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It's definitely an adventure.. I am having to fabricate a bunch of shims to fit between the joist and the ceiling..
Hauling a pinball machine up a tight stairway? winches?
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Repeat after me... "I think this will work, I saw it done on a cartoon once...."
You should test it out with an ACME safe first, before trying to hoist the pinball machine.
Appropriate to go with the ACME wench he bought.....
If you remove the legs and the head, most pins have small feet on the back of the playbox. Shipped new pins were shipped vertical inside the box on these little feet.
Strap the bottom of the playbox to the back of a frig dolly and shuffle it around the corner and pull it up one stair at a time. It's the best way if stairs are involved.
Strap the bottom of the playbox to the back of a frig dolly and shuffle it around the corner and pull it up one stair at a time. It's the best way if stairs are involved.
Ditto, but you don't even need the dolly. I move pins up and down my stairs all the time in my house and have a 180 turn on the stairs that is pretty sharp. We just push it up the stairs one step at a time. When we get to the landing we stand it on it's end and spin it around to go up the next flight.
elfyhead
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modessitt
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If you can get a couch upstairs, you can get a pinball upstairs - even with the head down and legs off. 2 normal sized guys with normal strength should be able to handle it - even a heavy game like STNG.
I once had to take a pinball up a spiral staircase, then bring another down. I had another guy to help, and they were both EMs (heavy, but the heads came off), but we did it...
I once had to take a pinball up a spiral staircase, then bring another down. I had another guy to help, and they were both EMs (heavy, but the heads came off), but we did it...
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Actually Harbor Freight has some pretty nice wrenches... not the super-cheap ones, but I keep a set of the articulating ones with the built in ratchets for working on pinball games and they are very well made (cost about $29/set but can be found on sale) - I'd say as good, if not better than Craftsman tools (which these days aren't that well made).
Anyway, I played around with a number of setup schemes for the winch. The first step was to reinforce the platform for it:
I slightly staggered 2 2x6s so the grains would offset each other a bit, and then have a pressure-treated 4x4 underneath. The winch bolts through 8" of wood, resting across 4 joists and 2 load-bearing walls. It should hold a lot more weight than what I need.
As you can see, the staircase is very steep. Probably not to code either. When you get to where the turn is, there's no room to have the game oriented any way but straight vertically, which is why the winch is important. Even if I simply use it to hold the game in position while people lift from behind, it will make things a lot easier.
I could have hidden the winch entirely in the attic but it's no big deal. This stairway is very tall and I can always unbolt the winch if I need to remove it. At some point I may replace those ceiling tiles but they're ok for now - I haven't gotten around to renovating this part of the place yet (hence the outdated paneling on the walls which I'll probably paint).
Anyway, I have it in place. I've tested the winch - next test will be to try it under some load. But it seems to work well. The winch is rated for 2000 pounds so a pinball machine should be easy to move. Once I get the hang of this, I believe I can move machines up the stairs with only one person.
What I'm trying to do right now is figure out the best way to attach the game to the winch. It's hard to find slings that are the proper length so I'm thinking I will strap the game to a dolly, then run a sing through the top of the dolly and hoist it up that way. A nice 4-point harness would be cool but I haven't found one yet.
Anyway, I played around with a number of setup schemes for the winch. The first step was to reinforce the platform for it:
I slightly staggered 2 2x6s so the grains would offset each other a bit, and then have a pressure-treated 4x4 underneath. The winch bolts through 8" of wood, resting across 4 joists and 2 load-bearing walls. It should hold a lot more weight than what I need.
As you can see, the staircase is very steep. Probably not to code either. When you get to where the turn is, there's no room to have the game oriented any way but straight vertically, which is why the winch is important. Even if I simply use it to hold the game in position while people lift from behind, it will make things a lot easier.
I could have hidden the winch entirely in the attic but it's no big deal. This stairway is very tall and I can always unbolt the winch if I need to remove it. At some point I may replace those ceiling tiles but they're ok for now - I haven't gotten around to renovating this part of the place yet (hence the outdated paneling on the walls which I'll probably paint).
