast at their beck and call, perhaps it would be easier to simply go from the front to the back of the machine, cleaning and adjusting everything along the way. I'll be the first to admit, those line-laden maps are not very intuitive, however, I'm going to give schematics-deciphering the ole' college try this week and see how it goes. As usual, I'll do my best to document it along the way.

I look forward to any additional input on this subject that respects alternate methods of working.

Many thanks to all on this thread, especially to folks willing to stick their neck out in the name of education.

Sincerely,
Ryan Claytor

#492 8 years ago
Quoted from Pecos:

When you figure out what all of those "line-laden maps" mean, you can let me in on the secret!

I hope to!

#493 8 years ago
Quoted from dasvis:

seattle.craigslist.org link

Not sure if this was meant for me or just a fun curiosity.

In the case it was of possible interest to me, Thanks, dasvis, but I've got a glass, it's in decent enough shape (albeit a bit peely), but since I'll be creating a new glass for the retheme, none of this makes a big difference to me (except for the fact that there's enough paint on my glass to take some measurements for the retheme).

#496 8 years ago

UPDATE TIME:

I made a short video to show how things are [not] functioning currently:

For those unable to use the youtubes (at work, child sleeping, running Netscrape Navigator 1.0), things were working slightly differently tonight than my last explanation. The Swing Reel zero'ed-out when I flipped the switch under the cab, however, when I did the ole' Williams start-up with the left flipper button, the score reels did not zero. It appears to be stuck in a 2 player game, yet will not kick the ball into the shooter lane, nor will any of the playfield solenoids function (pops, slings, flippers), nor will any switches register.

So I sent this video to Nick (BingoPodcast) to get our night started, which he said was helpful. Then we plunged into the deciphering of schematics. Here's the schematic for Swinger (in an effort to avoid copyright infringement/toe-stepping/law suits, I'm playing it safe here by obliterating some of the schematic...not sure how protective people are of 70's Williams Pinball Schematics):

SwingerSchematic50dpiSAMPLE.jpgSwingerSchematic50dpiSAMPLE.jpg

Nick walked me through the schematic starting from the wall plug (purple) on left side:

schematicColors.jpgschematicColors.jpg

...then showed me how it branches off in a couple of different directions toward a black wire (positive) on top and a yellow wire (negative) on the bottom. I was told that these positive/negative names are not exactly accurate, but good enough for my simple understanding at this point. Evidently the power is still at 120 volts, just as you would find coming out of a wall, so at this point, touching any of these wires would be equivalent to sticking your finger in a wall outlet.

Good to know.

Moving from left to right (just like reading!!!) both wires connect to the transformer (or the taaaaallllll coil-y thing with a line separating another coil-y thing...or the blue section), which steps down the power from 120 v to 6 volts and 24 volts. The 6 volt line leads to and powers everything in the green section (lamps, for the most part?), while the 24 volt line leads to and powers everything in the yellow section (coils, for the most part?).

As we worked our way down the line, I did my best to take notes on each new schematic symbol we encountered:

schematicSymbols.jpgschematicSymbols.jpg

Which can also be found in a more legible and complete version here:

http://tuukan.fliput.net/emkytkis_en.html

Link sent to me courtesy of James Willing (of The E.M. Dungeon fame [found on The Spooky Pinball Podcast]).

I also took some non-symbol notes in an effort to remind myself of things like the 120-volt-carrying wires are plastic coated, Williams schematics are illustrated with the coils at the top (as you can see from the curly bits located at the top of the yellow section in the color-coded version above), and current flows from negative to positive (really!??!).

schematicNotes.jpgschematicNotes.jpg

Ultimately, we made our way through the 6 volt section (ensuring that I understood, conceptually at least, how things were linked together and triggered different events). We did the same for the 24 volt section, at least for a portion of it. About 90 minutes into our conversation, my phone died. By that time I was pretty fried anyway, so it was probably good for me to take a break until tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to pushing through this schematic tomorrow evening and continuing on the path toward a greater understanding of these machines. I'm really thankful that Nick is willing to take the time to educate an electronically clueless artist. Here's hoping I can wrap my head around all this newly begotten knowledge.

I'm barely holding my eyes open as I finish this post, so I'm going to call it a night.

