high speed project

I hate to detour this blog with restore projects, but it's the only blog anyone follows.  So I bought a high speed from a semi-local guy that I've bought from before.  He restores pins on a consistent basis (probably has more than a dozen projects in queue), which is probably one reason he let this one go.  Paid $600 for a fully working high speed.  Now you may say "wow! what a deal".  Hold your horses, the playfield looks horrible (which he warned me about).  While a lot of people would rather fix issues and have a perfect playfield, I'm finding I'd rather have a working pinball and fix up cosmetic issues (especially after I've put off fixing black knight for a while after replacing every board).  So the cabinet is in decent shape, all the artwork still looks great, but I'm gonna have to bondo the areas by the legs since it's chipping away (easy fix).  Backglass looks awesome, displays bright, sound works, flippers flipping (does need a rebuild).

Now for the playfield, you might even laugh at this.

So let's start off with the fact that it appeared all the plastics were in good shape, until I lifted this one.  Since the plastic was cracked, the previous owner decided the best fix was to just glue it to a piece of galvanized steel (which is great for allowing light to shine through):

All the rubber was so aged, it was flaking off into a fine powder.  My favorite though, the flipper rubbers were falling off so badly he decided that rather than spending $1.50 that he would simply wrap them with electrical tape:

This is my favorite though, this artist has decided to touchup the center playfield with what looks like a hobby paint set (thankfully this was not directly on the playfield, but on a top mylar layer):

So aftert stripping all that crappy plastic off (which was also scotch taped on the edges), I finally have a cleared off playfield.  Granted the paint is still missing, at least you can see the playfield instead of a muddy mess:

I removed the rest of the plastics and posts (still have a few things to remove).  Just as a test, I printed out a chunk of the center of the playfield (I'm working Photoshopping a clean play-field by starting out with a playfield image from visual pinball, and merging chunks from the web).  I simply printed it on photopaper and glued it down with some wood glue.

Obviously this isn't permanent, photo paper (even if it were cleared over) is too thick and would tear easily (and the inserts would need a lot of filling).  Plus I plan to sand the playfield completely before doing an overlay.  Really I wanted to see how bad it would be shifting and lining up an overlay, and rolling it flat, and making sure glue wouldn't seep through holes.  I'm trying to avoid putting more work than I need to.  The professional way would be to completely strip both sides, remove inserts, replace them, then overlay, clearcoat, and re-assemble.  I may still do that (I would want to connectorize and serialize every part so it can easily be re-assembled), but if I can avoid it I will.  I've clearcoated a playfield in the past just by filling any holes with foil (which works better than you would think), and it seemed to work pretty well.  I priced out a vinyl print, and I can get it done for $16 plus about $7 shipping, which I think is really reasonable (same place that printed the blue october cabinet artwork).

Cabinet halfway done

So I ordered the decals from a website. What was nice is they let you upload your work ahead of payment so a proof can be completed. After I paid for it, I literally had vinyl printing with adhesive in 3 days (shipped from India of all places). $62 later, I have a tube of artwork delivered to my door. I was worried about bubbling putting it on after hearing horror stories of applying decals, but using a spatula it went on pretty much smooth. I still have to sand and paint the backbox (I have decals for that too), but now that the main cabinet is done, and the legs and siderails are painted, it's starting to look pretty good:

Update... sorta

Since I actually have followers (hi followers) figured I should make an update.  I have almost no progress physically, unless you count the fact I shorted something out on my lamp driver board (the multiplier no longer lights up after knocking down the 3 drop targets).  A lot of time has been spent restoring my black knight (currently it boots, but game doesn't start and my bottom flippers are stuck on).

Anyway, I'm convinced it makes no sense to retheme the current playfield (too constricting) so I know I'm going to have to make a completely new playfield.  I also need to drop the playfield down a good 4-5 inches, but again I don't want to do that till I know everything is working 100% again.  Since I'm dropping the playfield, that also means I have to move the plunger down as far (which means new hole, fill in the old one).  I also want to break down my components to make wiring simpler and simply have a terminal block under the playfield.  In other words:
spinner switch
target (50 point, 100 point)
rollover switches
drop target mech

The original schematic may have run separate wires for each target, but if there's redundancy why not just have those values, and then I can tap into that terminal for as many targets as I want anywhere on the playfield (makes wiring and troubleshooting simpler too).

