1940s pachinko machine help

[heavyguitarman]

hello, im new to this forum but am almost positive my machine is from the '40s. I can post pics later i just ran across this site. Does anyone know where to get information on the mechanics of these old machines - this one originally has no feeder tray, you place the balls one at a time through a hole to load. It has a plate on it that says King go Shinko. I have a lot of work ahead of me but any mechanical knowledge of this type would speed the process. Thanks in advance!

[Meathead]

I think a photo will be a must. These machines came into popularity after World War II, so it may be possible, but unlikely that it's from the forties.

Welcome to Pachitalk. I can almost guarantee you that you will find the answers you need if you stick around. We have many knowledgeable members when it comes to vintage machines. Unfortunately for you, I'm not one of them.

[heavyguitarman]

why would you think its not from the 40s out of all the machines i compared it to only 40's had no feeder tray
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ill take some photos tomorrow though, thanks

[Meathead]

why would you think its not from the 40s out of all the machines i compared it to only 40's had no feeder tray

I'm not doubting you. The easiest way to find out is to post the photos, and there may be a sticker on the machine that may assist in finding out how old it is.

Also, take a look at this member's photos, vintage machines
He has one from the forties in his collection.

[compirate]

From the late 30's to the mid 40's pachinko was banned, they say because of the gambling aspect, I say shortage of materials and that ball bearing manufacturing equipment was better suited to the war effort. Single shots do go into the 50's and early 60's

[sharmoni]

I've only got one pre-1950s machine that I believe is from around 1948 (you can read my deductions and see photos of it and similar machines in this post: PachiTalk). My favorites are from the 50s, when they had almost no plastic parts at all. The only plastic on my 40s pachinko was the laminate on the playfield which had warped so badly I had to remove it.

[sharmoni]

Oh, hey, I bet you bought the mauve pachinko! I thought about getting that and decided it wasn't different enough from the ones I had. Do these eBay photos look familiar?

You can date your machine as no older than 1960 because that was the year the "tulips" were developed (here's a great timeline that Eddie posted in another thread: http://translate.google.com/translat...1&ie=Shift_JIS).

Not all machines followed the same evolutionary path as far as return trays. One of the pachinkos in the timeline from 1952 has a ball feeder tray, but my first pachinko from around 1965 still only had the bottom tray.

I'd love to see close-up photos of your jackpot mechanism in the center (front and back). The best thing about the old machines is how simple they were mechanically.

It looks like it doesn't have lights, which makes it likely to be very early 60s rather than later.

[chmer01]

sharmoni covered pretty much what I would have said, but way nicer.

By the way, Meathead your new avitar freaked me out when I seen it.

[MrGneiss]

WELCOME!!

[new in town]

Welcome to PachiTalk

[hanabi]

Welcome to PachiTalk heavyguitarman!!


If it is the purple one, looks interesting & very nice colour indeed...

[heavyguitarman]

ok i took pics and it is the mauve one, but that wasnt the original color. if anyone knows about the mechanics of this machine please help me.

[heavyguitarman]

let me try again

[sharmoni]

You'll need at least 100 balls to get it working. 500 is even better once you start playing—then you don't have to refill top hopper as often. Balls will pour down into the jackpot circle and fill it. As long as there are enough balls to keep the levers in the double-rail metal chutes depressed, the jackpot lever can be triggered by balls falling in the pockets—otherwise it will be locked, and the winning balls will be saved in the little windowed area. The white button on the front is to put those saved balls back into the jackpot mechanism to trigger the payout. It looks like your winning balls will go to the payout tray after triggering the jackpot, but you'll need a catch tray in back for the losing balls (those inexpensive plastic food-keeper tubs work well). Those are just the basics. Once you have it loaded up, just keep messing with all the levers to figure out what everything does. With these old machines it's pretty easy to see how they all interact.

[heavyguitarman]

that was the problem, i cleaned everything when i first got it and put it back together, was studying why and what were the purpose of various mechanics. When my new balls arrived, it started working fine...not enough balls going through the payoff chute would make the balls jam and seesaw wouldnt operate...im getting smart real quick lol. Now off to really clean up good and refinish. It didnt have lights originally, but im thinking about a couple , there is enough space to let light shine through in the main jackpot section...tested with a flashlite. Should i go with plexi and glass or glass and glass? Also any other ideas from anyone will help...im about to strip this machine down to nothing and refinish since none of the paint is original.

[sharmoni]

Oh, I see what you mean about the paint job. I guess someone was treating it as decorative art project. Too bad.

You're also missing a bunch of pins (nails). I would ask around the forum to see if anyone has a few spares from an old parts machine. You'll at least need to nail the left tulip in to straighten it out so the trigger works (that's probably a small nail you can buy at a well-stocked hardware store. Just pull the other one out with pliers and take it in to get a close match. It looks like a lot of the nails are bent. You can straighten them out with small pliers or tapping with a very small hammer, or even bending them with your fingers. They should mostly straight out of the board with a slight up angle so the balls kick up inward away from the glass. You can tune them up later after you see where the dead spots are.
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You may want to completely disassemble it if your going to refinish it. The playfield is always laminated and if you don't have that under the paint you'll want to pull all the nails and rails (that will be tricky because of the way they are attached) and put down a nice paper print graphic with a new plastic laminate sheet. If you do completely disassemble it you'll want photos of every single part, including the nails or screws that hold that part in. When I took my most recent pachinko apart (PachiTalk), I took over 170 photos and I'm glad I did because I haven't been able to finish it quickly, and since it's already been 5 months, I've pretty much forgotten which little parts and screws go where.

[sharmoni]

Lexan is good. It can be a little expensive but you only need it for the inside rails of the door.

[heavyguitarman]

thanks sharmoni, but im gonna go all out. I knew i had missing and bent pins so im gonna match up with a manufacturer or hobby supply...i pulled all of them. The reason the tulip pins were out is there was a catch tunnel behind it and it wasn't lining up so balls would jam. I wanted to make sure someone didnt try to reposition the tulip at sometime so i removed it . You seem pretty smart, keep in touch.

[heavyguitarman]

please explain to me about the lamination thingie you mentioned and where to buy...details if you have the time because after removing the paint on the playfield it is a nice wood grain that could be stained and clear coated. thanks in advance

[takethecastle57]

Very nice one shot pachinko . About the playfield how about your favorite scene from a movie ,tv show , maybe Super model and have the picture laminated in plastic then trim to fit and then use a 3m spay adhesive to fix it to the playfield .

Darn now i have another project to do