(Topic ID: 109830)

Yet another Whirlwind restoration

By swampfire

9 years ago


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  • 133 posts
  • 31 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 4 years ago by yaksplat
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#1 9 years ago


I finally got to start my WW restoration this weekend! This is my 6th playfield swap. In spite of the 6 pop bumpers, I don't think it'll be too bad. There's no GI ground braid to deal with, and I'm adding connectors for all of the major assemblies to make them easier to clean and work on.

Here's the old playfield. It's not terrible, but the CPR playfield will be a huge improvement.

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Post edited by swampfire: Edited title to reflect intent

#2 9 years ago

This post will be a guide to installing a CPR playfield.

Teardown pics: http://swampfire.smugmug.com/Category/Whirlwind-Restoration/Teardown-pics/

Tip #1: remove these T-nuts and throw them away; they're full of clearcoat.
IMG_6292.JPGIMG_6292.JPG

I used this post to gently tap them out from the bottom:
IMG_6293.JPGIMG_6293.JPG

I used a wooden dowel to drive the new T-nuts in.

Tip #2: drill out the holes for the 25 larger T-nuts with a 7/32" bit.

The holes drilled by CPR are a bit too small (at least for the T-nuts I had on hand). You want the shaft to go into the hole without having to hammer it. There's no benefit to having the shaft super-snug in the hole; it'll pull tight once you drive the bolts in.

#3 9 years ago

I'm making Molex connectors for all of the mechanisms shown here. I didn't bother with the pop bumpers.

IMG_6295.JPGIMG_6295.JPG

First one is done:

IMG_6223.JPGIMG_6223.JPG

I have a Molex kit I bought years ago, which is for the 0.062" standard series. Those will carry 5A per circuit. But for this project, I'm going to use the 0.093" pins, which are rated for 12A. I also like the "positive latch" for the 3191 series housing. I ordered enough parts to make 30 connectors, which was about $40 at Newark:

http://www.newark.com/molex/19-09-1039/plug-socket-housing-receptacle/dp/38C9038
http://www.newark.com/molex/19-09-2039/plug-socket-housing-plug-nylon/dp/38C9045
http://www.newark.com/molex/02-09-1104/contact-socket-20-14awg-crimp/dp/37H7276
http://www.newark.com/molex/02-09-2103/contact-pin-20-14awg-crimp/dp/18J1569

#5 9 years ago

Tonight I polished and waxed the playfield (all by hand) with 3M "Perfect It" and Blitz "One Grand" wax.

IMG_6298.JPGIMG_6298.JPG
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#6 9 years ago

I also spent 3 hours tonight cleaning, regraining and waxing all of the metal guides - there are a lot of them. I regrained them using 150 and 220 grit sandpaper, then 0000 steel wool. I waxed them because I thought it was a good way to prevent oxidation (thanks Vid).

IMG_6318.JPGIMG_6318.JPG

I mylared the subway floor to reduce the amount of metal-on-metal action. I did this before on NGG, and it really helped to keep that game clean.

IMG_6320.JPGIMG_6320.JPG

#7 9 years ago

Having the "teardown pics" on a tablet or laptop makes reassembly much easier.

IMG_6322.JPGIMG_6322.JPG
#8 9 years ago

You'll need to redrill just about every hole in the playfield. How big does each hole need to be? These drill templates are perfect for picking the right bit. Get this one from Amazon, it's much nicer than mine (white on white is hard to read).

http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Drill-Gauge-Diameter-Metric/dp/B009I1KLY2/

IMG_6323.JPGIMG_6323.JPG

#9 9 years ago

The first thing I do with a new playfield is set the "nails" for the pop bumpers (they are actually bolts with flat heads). To do this right, you need a countersink bit. The "nail" should easily drop into place, and its shank will hold it in after a few taps with a hammer (and a 2x2", so you aren't hammering the playfield). The nail head should drop just below the playfield.

Here's a nice countersink bit set for just $10: http://www.amazon.com/Mibro-589201-5-Piece-Titanium-Countersinks/dp/B0015AOAT6

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#10 9 years ago

I hate cleaning playfield posts, but they're are at least $25 with shipping and I don't want to wait. I put them on threaded rod, and clean them with Bleche White and my Sonicare toothbrush (I keep a head just for this task). I don't do enough pinball work to justify a sonic tank cleaner.