One last thing, since I'm integrating the mp3 trigger into switches for sound, I have to have a separate shielded contact (if I wire it into the same switch, it will trigger loop sound as soon as it boots up).  This means replacing every single blade switch with a 2 terminal blade switch.  These aren't cheap, in fact even by Pinball life pricing I'm looking at $9 a piece!  Also, I freaking HATE these switches! They've existed for over 60 years.  They're archaic, they get pitted, they cost too much because they have copper and tungsten, and they wear (and flex out of position and need readjustments). a MUCH better switch that is proven and has been tested up to a million cycles is the microswitch (AKA cherry switch).  Also, if you design a mechanism to use them, they are cheap (46 cents a piece), and will handle up to 5 amps a piece.  So even with a double throw, I'm looking at less than a buck.  I've got an early mechanism designed that looks like it should work, I just gotta prototype one now:

re-theme project

Now that I got my early solid state pin working (installed an Alltek MPU, fired right up), I'm starting the process of figuring how I want to do the artwork.  I'm going to start with the cabinet and backglass first, so it actually starts looking like a theme (and because the playfield is going to take the longest, and I don't want to lose steam).  Last night I started working on it, and my wife asked what I was doing.  I was tracing an image to do a 3-layer mask for the cabinet artwork, and she said "yea but both the cabinet artwork and backglass have the same band members.  Could you include both versions of the band for each piece of artwork?".  I said "sure, this is your pinball afterall".  Felt good to include her on something, especially something I'm so passionate about.  So we started google image searching for some good images.

Since I'm back to photo artwork (not mask layers), I can no longer just spray it.  I thought about maybe just going the vinyl route, but I had another idea (I've done this in the past on other projects).  If you print a good image, then apply it to wood using elmer's glue, not only will it stick really well, it will seal itself in a transparent coating (If you use a nice rubber roller, it will give a much cleaner even layer than a brush, plus you'll be less apt to tear the paper while it's wet).  I think I'm gonna try this technique to see how it works.

For the backglass, I found a good shot of them, but I cropped out the background and photoshopped a stage behind them.  I also used a program called "rasterbator" (yes, it's a real program, and it's not dirty).  It will take an image, and do a tile print (so you can print a large format photo with a regular 8.5x11 printer).  It does create dots so it will affect the image quality, but it's fine for a preview.  Also because it works by number of sheets, you have to allow for it.  So for instance, since my backglass width is 28.5", I have to have some gap on each side to allow for the 4 pages (8.5 x 4 = 34").  That way when it prints, it will be 1:1 scale.  My printer ran out of ink this morning so it started looking like crap, but you get the gist of it:

Anyway, the beauty now is I can figure out where the displays and bulb items like player, TILT, MATCH will show up on the artwork.  Also since old machines like this are so simple, I'm not against completely re-laying out the board  (I.E. cut new piece of wood, cut out holes for the display locations, cut holes for the general illumination, move the locations for TILT/MATCH).  I'd rather not have a display overlapping one of their faces.

Here's what the side cabinet artwork will be:

And here's what will be on the sides of the backbox will look like:

Pinball theme picked.. Homewreckers

Doesn't that just have a great sound to it?  It's like "earthshaker", "whirlwind", classic Williams titles.

Have I made even a single cut of wood?  Of course not.  Do I have a pretty good idea of size?  Absolutely.  I'm picking standard williams widebody (TZ for example).  23" wide by 46" long.  My biggest concern is making sure I can buy playfield glass.

One other thing I'm doing away with, the shooter lane.  This has been around since before flippers and I think it's days are done at this point.  Back then, the point of this lane was to give a lane for the ball to return to the top of the playfield, where gravity took over.  Now that you have very few skillshots (and plunger controlled digitally), this lane seems outdated.  Know what else?  It sucks up a good 1-1/2" of precious playfield space.  That's nearly the equivalent of the difference between standard and widebody pins.  How do I intend on getting the ball onto the playfield?  Well at first I was going to have it pop out between the flippers.  Bally did this once with spectrum.  Then I thought (why don't I have a subway tunnel close to where the shooter lane would be, and have the ball pop up through the playfield right at the flipper lane.  Now granted, designers like Popadiuk have minimized shooter lane footprint in their pins (theater of magic, world cup soccer 94), but I'm looking for zero space.

Anyway, since I've gotten pretty far into the theme / layout in solidworks, I figured I'd share a very early rendering.  While I really wanted a 3d dollhouse in the middle of the playfield, I realized this was simply not feasible.  Not only would it be really hard to make the ball visible, but I can just foresee really bad ball jams.  I've decided to make two houses, and just make them front fascades (like fake western towns).  I have much work to do (ramps behind the garages, backyard items like lawnmowers, jungle gyms, pools, etc).

