Wisconsin Pinball

Hilton wrote:Thanks!

That harbor freight one looks great and not abad price. Now I just need to find some alternate storage for my boat to free up garage space for a more permenant paint booth.

Let me know if/when you decide to order it, I get coupons online from them all the time. When I got one a few years ago, I think I ended up snagging it for around $90 shipped.

After doing playfield swaps on Flash Gordon and Centaur II I found that I really dislike running ground braid on the playfield and soldering it to all of the light sockets. It's just time consuming and hard to get perfect. plus you have to worry about it contacting any of the metal mech's and causing a short. Doing a modern playfield swap is a breeze in comparison!

I like it all except the artwork touch up part. My brothers got the "art gene", I did not. I don't think I'd do well with new cabinet decals either. But I love the tearing apart/cleaning/re-assembly part. I like the troubleshooting and Boardwork too.

The thing I need the most is un-interrupted time to concentrate on doing the Pinball things 100% right ( I usually wind up going with the 80-90% theory... 100% takes too damn long and doesn't get noticed). Seems like there's always a deadline or another "more important" project nagging to get done (Water softener... I'm lookin' at you! ). And the Summer is usually too busy for Pinball fixin' anyhow. It's more of a Winter hobby for me.

Also, gotta get the "big" boat ready for the season. And Hilton...Shrinkwrap or tarp it, put it up on blocks and store it outside for the winter. That's what I do, and it works fine for me. Garage space is valuable!!

MikeS wrote:After doing playfield swaps on Flash Gordon and Centaur II I found that I really dislike running ground braid on the playfield and soldering it to all of the light sockets. It's just time consuming and hard to get perfect. plus you have to worry about it contacting any of the metal mech's and causing a short. Doing a modern playfield swap is a breeze in comparison!

Related to this although not as tedious is laying ground braid when re-doing an entire lower cabinet. I have only done one (pull everything out, sand, repaint, etc), and putting it back together is a hassle. Also - after 3 pf swaps, it's hard to find the energy to do another one.

I like troubleshooting and board work AFTER I'm done.. Something very rewarding about getting a machine working... each time I do it, I think of ways I could have cut out a lot of time by being more methodical. I'm not very organized in my approach, which usually costs me time, but I'm working on it. The trouble is often I won't have a solid chunk of uninterrupted time set aside, revisiting things after letting them sit for a while is something I'm trying to avoid from now on. I also like cleaning things, but I often get tired of that about midway through, and just want everything back together.

Anything that requires a ton of prep work is something I probably wouldn't like. I've done very rough touchups on a rough playfield, it was a pain to color match. I have plans to try a more complete attempt at touchups on another junk playfield - I've had everything I need for about a year, but just haven't gotten into it. I'm sure I won't mind it once I get everything settled, but knowing I have to get everything prepped, keep a clean work area, and likely a dedicated chunk of time means that I keep putting it off.

I've never done a cabinet decal, and I can already tell that would be my least favorite thing to do - I think I'd rather go to the dentist!

My least favorite? Easily has to be cabinet decals. It is just soooooo time consuming. I finally got my keeper Chuck E Cheese TSPP done tonight and it is just painful how long it takes to get the cabinet perfect. Every imperfection will show when applying decals, so it has to be just right. This is my 5th cabinet decal and everytime I do one, I swear it is going to be my last....

Damn it. Doesn't sound like your going to be that interested in doing the decals on my FT.

Guess I'll just have to sell it.

chris

My favorite repair process is to sell the game as-is.

In all honesty, i would like to learn a few more basic skills but i'd like to do so on something more antiquated than what i've owned. Something that doesn't involve quite as much dissassembly.

noncommittaldave wrote:My favorite repair process is to sell the game as-is.

In all honesty, i would like to learn a few more basic skills but i'd like to do so on something more antiquated than what i've owned. Something that doesn't involve quite as much dissassembly.

Ummm.... Lawnmowers?