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#13 9 years ago

Don't drink and drill.
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#14 9 years ago

I ran into a few snags populating the top of the playfield. The first was pretty simple: a hole was missing. I used the plastic protector to figure out where the post needed to be:

IMG_6340.JPGIMG_6340.JPG
IMG_6341.JPGIMG_6341.JPG

The next problem was trickier to solve. Traffic jam at the top of the playfield:
IMG_6345.JPGIMG_6345.JPG

I had to drill another hole, and it was really hard to get the guide to go into that hole (and the 2 other original holes). I used a hammer and a 2x2 to force it in, basically pushing all the bolts into their holes at once. That guide is going nowhere.
IMG_6346.JPGIMG_6346.JPG

#15 9 years ago

So here's where I stopped for the night. I've logged 20 hours so far - slow going the last few days.

IMG_6351.JPGIMG_6351.JPG IMG_6350.JPGIMG_6350.JPG
#17 9 years ago

Sad news, dear readers. I've had a small casualty, but fortunately it's mostly out of sight. Back in post #14, I showed you a problem with the ball guide jamming into the mini post:
IMG_6344.JPGIMG_6344.JPG

My fix for this was to move the metal guide back about 1/2". Well, I realized on the way to work that this was not going to work at all. The ball would hit the mini-post rubber on the way around that orbit, and that would make the 3-way combo impossible. So tonight I studied it a little more, and decided the right way to fix it was to move the post UP about 1/2", and use the original holes for the ball guide.

I tapped the ball guide back out, and when I did a little piece of playfield gently floated down to the floor. It was a truly gut-wrenching moment. I glued it back into place, and the repair is *mostly* invisible. Fortunately, it's not visible at all from the player's perspective. Still...

IMG_6353.JPGIMG_6353.JPG

#24 9 years ago
Quoted from tonylo909:

Hey swampfire, did you get the CPR back glass too?

No, I like the translite. $100 for a brand new one is hard to beat.

#25 9 years ago

Wood Screws

I typically sort the hex-head wood screws from the bottom of the playfield into 2 containers. One gets the short screws, which are used with thin sheet metal. The other gets the longer screws, which should only be used with thicker metal parts (e.g. flipper assemblies).

Some screws are even longer than the normal "long" screws. For example, this playfield bracket:

bracket.jpgbracket.jpg

When in doubt, keep the screws with the part in a large ziplock bag. I had a screw pop on my CSI playfield because I used a PF bracket screw on a standup target assembly. That was painful! Learn from my fail.

One place to be extra-careful on WW are the plates that attach to the bottom of the playfield. These plates are thick sheet metal, but they're going into a recessed area! So you MUST use the shorter screws.
IMG_6348.JPGIMG_6348.JPG

If the area is not recessed, it's really easy to tell whether a particular screw/part combination is safe to use. Just hold them both against the playfield and make sure that the screw doesn't reach the last layer of plywood.
IMG_6381.JPGIMG_6381.JPG

After reading all of this, you might be tempted to use the shorter screws everywhere. That would also be a mistake - the mechanisms could rip out of the bottom of the playfield, perhaps causing damage when they do.

#27 9 years ago
Quoted from Chet:

Did you have the CPR PF cleared again, or just go with the factory clear?

I've never had a problem with CPR's clearcoat. Polish, wax and go.

#31 9 years ago

The thing about pop bumpers, is that usually what needs adjusting is the switch. And once you rebuild them, they're good for another 10 years.

#32 9 years ago

I took a break from working on the playfield to clean the lockbar receiver with a 3" wire wheel. This only took 30 minutes (including removal and reinstallation). I used Sheila Shine on it after I was done.

http://www.amazon.com/Sheila-Shine-Stainless-Cleaner-Indivdually/dp/B0011FQQNI

Before:
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After:
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#33 9 years ago

I used to pre-assemble the tops of pop bumpers at my desk. Then I figured out that it was easier to do it right on the playfield. This way you can immediately see if something is off by 90 degrees. This is also a good time to pre-drill the screw holes for the bumper bodies, and the dimples are usually off by a little. Use the little bottom part as a drill template.

bottom, spring and skirtbottom, spring and skirt

screw in the body before feeding the lamp sockets throughscrew in the body before feeding the lamp sockets through

#34 9 years ago

This kicker coil was actually working just fine, but I had a spare coil on hand so I decided it was time to retire it.