So here's the premise of this story.  Couple bored kids find a pile of bowling balls (a pyramid in fact, a little nod to tim arnold if you know the legend before PHOF).  They decide to start rolling these bowling balls in front of a cul-de-sac, causing damage to the homes.  There will be bush ramps in front, allowing you to send the bowling ball through each window.  Then the garage door opens up, allowing you access to ramps behind them.  Once you unlock both homes, the gate in between opens up, allowing you access to the backyards.  Finally, there will be a multi-ball mode where a little game of kick the can happens.  The balls all chase you around the playfield, and you have to hit the target (can) before you are caught.  I'm not sure how I'm going to implement this, but I really want this feature.

By the way, I have no idea how I'm going to do any of the electronics (timers, lights, score keeeping, etc).  Mechanics and switches, sounds, yes!  The way I see it, by the time I get this built I'm hoping either:

A. A user friendly pinball controller is invented

B. Build it and they will come out of the woodwork.  Hoping if I make a manually controlled demo, an electrical person will step up to the plate and team up with me

Picked up a black knight today

4 hour drive each way to Indianapolis, but it's home.  $750 is what he asked for it (he paid $800 9 years ago), and he had other people message him when I dragged my ass, but he did keep his word and not take other offers.  Now before you ask me how I found this steal of a deal, it needs work.  When I got there, it was sitting in the garage covered.  Right off the bat, I could see the rust on the inside of the legs (black paint on the outside, probably to cover rust).  No water damage on the back, that's good.  He pulls off the blanket, playfield has planking but no wear (not bad for an original playfield that's 32 years old).  Ok, that's a good sign, at least I can sand and touch it up easily.  Then I open up the backbox, boards look clean, no jacked connectors, no battery leak damage.  I fire it up, I get power, but no displays.  I decide even though the fuse holder is cracked off, maybe there's enough contact still if I bend it over.  I pop a new fuse in (since the old one is sitting at the bottom of the backbox), fire it up, I get displays.  Unfortunately, something is odd with the coinbox because a quarter gets jammed, and I don't see switches for the coin to hit, so I fumble and manage to get some credits up.  Unfortunately, the start button doesn't work (leaf switch is fouled up), but I mange to manually connect it and get a game started.  The flippers work (where they didn't before), but they are jacked.  They are loose as hell, and not really worth playing.  Also the balls aren't ejecting because.. get this, the solenoid is literally hanging from the playfield because the screws stripped out (which I will have to fill in).  So all in all, nothing that seems too difficult to repair, just needs a GOOD cleaning and a few things fixed and it might actually play somewhat normal again.

There is at least one cracked plastic, the backglass has some very minor flaking, but the cabinet is in good shape (just needs a little wood fill in black areas, the artwork is nearly perfect).

Where did I find it? Random non pinball collector who had one sitting in their garage not working decided to jump onto pinside, see who was looking for one in the chicago area, decided to message me. A few messages go back n forth, finally she posts photos in the sell market. I'm like "crap! now it's public!". So I finally call, and her husband answers last weekend. I explain I can't make it out that weekend, but can pick it up the following weekend on Sunday.

I'm sort of glad I was more prepared this time, bringing a toolbox with essentials (wrenches, screwdriver, fuses, multimeter, flashlight, drill with bits and extension cord (in case he went "whoops, I don't know where the keys are).  I wasn't about to drive 4 hours each way, only to find that I couldn't take something apart, or test to see how badly damaged it might have been (sellers aren't always so honest).

Here are some photos:

door actuator pin - starting the design

Ok, so I may not have even drilled the first hole in wood, but that's just how I am.  I tend to overplan, but it really does prevent issues from happening during assembly.  It's the measure 10 times cut once mantra that loops in my head.

Anyway, I have enough modeled in solidworks at this point where I could at least get the flippers mounted and wired up.  I started creating an apron troft, even if I don't quite yet have the ball eject worked out (probably going to use another actuator with a lever that flings it up).  I plan on using 1/16" aluminum and getting it lasered from a place like ponoko, as I think it will cost less than waterjet (my local place tends to do more industrial jobs, and usually has a minimal $50 lot charge plus programming)  My goal is to get all the rails to fit within a 12" x 24" piece, which on mcmaster is about $22.

Here are some photos of what I have so far.  I decided to go minimalist (and save precious playfield space) by having the ball eject ASAP.  This has been done on other pins, and it seems to work well:

Since my mechanism doesn't have a base plate, or any specific pinball parts (pawls, flipper bats and bushings are non-specific to any company), it will be cost effective and not infringe on any design patents.  Also the hole on the end of the solenoid should interface with the pawl beautifully.