#498 8 years ago
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

hand model video

What can I say, they're lily-white mouse-pushing hands, and oh so soft.

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

it appears the game is not in a "game over" state.

That's great advice, Mk1Mod0. Thanks a bunch for taking the time to poke through my problems over here. Much appreciated.

- -- ----- -- -

Aside from hand flattery, I have more exciting news! SWINGER LIVES!!!

celebration-reaction-gif.gifcelebration-reaction-gif.gif

Oh my god, I can't believe it works (and things are SOOO SNAPPY...

zoidberg.gifzoidberg.gif

...rebuilding those pops and flippers were worth every second and penny).

It's not perfect, there are things to fix, but it starts a game, kicks the ball into the shooter lane, playfield items score, flippers flip, and it is PLAYING!!! WOO-HOO!!!

HUGE thanks are due to Nicky-B, who talked me through yet another session of schematics deciphering this evening.

I'll report later on what I learned tonight, the fix, a video of functionality, etc, but again, I'm weary. Thanks for following along and helping me through this project. I couldn't have done it without you guys.

Chat more soon,
Ryan

#506 8 years ago
Quoted from grandy:

ok, i'm done hijacking this thread now, Ryan!

brandsilence and bingopodcast: PLEASE, hijack away!!! I'm happy to have more informational resources as part of this thread.

#510 8 years ago

Alright, so I've spent this week chatting with Nick each night (he in Virginia and I in Michigan). He's done a commendable job of suffering through my ignorance. But tonight, I felt like some pieces began falling into place and the puzzle that is schematics started to reveal itself to me.

I'll use an example of another thing we fixed tonight. This time at the start of our session I told Nick, let me talk through this one on my own and see if I can figure it out myself. He admitted he was hoping I'd say this. My guess is he needed a break from teaching his remedial electronics student. (Actually, Nick has been saintly through this whole process and I can't speak high enough words of praise for his patience and persistence with me.)

So tonight we tackled a problem with the pop bumpers.

swingerPops.jpgswingerPops.jpg

- YELLOW and GREEN pops are labeled, "10 points or 100 when lit."
- Unlit, the YELLOW pops scored the appropriate 10 points when hit.
- Unlit, the GREEN pops scored the appropriate 10 points when hit.
- Lit, the YELLOW pops DID NOT score the appropriate 100 points when hit.
- Lit, the GREEN pops DID NOT score the appropriate 100 points when hit.
- The 100 point center pop DID NOT score the appropriate 100 points when hit.

Nick told me to start with the coil that was having a problem and work backwards from there. So, if you recall the Swinger schematic:

schematicColors.jpgschematicColors.jpg

...and...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

The 6 volt line leads to and powers everything in the green section (lamps, for the most part?), while the 24 volt line leads to and powers everything in the yellow section (coils, for the most part?).

...that means the coil will be found in the 24 volt section. Also, conveniently, pretty much all the coils are located at the top of the 24 volt section, so you can kinda run down a list of all the coils until you find the right one.

Alright, so 100 points are not scoring. That must mean I should look for a 100 point relay of some sort.

I began scanning through the list of coils at the top of the 24 volt section, remembering I should be...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

Moving from left to right (just like reading!!!)

...I came across this section...

schematicColors2.jpgschematicColors2.jpg

...where I spotted...

1stPlayer100ptDU.jpg1stPlayer100ptDU.jpg

...which made me think I may have found something. On the contrary, a D.U. turns out to be a "drum unit" which is fancy phrasing for "score reel." Okay, so the "Player 1 100 pt D.U." is not the culprit. I scanned further down the schematic, again...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

Moving from left to right (just like reading!!!)

...until I got around here...

schematicColors3.jpgschematicColors3.jpg

...and noticed this...

100ptRelay.jpg100ptRelay.jpg

Bingo! < - (That's for you, Nick.) I found it!

Now, what to do with it now that it's been found? Well, after locating the coil (found at the top of the 24 volt section), you begin to work your way down. Since...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

current flows from negative to positive

and the negative/yellow wire is at the bottom of the 24 volt section, then one of the switches between the coil and the negative/yellow wire is likely the reason for the malfunction.