IMG_6379.JPGIMG_6379.JPG
#38 9 years ago

I have another lockdown receiver to do, so I'll make a video tomorrow. I did this one with a cordless drill on high speed, with the receiver in a vice. I don't use my corded drill much anymore.

#41 9 years ago

+1 on 1/8" brad-tipped drill bit. Using a playfield spacer as a drill stop is a good idea. I'm pretty low-tech. I mark off 1/2 of the playfield thickness on the bit by wrapping masking tape around it. You could also paint a white line on the bit, which would be better because it won't come off.

I spent the last few nights just assembling the playfield plastics. It's really a pain, with so many stacked plastics on WW - but they look great. Tonight I'll clean the harness and the under-playfield mechs, and with any luck I should be done with this swap by Saturday!

#44 9 years ago
Quoted from Chet:

Good tips on drilling the pilot holes. This is big deal, any time you take a drill to a PF!! sure don't want any slips or skips..

Yep, and it's pretty important to pre-drill on the topside. If you skip that step, you risk cracking the clear, and it's MUCH harder to screw the parts down.

#47 9 years ago

The playfield is only dimpled for screws, and then that dimple gets filled in with clear (like everything else on the top of the playfield. Predrilling with a brad-tipped bit creates a clear-free "landing area" for the screw. Without that, the screw must first pull up clearcoat, and it may cause cracking nearby. YMMV, of course.

I guarantee that pre-drilling makes things go faster, not slower.

#49 9 years ago
Quoted from mof:

Does that mean you only pre-drill the dimples because they are the only holes thin enough to trap clear?

Actually, every hole and dimple on the clear needs to be drilled, in my experience. If you don't, you'll want to get your hammer out. My goal is to have the holes large enough to push the part through by hand. My post #17 above shows what happened when I forced a part in too tightly, then had to remove it. The top layer of plywood (with paint and clear) pulled away and flaked off.

#50 9 years ago

New targets and fan, thanks to Marco. I also grabbed a few posts for spares.

IMG_6386.JPGIMG_6386.JPG
#51 9 years ago

I'm embarrassed to admit that after 36 hours, this is as far as I've gotten. The top side of the playfield is mostly done, with a small punch list to go through (rivet signs, install spinner and ramps). I'm taking a break for a 3-4 days, then I'll start the bottom of the playfield.

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#57 9 years ago
Quoted from Dante:

Looks great so far. So are you going with new ramps or are you going to clean up your old ones?

I bought new ramps, but the old ones aren't bad. I need to get those cleaned up and sell them (I actually have 2 sets to sell).

#59 9 years ago

I was hoping for under 40 hours, but it looks like 55 hours might be a more reasonable goal.

#61 9 years ago

I'm not even including the time do redo the cab and coin door...I'm guessing another 40 hours for those.

#63 9 years ago
Quoted from Dante:

Where did you pick up the new ramps from and are you happy with them?

I got them from Pinball Inc before he sold the business. James Loflin's ramps are indestructible. If I had to guess, they're 50%-100% thicker than the original ramps. In a world of "good enough", these ramps are overbuilt, and that's great. I hope the new company continues that tradition.

Post edited by swampfire: More concise

#64 9 years ago

I decided to clean everything before I go to bed tonight. I finished the flipper and drop target mechs, and now it's just down to the harness. I put ziploc bags around all of the microswitches and zip-tied them tightly. I don't know whether that will keep them dry or if it's even necessary. I'll blow out everything with my compressor when I'm done anyway.

I'm excited, because this is the first swap where I've decided to clean everything. I think it'll look new-ish when I'm done. It'll be worth it, I hope.

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#66 9 years ago

Yep, the ziploc baggies and zip-ties were a waste of time

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#67 9 years ago

30 minutes in a 50/50 mix of Simple Green and water (with a little agitation) was enough to make everything look new again. I did scrub the coils, after pulling off all the labels. New labels on the way, thanks to Planetary.

Pretty colors!Pretty colors!

It wasn't hard to dry everything with my compressor, but I was afraid that I'd tangled up the harness irrevocably. Fortunately it was easier than I thought to unravel it.

Mostly untangledMostly untangled

Now everything is clean, and it's just a matter of getting it all back together again. Woohoo!
I'd love to help you cook, but...I've got this harness.I'd love to help you cook, but...I've got this harness.