Anyway, I have it in place. I've tested the winch - next test will be to try it under some load. But it seems to work well. The winch is rated for 2000 pounds so a pinball machine should be easy to move. Once I get the hang of this, I believe I can move machines up the stairs with only one person.
What I'm trying to do right now is figure out the best way to attach the game to the winch. It's hard to find slings that are the proper length so I'm thinking I will strap the game to a dolly, then run a sing through the top of the dolly and hoist it up that way. A nice 4-point harness would be cool but I haven't found one yet.
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Lindsey
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The key word there is "we". Moving games with help is easy. Try moving 30 out by yourself in one day.
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Yea, it's funny how all ones' friends appear when the game is set up and ready to play, but are nowhere to be found when they need to be moved.
Lindsey
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Actually Harbor Freight has some pretty nice wrenches... not the super-cheap ones, but I keep a set of the articulating ones with the built in ratchets for working on pinball games and they are very well made (cost about $29/set but can be found on sale) - I'd say as good, if not better than Craftsman tools (which these days aren't that well made).
Anyway, I played around with a number of setup schemes for the winch. The first step was to reinforce the platform for it:
I slightly staggered 2 2x6s so the grains would offset each other a bit, and then have a pressure-treated 4x4 underneath. The winch bolts through 8" of wood, resting across 4 joists and 2 load-bearing walls. It should hold a lot more weight than what I need.
As you can see, the staircase is very steep. Probably not to code either. When you get to where the turn is, there's no room to have the game oriented any way but straight vertically, which is why the winch is important. Even if I simply use it to hold the game in position while people lift from behind, it will make things a lot easier.
I could have hidden the winch entirely in the attic but it's no big deal. This stairway is very tall and I can always unbolt the winch if I need to remove it. At some point I may replace those ceiling tiles but they're ok for now - I haven't gotten around to renovating this part of the place yet (hence the outdated paneling on the walls which I'll probably paint).
Anyway, I have it in place. I've tested the winch - next test will be to try it under some load. But it seems to work well. The winch is rated for 2000 pounds so a pinball machine should be easy to move. Once I get the hang of this, I believe I can move machines up the stairs with only one person.
What I'm trying to do right now is figure out the best way to attach the game to the winch. It's hard to find slings that are the proper length so I'm thinking I will strap the game to a dolly, then run a sing through the top of the dolly and hoist it up that way. A nice 4-point harness would be cool but I haven't found one yet.
Would it be possible to build stairs going straight down? That looks like an absolute nightmare!
OP
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Yea, those stairs aren't really made for moving things up/down them. The funny part is the upstairs room is huge, like 25x35. And with the rest of my place packed and that room empty, I had to figure out a way to use the space...
They look like they're banked at an angle somehow...
spanks_4
Active member
How hard would it be to actually rebuild the staircase properly and put a landing where it turns?
I think Alfred Hitchcock used those same stairs when he made the movie "Vertigo." Or maybe they were inspired by M.C. Escher. I can't imagine having to move pins up and down them unless I had a winch like the OP's, but even then it'd still make me pretty nervous. Maybe he should take the stairs out entirely and install a dumbwaiter in their place (using the winch to drive it).
OP
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Hehehe - I like the dumbwaiter idea.. but if this will work pulling them up the steep stairs, that will suffice. At some point, my plan is to build a deck on the second floor that is screened in. When I do this, I'll add some stairs on the outside that are actually proper.
spanks_4
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Can you move the game this weekend so I can sit back and video tape the experience?
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Hey, if you want to come by, we'll probably need someone to call 911 when things go horribly wrong... lol
I've got about 4 games I want to move. I'm going to try a heavy non-pinball thing first to test the clutch/load brake on it first.
I'm surprised nobody has asked how I'm powering the thing... that's more creative engineering....
I've got about 4 games I want to move. I'm going to try a heavy non-pinball thing first to test the clutch/load brake on it first.
I'm surprised nobody has asked how I'm powering the thing... that's more creative engineering....
spanks_4
Active member
I would offer to help, but big guy + little stairs= not a good combo!
