pinball question

martin joe

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Hypothetical situation. You're fairly mechanically adept, know a thing or two
about wiring, a little circuitry.. you've restored a few tube radios....
A pinball machine pops up that you're interested in. It'll be your first.. it lights up,
but doesn't work. You have fairly high confidence that at the very least, you can
get some enjoyment out of the troubleshooting process. Also, you live on the
third floor of an apartment building built in 1915.


Discuss.
 
Hypothetical situation. You're fairly mechanically adept, know a thing or two
about wiring, a little circuitry.. you've restored a few tube radios....
A pinball machine pops up that you're interested in. It'll be your first.. it lights up,
but doesn't work. You have fairly high confidence that at the very least, you can
get some enjoyment out of the troubleshooting process. Also, you live on the
third floor of an apartment building built in 1915.


Discuss.



have fun carrying it up those steps. they ain't light and i'm assuming there's quite a few narrow turns.


but once you get it working it'll all be worth it. ;)
 
yes, go get a dolly from harbor freight

then go get pin

fold/remove head

remove legs

use dolly to roll up stairs!

set back up

repair!

enjoy!
 
Hypothetical situation. You're fairly mechanically adept, know a thing or two
about wiring, a little circuitry.. you've restored a few tube radios....
A pinball machine pops up that you're interested in. It'll be your first.. it lights up,
but doesn't work. You have fairly high confidence that at the very least, you can
get some enjoyment out of the troubleshooting process. Also, you live on the
third floor of an apartment building built in 1915.


Discuss.

What game? How much? Condition? These are all important factors. I think if you're interested in pinball machines you should definitely get one either way. This just might not be the right machine for you.

Moving the machine into your apartment sounds like a challenge because I assume there are no elevators. If you have a couple people to help it shouldn't be a big problem.
 
Yeah..ha ha. I'm mainly posting to have a public record of the questioning of my own sanity.

No way it'll fit up those stairs.

Of course, I could always try it first with a cardboard and plexiglas mock-up painted to
look like the real thing. With flippers controlled by coathangers on some sort of cam arrangement. To the drawing board!
 
If you have taken a couch or dresser up those stairs,the pin will be a breeze.Yes they are heavy,but more compact than most furniture.A dolly would make it easier for sure and come in handy in the future when you get more pins.If you enjoy tinkering and fixing things you will love pins.Late 70's to early 80's are great to learn on,they are not too complicated and easy to put back together.Oh and don't be afraid to remove the head unit completely to lighten it or gain room,even if it is a fold down one.Good luck,and enjoy,it is a great hobby.
 
Thanks for the thoughtful replies. It could probably fit if I took the head and the legs off, and should be a snap with a dolly... I just wonder about the sanity of it all. Having heard my brother's tales of hauling an arcade upright up his stairs gives me pause. I was looking at a Close Encounters a while back.. but snoozed on the Fathom.. damn that's a fine machine. Seawitch looks pretty good, too. I like the late 70's/early 80's machines quite a bit.
 
If you have taken a couch or dresser up those stairs,the pin will be a breeze.Yes they are heavy,but more compact than most furniture.A dolly would make it easier for sure and come in handy in the future when you get more pins.If you enjoy tinkering and fixing things you will love pins.Late 70's to early 80's are great to learn on,they are not too complicated and easy to put back together.Oh and don't be afraid to remove the head unit completely to lighten it or gain room,even if it is a fold down one.Good luck,and enjoy,it is a great hobby.

You know, I still haven't bought a pin - though I have removed a couch from the apartment. I sawed it in half so I could do it without bothering my friends. It worked out pretty well. I'd hate to do that to a pinball machine though. My latest plan is to build one in-situ and let the landlord worry about dumping it.
 

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If your windows are large enough to fit a pin through, you could rent a crane. You said you were questioning your sanity right? Why not go all the way?
 
If you follow through with your ambitions and get a pin, your downstairs neighbors will hate you...
<thump thump thump...ding ding ding...thump thump...>
 
Here's my suggestion....

1. Determine where you will put the machine in your apartment and where you will put all the pieces as you work on it. If you don't have the room to 'spread out' a bit you'll be constantly tripping over it and possibly breaking something valuable.. or you'll be sleeping with the various components.
2. Find a nice day with good weather and a few friends to make the move.
3. Acquire a dolly... any dolly really will work that can support a couple hundred pounds.
4. Go get the machine.. oh.. you'll need a truck or a trailer for this. Lowe's or Home Depot will rent you a truck pretty cheap ... like $30 for a couple of hours.
5. Find a place to park near your apartment that will give you some room to do a little work.
6. Remove the head from the machine... even if it folds over.. remove it anyway. You'll need to room and the less weight to carry it up stairs.
7. Carry the head up stairs. Either a friend can do it or you can but someone needs to stay by the truck to 'guard' the body.
8. Open the machine and remove the glass and move it upstairs. Remove the playfield (grab that ball first!) and take it upstairs.
9. Remove any loose items inside the body of the machine (coin box, coins, manuals, etc.) and take them upstairs.
10. Make sure the remaining components inside the body are firmly attached to the body.
11. Remove the legs and take them upstairs.
12. Take the now much lighter body upstairs using the dolly. If it's still to heavy, remove more of the components from the inside.
13. Now that you have everything upstairs you can begin the restoration process AND it's already disassembled for you!!!! yeah!!!

Oh.. you should probabaly have a digital camera and take lots of photos as you take it apart so you can know how to put it back together. And try not to get distracted on 'fixing' the things you find wrong as you go through the move process... this is harder than you think!

Good luck and I hope this helps!

Oh.. FYI, I've moved lots of machines by myself including large slot machines, pinballs, arcades and even a full size 13ft long Skee ball machine by taking them apart as much as possible and then using dollys, casters and skateboards to move them. Skateboard make great rolling platforms!
 
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