#68 9 years ago

I got a lot done last night after eating Thanksgiving dinner at our neighbor's house. I laid out the harness and began to untangle it. I started from the end of the harness (at the saucer eject) and worked my way around. It was obvious where the rollover switches went, so I started with them. Then the bulb sockets and other stuff sort of fell into place.

IMG_6498.JPGIMG_6498.JPG
#69 9 years ago

Pop Bumper Switches

I attached the pop bumper switches before I did the lamp wiring. In hindsight it would have been easier to get my staple gun in close if I'd done the lamps first. Lesson learned for next time.

It takes patience to get the pop bumper switches aligned perfectly, like the picture below. If it's centered left-to-right and back-to-front, it's good.
pop-switch-align.jpgpop-switch-align.jpg

I also adjusted the switch gaps at this time, and tested them by nudging the skirts in all possible directions. Then I went to sleep and dreamed of pop bumpers.

#70 9 years ago

Pop Bumper Lamps

I used my Surebonder 9600 to staple down the wires. This staple gun jams easily if you staple metal. Then you have to take the gun apart and spend 30 minutes fixing the jam.
Jammed up goodJammed up good

The first order of business is getting the Yellow-Green wire connected to one side of each of the 6 lamps. BUT there are only 4 of these wires coming off of the harness, so some of the lamps have to share. Also, some lamp leads will need to go under the pop bumper bracket, so make sure you have clearance before stapling it:
IMG_6506.JPGIMG_6506.JPG

All of the pop bumper's lights are driven independently. The "row" wires are the ones with a diode at the end, probably encased in ugly yellow tubing. This is a good time to change out the tubing. Look up the wire color to see which pop bumper each one goes to. In the picture below, I'm confirming that the red/yellow wire goes to "Top Jets Left".
IMG_6507.JPGIMG_6507.JPG

#71 9 years ago

Here are pics of the two bumper nests, ready for soldering. Hopefully these pics will help others.

I goofed up the routing on the top one...arghI goofed up the routing on the top one...argh
IMG_6512.JPGIMG_6512.JPG

#73 9 years ago

Posting here is giving me some welcome breaks, and it helps me review what I did wrong. I'll definitely be hitting up this thread for my next swap - which hopefully will be in 2016.

#74 9 years ago

The first modular assembly goes in - 3 bank drop target. The connectors are probably overkill, but it's better than underkill.
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#75 9 years ago

I finished the GI, feature lamps and most of the switches. I wanted to test my progress so far so I put it in the game and fired it up.

Feature Lamps

All working, no problems!

Switches

All working well except:
11 - trough right: Mechanical problem, need to relocate slightly
24 - left lock top: Broken actuator. I may have to get creative.
48 - red standup: Wrong wires - activates 42 instead
27, 27, 29 - three-bank drops: not working.
50 - Top right pop needs a small adjustment
52 - bottom jets left: not working

Switches not installed yet:
26 - single drop target
33,34,35 - left ramp
41 - spinner
42 - right ramp down
44,45 - right ramp
60 - left 110 point
61 - right 110 point

General Illumination

Not working. I'll troubleshoot it tomorrow.

#76 9 years ago

I like to work on subsystems that can be finished and tested together. This is my usual approach: finish the lamps and switches, install the playfield in the game and test it, and then go back and finish everything else. I tie-wrap the coils to the harness standoffs, and I don't plug in the coil connectors. The flipper base plates are held in with 2 screws each, only installed to make sure there's clearance for them later.

IMG_6520.JPGIMG_6520.JPG
IMG_6521.JPGIMG_6521.JPG

#77 9 years ago

I promised I would include examples of what not to do. Well, here's another one.

I was in a hurry to get the playfield installed in the game, so instead of completely removing the display/speaker panel, I rested it on the rails. As I was wrestling the harness up into the head, I nudged the panel and it dropped onto the playfield. The sharp metal edge carved a reverse-Zorro signature, about an inch long. I can't tell whether it went all the way to the wood or not. I welcome any advice about removing deep scratches from clearcoat...

IMG_6523.JPGIMG_6523.JPG
#80 9 years ago

The shadow under the scratch gives me some hope. If it was all the way to the wood, it wouldn't cast a shadow. I think...

#82 9 years ago

Yep, I'm pretty sure it will sand out. I confirmed that it doesn't go all the way to the paint (the scratches disappeared when I put 91% alcohol on them).