However, the place I started to get concerned tonight was how to figure out what to do if there is a junction (which looks like this):

junction.gifjunction.gif

The 100pt Relay happens to have a junction between it and the negative/yellow wire. Nick told me to, once again, simply start...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

Moving from left to right (just like reading!!!)

...by following the path of the left most line of continuity, checking the switches along the way to ensure that they are all doing what they're supposed to do (normally open, normally close, and making sure there is DEFLECTION [a bit of movement] when they touch), then moving to the right on the schematic doing the same thing.

The first item I came to when moving downward from the 100 pt relay was a make/break switch (which looks like this):

makeBreak.jpgmakeBreak.jpg

...on the Step-Up Relay. After locating said relay, it looked like everything was pretty much doing everything it was supposed to, save for one switch. On the make/break switch, when the make switch was supposed to break it did, in fact, break. However, the separation between the switch contacts was a lot smaller than the other switches. So I used my switch adjustment tool to...well...adjust that switch. Once gapped appropriately, I turned on the machine, tested the aforementioned pop bumpers and they all scored 100 pts appropriately!

That felt pretty good. Especially since Nick did his best to let me figure-out most of it on my own. This schematics-reading thing is pretty empowering, and pretty addictive. I can see why people start hoarding project machines.

1 week later
#516 8 years ago

I'm waiting on a parts order to fix my chime unit. (My fault for delaying the order, not a delayed order from long ago.) Anyhow, despite being able to order the majority of the parts, I can't find a supplier for the main unit, which has a broken brackety thing:

IMG_9990a.jpgIMG_9990a.jpg

...and here's a highlight of the busted part:

IMG_9990b.jpgIMG_9990b.jpg

So, basically, the top done got broke off, and now it won't hold the wire coat-hanger thing in place to secure the chime. So, whenever something scores 100 points, it kinda flops around inside the cab (a behavior I'm trying to remedy).

Now for a couple close-ups:

IMG_9991.jpgIMG_9991.jpg

Here's a look from the other side:

IMG_9993.jpgIMG_9993.jpg

Once disassembled, I realized it was part of the whole unit. Not simply a replaceable part. So, I've been trying to figure out a way to fix this, as no one seems to have a spare chime box to part-out (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-em-seeking-parts-thread/page/34#post-2804649)

IMG_9997.jpgIMG_9997.jpg

Just for comparison, here's what the unbroken side looks like.

IMG_9995.jpgIMG_9995.jpg

Alright, fellas, any ideas for fix-it-try or does someone possibly have a Williams 3-chime unit laying around?

Thanks, as always!
-Ryan

P.S. Here's hoping all the Americans on this thread had a dandy Turkey Day.

#520 8 years ago

Hey XVSToys,

I feel like you mentioned this to me somewhere recently (the EM seeking parts thread?), but I spaced on reading it until now. Bah! Bad on me. Thank you for reminding me here.

Quoted from xsvtoys:

he mentions adding a new post with pop rivets. But not much detail on exactly how to get that piece.

Right?

Quoted from xsvtoys:

Hopefully someone will chime in with more information on that.

+1!!!

Oh, hey...

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

I get how Clay's fix would work. You bend over the broken part and rivet a little bar in it's place to the side of the box with a hole in the proper place.

Hmmm...I've never riveted before...or punched holes in metal (use a drill?). I still kinda feel like I did before your explanation. ...sorry. (Remember, you're talking to a cartoonist, not a machinist.)

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Does your fancy university have a welding department?

That's a fabulous idea. I'll ask around some of the more useful people in my department (not the resident cartoonist...pfft).

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

The other choice would be to find a good local TiG welder who could fab the little part and weld it on in place of the broken one. Shouldn't be too hard or expensive.

Okay, this sounds like it might be the most plausible thing for me to do.

http://www.yellowpages.com/lansing-mi/welding-shops

Looks like a lot of them specialize in trailers. Sounds like BIG stuff. I wonder if they do small stuff, too. Any tips on what to look for before I start cold calling?

*cue pensive moment*

Now that I'm thinking about it, while I do not weld, I can solder (more or less). What if I got a couple of small washers and soldered them to each side of the janked-up nub there? Would that work, or is the solder not strong enough to withstand the constant banging? (I feel like a diagramatic drawing is in order...*sigh*...hold on):

cockamamieIdea.jpgcockamamieIdea.jpg

Finally...

