Replacing the Gun Bushings on Operation Wolf

supertechnoboy

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The gun on my new Operation Wolf works great (which I think is pretty lucky) but I wasn't happy with the slop in the movement. A lot of the problem was solved by disassembling the gun base and tightening the three phillips-head screws that hold the gun handle to the horizontal bearing shaft.

The rest of the problem was in the worn bearings for the vertical shaft that penetrates the control panel. There are two bearings in a housing that bolts to the underside of the CP and is accessed through the coin door. After removing the housing, I pressed out the old bearings using a socket and a poor-man's arbor press (aka vise) like this:

IMG00002-20091205-1420.jpg


When I measured everything, I found that the bearings have an 18mm ID and a 20mm OD. Sounds pretty standard, right? Turns out the standard 18mm bearing has a 22mm OD. I decided the best path would be to order the correct size OD and bore the ID to size. I ordered some oilite bearings from Mcmaster (6658K24) as well as a thrust bearing, which was not part of the original design but should have been. Tonight I bored out the ID of the bearings on a lathe, and they look pretty good. They fit well into a 51/64 collet.

IMG00001-20091210-1730.jpg


Hopefully this weekend I'll have time to get them installed and report back on the improvement!
 
Quick update--the bushings fit great when I test fit them on the shaft. They also pressed in very nicely (nice tight press fit). Unfortunately, after pressing them in they were too tight on the shaft. I left the ID .001" undersized to make sure there was no slop, and that was a bad decision. I got one of them opened up with a brake cylinder hone, and I'll do the other one next time I get a chance to work on it.
 
The bushing replacement was a complete success! After easing out the ID of the bushings with a small brake cylinder hone and applying a little oil, I reassembled the gun and it feels great! No slop! If anyone else ever tries to do the same thing, make sure you bring the bushing bores out to full 18mm diameter (.7087) before installation. (And they may still need honing after that.)
 
Nice!

Wishin' I had a lathe readily available like I used to.
I'm needing to do a similar set of bushings for a Terminator 2 pair of guns.
 
Do you have a part number for the thrust bearing that you used, as well as a photo of how you mounted it?

This is a great project, and my OpWolf needs the same thing. Are you interested in selling another set of modified bushings?

Now I just need someone to help me with replacement gears for the vibration motor.
 
Do you have a part number for the thrust bearing that you used, as well as a photo of how you mounted it?

This is a great project, and my OpWolf needs the same thing. Are you interested in selling another set of modified bushings?

Now I just need someone to help me with replacement gears for the vibration motor.
The McMaster part number I used for the thrust bearing is 5906K515. It's really just an oilite washer. It also needs the ID bored out to 18mm. I installed it on the shaft and slid it all the way to the shoulder before I put the gun back on the game (I didn't take a photo of this, sorry). When installed, the gun sits 1/16" higher than it did before, which puts it 1/16" further away from damaging the CPO.

I'm not really interested in producing more bushings, but I did buy and bore an extra thrust bearing. PM me your address and I'll send it your way.
 
I have made tons of similar bushings on the lathe with silicon impregnated sintered bronze bushing stock. There's nothing like having nice tight controls on your game.
 
I recently re-bushed my spinner on my Arkanoid 2 as it was extremely sloppy. I purchased some generic flanged bushings from true value. They fit amazing, but when I pressed them in it tightened up the tolerance for a fit that was too tight. Being lazy I honed out the bushings to a better fit.

Was too risky to open up the mount hole too far and so I went for a good press fit and hone to perfection method.
 
I recently re-bushed my spinner on my Arkanoid 2 as it was extremely sloppy. I purchased some generic flanged bushings from true value. They fit amazing, but when I pressed them in it tightened up the tolerance for a fit that was too tight. Being lazy I honed out the bushings to a better fit.

Was too risky to open up the mount hole too far and so I went for a good press fit and hone to perfection method.
Yeah, I think you're definitely better off with a tight fit and a honed bore. Honing gives you a little more finesse.:) I actually have access to a real-deal Sunnen hone, but for this application, a brake cylinder hone on a cordless drill does the job.
 
In my case I had neither, and used a metal rod with a slit, and some sand paper wrapped around... haha it worked. I did however lose some of that sexy tight fit as a tool making machine shop may produce, and now it's more of a typical micro slop slip fit.
 
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