#85 9 years ago

This is swap #6. The problem is, I space them 1-2 years apart, so I have to relearn some things every time. The hardest swap I ever did was Centaur. Doing that helped to persuade me to sell my CPR Fathom playfield.

#86 9 years ago

Completely unrelated...I recently hit a lot of milestones!

- Rolled over 5,000,000 karma on Pinside (just now)
- 20 years at the same job (this week)
- 4-Runner's odometer will roll over to 100k (this month)
- 48 hours without a pin-related injury

#88 9 years ago

I was just thinking yesterday that I need to rent or borrow a camper trailer and come up to WI next summer. I have lots of family in Beloit and Milwaukee, and I haven't seen my old hometown Kenosha in 15 years.

1 week later
#92 9 years ago

Thanks - I've been swamped getting the other games (and gameroom) ready for the charity tournament this Saturday. I will definitely finish this swap before New Years!

3 weeks later
#94 9 years ago
Quoted from shimoda:

So did you finish the swap?

No, I'm giving myself a 2-week extension.

3 weeks later
#101 9 years ago

Finally getting back to this! Last weekend I trekked up to NC to bring back 3 other classics (Magic, Lightning, Andromeda). I had MLK day off, but it was really nice so I had a long bike ride with a friend.

Really nice work, Cal.

#102 9 years ago

There's a happy ending for the scratch I mentioned above. I bought this kit on Amazon and just now used it as directed:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NS5NK8/

Here are the results, after about 30 minutes:

WW-scratch-before-after.jpgWW-scratch-before-after.jpg

#109 9 years ago
Quoted from tommyp:

Where did you get the PF from? I can't find one anywhere on the interwebs.

CPR made them last year. I put my name on the list around 2008, so got one of the first ones made. They are pretty much unobtainium now, but CPR may eventually run them again to satisfy the unmet demand.

#110 9 years ago
Quoted from mof:

Nice recovery.
How do you think that kit works?
What do you feel to the touch?
Was the issue before the reflected light catching in the edge of the clear?
-mof

Works great. The scratch wasn't that deep, so I didn't really feel it as I was sanding. I wrote more about using the kit here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/review-3m-scratch-removal-system

#111 9 years ago

Today I pulled the playfield back out of the game and finished the 6 pop bumpers, 3 flipper assemblies and single drop target:

IMG_6696.JPGIMG_6696.JPG IMG_6697.JPGIMG_6697.JPG IMG_6695.JPGIMG_6695.JPG IMG_6698.JPGIMG_6698.JPG
#112 9 years ago

I used connectors for the flipper coils, so I could rebuild the flipper assemblies at my desk. I wasn't sure about whether the return springs were needed (since I already had inline springs), but I mounted them like this:

IMG_6693.JPGIMG_6693.JPG
#114 9 years ago

The pop bumpers went together pretty fast after I made 6 of these sub-assemblies:

IMG_6689.JPGIMG_6689.JPG
#115 9 years ago
Quoted from Kneissl:

Dump the inline springs.

Yep, that's what I was thinking. My Black Knight played much better once I replaced the inline springs with WPC-style.

#116 9 years ago

I'm thinking about ditching the 2 axles that hold up the back of the playfield, and replacing them with long wooden side rails like my older Williams have. Has anybody else done this? The "swivel in place only" mechanism is really pretty useless for maintaining the game.

#119 9 years ago

I'm pretty sure I have all of those. I'll look tomorrow and let you know in a PM.

2 weeks later
#126 9 years ago

It definitely helps to have the old playfield handy as a visual reference. I mostly ignore the dimples on the backside, and instead I make sure the part is positioned correctly. I think CPR recommends this as well. I suspect the same advice would apply to an NOS playfield. Position the part, Mark the holes, Predrill the holes and then finally Screw the part to the playfield. It takes a bit longer, but the results are well worth it.

#129 9 years ago

Thanks Ryan. We've had a couple of weekends of really nice weather here, so WW is taking a backseat to car and lawn care for a while. And we still need to take down our Christmas tree.

1 month later
#131 8 years ago

I've got the week off, and WW is high on my list. I'm finishing a shopout on my new Andromeda first, because I absolutely want it to be at the SFGE (Atlanta show).

2 years later
#132 6 years ago

Yes, I finished it last year, and even overhauled the cab with new decals! Shame on me for not updating this thread with pics - will do that ASAP. The game will also be at SFGE in June in Atlanta.

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