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Hmm.... like this... I found one on epay and bought it and it came with this.

Sooo, I got really excited for a second. However, on closer inspection I BELIEVE I have something different. Check it out. Here's my Swinger chime unit (without a tub and nylon-tipped plungers bonking the chimes in the middle BETWIXT the nubby bits):

photo 1.JPGphoto 1.JPG

...while THIS is my Jubliee chime unit (with a tub and nylon-tipped plungers bonking the chimes on the outter edge BEYOND the nubby bit):

photo 2.JPGphoto 2.JPG

No, that's not my thumb in the viewfinder on the upper-right in the picture above, it's the forehead of my helper:

photo 3.JPGphoto 3.JPG

All this to say...I think those are two different units (not interchangeable???) and yours appears to be of the tub variety (the kind I do not have on my Swinger). But, as you've come to know, I'm open to suggestions. Do you think yours could work as a replacement?

In other news, I just refreshed the "EM seeking parts" thread and found this...

Quoted from bflagg:

Ryan, I probably have what you need. I know I have 2 complete chime units and I'm pretty sure they need to be rebuilt but aren't broken. Let me know if you still need and I will find them. - Barry

Another Texan. You guys are the coolest. I'll let you know if Barry has the non-tub version.

#525 8 years ago
Quoted from bingopodcast:

Ryan, no, solder is not strong enough. You need something that will permanently bond the metal to metal. Precisely what welding does.

OKAY! Good to know.

Quoted from bingopodcast:

Nice drawing, though!

That ole' thing?

Quoted from bingopodcast:

if you can find an intact donor unit, you'll be better off

Okay, so I've sort of been asking around about this in a couple different places (here and the EM seeking parts thread) and over yonder, Barry (along with a bunch of other confirming voices) agree that the tub and non-tub chime units are the same thing. In fact, Barry went a step further and uploaded some pictures here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-em-seeking-parts-thread/page/35#post-2821446

...which I will now steal I MEAN APPROPRIATE and re-post here for the convenience of the Swinger Resto/Retheme thread family (these pix are courtesy of Barry a.k.a. Pinsider bflagg):

withTub.jpgwithTub.jpg

withoutTub.jpgwithoutTub.jpg

Brilliant.

Essentially, they are the same thing with the coils mounted on the opposite side of the unit wall. This was speculated to have been done because the outsides of my chimes were sheared off, leaving nothing for the plungers to bonk. Yay, Pinside! (I love this place.)

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Same thing, different arrangement.

Thanks to all of Pinside telling me this, I finally understand.

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

BTW, I met bflagg last weekend at the Houston show. Nice guy!

COOL!!! Seems like it.

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

If you want to look into the welding rout, you need a guy that does TiG. (Tungsten arc welding.) It's a technique for joining small materials.

Great! Glad to know...although between you and/or Barry, I'm guessing I'll be able to avoid this route.

Quoted from Mk1Mod0:

Ha! Where were you two years ago!!???!?

He was probably still in junior high. You know Nick is, like, twelve-years-old, right?

In all seriousness, Nick has got to be one of the smartest guys I know. No idea how he has acquired the knowledge he has (I mean...making short work of electro-mechanical BINGO machines!??!) in such a short amount of time.

Quoted from Pecos:

...the top of that metal chime "tab" has been broken and pushed up and over to the side. ... You might be able to bend the top of that tab down and over to close the gap.

You know, I kinda saw that, but didn't put the pieces together as you just have! Good eyes (and problem solving), Pecos!!!

pecos.gifpecos.gif

(Sorry, couldn't resist the gif)

Quoted from Pecos:

It doesn't make sense that Williams made a chime unit without the plastic "resonance box." You want one on the chime box as it makes for a better sounding chime. I'm guessing that your Swinger chime box originally came with the plastic "tub."

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

Thanks to all of Pinside telling me this, I finally understand.

#527 8 years ago
Quoted from yancy:

I looked up welding / metal shops in the yellow pages, and just walked in the nearest place with my trough. The owner had one of his guys fix it for $10, took about a minute. I'm sure he was happy to pocket ten bucks for basically no extra labor cost. Now I have much beefier welds that will probably never break as long as I own the game.

