Possible, or just stupid crazy....

Frax

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My wife is afraid that if I do my first PF swap a bit at a time that I will lose things and not be able to re-assemble it, so she's suggesting I take a weekend (I've been working one of my off days.) and try and get the entire swap done in 2 days.

Anyone think this is a good idea? I really wanted to video everything and put it up on my youtube, would make that a bit more difficult due to batteries and memory cards and such, but on the other hand, I would like to get this done soon. I also don't know what all I may run into while doing it..may need some parts or something and that may crap all over it no matter how well I plan it out.. :|
 
If you want to work non-stop for 48 hours then sure, try to do it in 2 days. You might get it done depending on the game and what you're starting with.

Or... do it at your leisure and just don't lose anything.
 
i say go for it... go buy some speed and just knock it out!!!... if something does take a dump its not going to be to hard to swap out.. .. on the other hand.. going slow and making sure to make it right is totaly fine... i know you have space issues so quicker probably would be a little better. if i had the extra room in my garage i would offer it up for you to use... but haveing 2 pole positions a set of virtual on's turbo cockpit and a midway mk style cab and 4 motorcycles and all my other stuff in there i don't have any room..
 
My wife is afraid that if I do my first PF swap a bit at a time that I will lose things and not be able to re-assemble it, so she's suggesting I take a weekend (I've been working one of my off days.) and try and get the entire swap done in 2 days.

Anyone think this is a good idea? I really wanted to video everything and put it up on my youtube, would make that a bit more difficult due to batteries and memory cards and such, but on the other hand, I would like to get this done soon. I also don't know what all I may run into while doing it..may need some parts or something and that may crap all over it no matter how well I plan it out.. :|

Listening to the person you live with is always good advice, if you want peace and harmony.

Also, get a bunch of plastic containers, masking tape, a sharpy and clear some shelf space. Take pictures all along the way.
 
1 gallon plastic ziplock bags and a sharpie so you can mark what's in it. I would toss nuts, bolts and screws in a small bag then toss that in the large bag with the plastics they go with. It's a bit time consuming but it will make it a lot easier when you go to put everything back together.
 
Let me put it this way, as someone who's done a playfield swap....

A few engine swaps, transmissions swaps, and god knows how many radio installations back in my Army days.

You need a few critical things.
1. Camera, full battery, and empty memory card.
- Just start taking photos, and don't stop. Close up, area shots, whatever. You can't take enough pictures!

2. Ziplock bags, preferrably the ones with the white areas to write on, and a good sharpie.
- label, label, label, label, label.

3. Zip ties. Took a bolt / screw out, and now parts are separated? zip tie them back together while it's out.

4. Staple gun. For the GI light braid. (IIRC I got the 18ga copper braid at Home Depot)

It's a good idea to go straight through and not get too distracted, but don't make that 2-day limit a solid "must finish". Don't rush things, take your time and do them right. More than anything else, planning ahead will be your saviour. There will be parts you're going to need, so get them before you do the swap.

This means things like the pop bumper 'nails', T-nuts, sleeves, rubbers, posts, GI sockets, machine screws, wood screws. Get your parts ahead of time as best you can, nothing kills momentum like looking for parts.

-Hans
 
I forgot to add, that I have a bunch of detailed blog entries from when I did the playfield swap for my Black Knight. It's in the Black Knight section obviously, but I also just went through and finally found why one of the links in there was dead. Should all be running now ok.

-Hans
 
Unless you are prone to being unorganized and lose things frequently, I wouldn't worry about it. My AFM was in pieces for 6 months while I waited for the playfield to come back from restoration and nothing was lost.

The reality will probably be that no matter how carefully you plan and think you have everything, when you get the game apart there will be something broken and you'll need to order a replacement. So despite you planning to get it done in 48 hours, there will be some snag. Hopefully not, but plan on it happening.
 
Bought a staple gun like two months ago just for this, actually. We don't have any shelves that are actually USEABLE, so that's not applicable, heh.

What are pop bumper nails? :| I've rebuilt two of the three pops on the existing Shuttle playfield but I don't recall seeing any nails... I replaced the mounting plate, body, and wafers..
 
3. Zip ties. Took a bolt / screw out, and now parts are separated? zip tie them back together while it's out.

the rest is what i do normally for a shop job anyway, but i had never thought of this one. nice suggestion!
 
They're actually called "Finned Shank Screws".

You hammer them in from the top of the playfield like a nail, and it gives you the mounting threads on the bottom that you attach the coil assembly to.

I don't know if Space Shuttle used the strait or the spiral type, the straights were earlier and spirals were later.

http://www.marcospecialties.com/product.asp?ic=4506-01106-24B
http://www.marcospecialties.com/product.asp?ic=237-5957-00

Oh, and a drill stop is also extremely useful. You need to pre-drill a number of holes, and there nothing worse that I can think of than drilling through the playfield surface.

-Hans
 
Possible i just didnt look at them close enough to realize they were nails instead of screws all the way trhough. Ugh. Glad I asked now.

Drill stop, yes. Do not have one. *add to list*
 
Possible i just didnt look at them close enough to realize they were nails instead of screws all the way trhough. Ugh. Glad I asked now.

Drill stop, yes. Do not have one. *add to list*

Yep, the more you plan now the better your two day swap becomes a reality.

Also, if you need T-nuts, let me know. I bought 100 packs of 6-32 / 8-32 and 10-32. Only needed like a dozen total on mine.

-Hans
 
After your wife sees you bust ass for 2 whole days and not come close to finishing maybe she'll feel bad that she put you through that and you'll get some sympathy points ;)
 
LOL, that's a lot of T-Nuts. I think I bought some already but I don't even know how many I need. I will probably just pull the whole playfield tonight just so I can take some pictures and get a look at things. So many things I've never done before, boggles the mind a bit. :|

I won't get any sympathy, lol. I might for Pinbot. It's way more complicated and she likes Pinbot better. :p
 
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