Nice story! Sounds like everyone came out happy! Good to know there are welders willing to work on this stuff, but I think I've got a Williams Chime box coming to me from Texas right now.

(Bflagg and I have been in contact.)

Quoted from yancy:

Coincidentally, the owner told me he used to fabricate ball troughs, until DE/Sega/Stern went with someone cheaper. Which is probably why mine broke in just a couple years of home use.

Ha-ha! Cool about the pinball connection! ...bummer about the quality downgrade.

#529 8 years ago
Quoted from Pahuffman:

I love this thread.

Thanks, Pahuffman. You made my night with this post. ...makes all the laborious picture-taking and gif searching worth it.

- -- ----- -- -

In other news, while I await the arrival of my new (to me) chime box and a parts order (which includes the all important up-post solenoid) to complete the RESTORE portion of my Swinger project, I bought another project machine.

This time I ventured the way of the Gottlieb EM with their 1968 effort, Paul Bunyan. I started another thread for that beauty and if you enjoyed all my ignorance and excessive documentation on this thread, you're sure to appreciate this one as well:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/paul-bunyan-restore

The only source of disappointment might be that I didn't develop a dissertation-length title for the thread.

For those worried I'm going the way of the Jpop (too many project, none will get finished), here's my priority list:

1) Get Swinger 100% functional
2) Start cleaning up my Bally Hay-Ride and Work on Artwork for the Swinger Retheme (concurrently)
3) Finish Hay-Ride clean-up
4) Dig into Paul Bunyan and get 'im functional

Thanks to everyone here for following along and offering a kind word or a helping hand to guide me through this restoration project. I hope some of you will consider doing the same on my upcoming couple of projects. It'd be nice to see some of the Swinger Restore family over there as well.

-Ryan

#530 8 years ago
Quoted from RyanClaytor:

Barry a.k.a. Pinsider bflagg...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...and I have been in contact...

...and today that...

Quoted from RyanClaytor:

...Williams Chime box...

...just arrived in the mail...

IMG_0106.jpgIMG_0106.jpg

...along with some other goodies from PBR to help me complete this restore.

- -- ----- -- -
Just wanted to take a brief pause for a good guy alert. BFlagg and I were in contact over the weekend. He sent me the chime box (immaculately packaged, I might add) first thing on Monday, it arrived on Thursday, and he even PM'ed to make sure I knew it arrived. Couldn't ask for much more. Thanks, Barry!!!
- -- ----- -- -

After unpacking Barry's chime box and disassembling mine, I started the task of documenting the disassembly and cleaning up all the parts as best I could.

For some reason, I had envisioned needing to completely straighten these hooks out in order to remove them:

IMG_0111.jpgIMG_0111.jpg

...but after a minor tweak with a pair of needle-nose pliers, it popped right off (duh):

IMG_0112.jpgIMG_0112.jpg

Good ole' physics.

I also had some reasonable success in metal polishing.

This:

IMG_0116.jpgIMG_0116.jpg

Became this:

IMG_0118.jpgIMG_0118.jpg

And even though this is going in the garbage, I couldn't resist showing you the glory of the discarded chime bar:

IMG_0113.jpgIMG_0113.jpg

#531 8 years ago

Also nice to see this old fried coil...

IMG_0121.jpgIMG_0121.jpg

...replaced with a shiny new one:

IMG_0122.jpgIMG_0122.jpg

After a lot more scraping and polishing (I swear that black foam stuff turns into solidified tar), I finally started reassembly. Here's the main chime unit assembly:

IMG_0125.jpgIMG_0125.jpg

...which I started piling stuff on top of:

IMG_0127.jpgIMG_0127.jpg

I'm curious if I'm doing this right...

IMG_0128.jpgIMG_0128.jpg

...because once I put the chimes back on...

IMG_0129.jpgIMG_0129.jpg

...I couldn't fit those plastic washers over the black sheaths that cover the tiny posts. I stopped kind of abruptly and didn't snap a picture of this predicament, as my mother-in-law is in town and she came down the basement to hit the sack (very near my work space and didn't want to keep her up). Anyhow, I'm hoping some of you EM aficionados will know the plastic washers of which I speak and be able to point me in the right direction.

'Til next time...

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