Broken Part: Any Ideas on fixing or finding replacement part

[johnnygreenboat]

A plastic piece on one of my machines broke off. This is the piece that moves with the lever and feeds the next ball into the shooting chamber...I'm probably not explaining it well, so I attached pictures.

I'm just wondering if anyone has had luck fixing this piece, or if perhaps anyone may have or know of someone who would like to sell?

thanks

[Moparformances]

looks like its all there???

can u use some 5 min epoxy?? avalable and most hardwear stores.. i get mine at true value...

super glue???

[wrkey]

If you have all the pieces, try using some good plastic model cement. I've had good success with this method. If you need to and have the room, you can add another piece of plastic to help support/brace the repaired part.

Good luck and hope this helps!

[mudfud]

I agree that you should be able to epoxy it. use a piece of toothpick to splint if necessary, and wire to hold it.

what machine is that?

[johnnygreenboat]

I should of mentioned, the machine is a Nishijin Sophia B. It's the Monkey and Alligator theme in which I wrote a thread about a few months ago..seems this one has all the problems. I found the broken piece in the hopper. It must have fell in with the balls then got loaded into the hopper.

I will try epoxy and see how it goes. This piece is under some stress when playing, since it moves with every play. I have a feeling I will have to find a replacement part. I do like the idea of using a toothpick for extra support.

Thanks everyone for suggestions.

[Siouxzan]

One more...
I've done a lot of plastic repair and welding. This should be pretty straightforward, but plastic receiving any sort of stress should get special treatment.
Drill a very narrow hole (or preferably a pair of them) in the edge of each piece where they'll be glued together. If it's too narrow for a drill bit, heat up a sewing needle and bore the holes with that.
Then, just like doweling wood, splint the pieces together through these holes with broken bits of sewing needles or stick pins. Works like rebar and it will hold up. A good added measure, once the glue dries, is to run over theplastic on both sides with a flat blade on a soldering iron set very low or, if you don't have a rheostat to do that, put several layers of aluminum (al-u-min-ee-um for our British friends) between the iron and the plastic
Good luck, have fun, and don't forget to post the handiwork for all to admire.

[mudfud]

hey johnny,

if you can't get your piece to work, send me the pieces and I'll trade you an intact one for $10. I can then piece something together as needed.

on a nishijin A with a broken arm, I GOOPed a paper clip arm to extend from the broken plastic one. it works fine. you could probably do something similar, if needed.

homemade reset arm for single shot sophia

[cardwwi]

You may want to try Bill @ vintage pachinko:

Pachinko Machines, Manuals, Balls, and More - Vintage Pachinko, LLC

[mrdoobie.com]

I HAVE THE SOLUTION!

A couple of years ago my father came across this glue at a local hobby store. He received specific instructions for the use of it and how it works. I will share it with you now.

The product is called "TENAX-7R" here is a photo of it.

This is how it works... you apply a very very small amount of it with a simple small brush to the two broken or cracked edges of the plastic that needs mending... then press them both together quickly. This product actually breaks down the plastic molecules, converting them into a liquid state but it dries very quickly! Once it dries, the plastic molecules solidify again and the plastic is actually stronger than it was initially at that point!

It doesn't work on softer plastics (flexible) but works very well on the hard kind of plastics that you find on pachinko machines!

Super simple!

I tested this out on my Kensington Turbo Mouse, one of the buttons broke off... it get's some seriously heavy clicking, pressure, over and over and over... and it hasn't broken again yet!

The KEY is: USE VERY LITTLE OF THIS SOLUTION. Just the areas that will make contact, then quickly press them together and let it dry.

TEST IT FIRST! PRACTICE ON SOME JUNK PLASTIC! SEE HOW IT WORKS and you'll master it before too long.

One small bottle of this will probably last you years and years if you use it all the time!

No one wants some unsightly repair (tape, glue, resin, epoxy, etc.) all over their restoration parts. This shows very little and dries whatever the color of the plastic is that it's repairing.

..and if the part that is broken is missing a sliver, you can use another bit of the same kind of plastic, cut it to the size of the missing sliver...and weld it with this stuff!

It's really amazing! I'd like to hear how it works for you!

I found it on ebay shipped out for right around $5. Again, one bottle will last you a LONG time. My father and I have used the same bottle at least 20 times each...and it doesn't look like we've used any!

[Eddie]

Ball Release Arm Repair

I believe I used devcon clear epoxy. The repair is as strong now as when I first made it.

You can still use the same plastic forks to fabricate the piece that you need.

[mudfud]

as an FYI, this stuff is methylene chloride, a solvent that dissolves the plastic a bit. I have a bottle that I bought at TAP plastics for ABS glueing. will keep it in mind for polystyrene in the future. looks like a lot of model makers use it. just don't inhale or get a lot on your skin, as it has fair toxicity.

this would have been a good option when I glued the plastic arm that I traded with another member for an intact one. I tried epoxy and it failed, then goop with some splinting. if it fails again, I will pull out the solvent.

here is the MSDS

PLASTIC ADHESIVE AND WELDING AGENT

[chmer01]

Johnnygreenboat, how did your repairs go or were you able to fine a replacement?

[johnnygreenboat]

I had tried plain epoxy and it lasted for a little while, but then the piece broke again. A very kind member on this forum sold me a new (used) one and it works great.

[TailTrauma]

Reviving an old thread with a related story and pics... hope that's okay!

I knocked over my Kyoraku vintage and smashed the payout tray into multiple pieces. I didn't get it documented as well as I'd have liked, but there were at least seven pieces, including a couple as small as a pinky nail.

Having dug around pachitalk and found this thread, I decided I'd try the plastic welding solvent for repair. It came out okay; not perfect, but not awful, and it seems to be strong enough to stand up to use. I also used it on a couple of cracked pieces of back plastic (looks much nicer than glue on transparent stuff) and a broken plastic clip (which lasted exactly .5 duty cycles before it went -snap- again.)

My bottle of gunk suggested holding the parts in place and allowing capillary action to wick the stuff in, which is what I did. I think that it might have looked better if I had painted the edges and then squeezed the parts together, but I don't think I could have pulled that off without a 2nd person helping... that stuff evaporates fast! Pics of my results and the stuff I used attached.

[Moparformances]

that looks good.. ya might try some nova polish to help even the crack lines out..

nice work

[hanabi]

Must have been upsetting seeing the damage, but I think you've got a great result repairing it and looks like no missing bits either!!

Way to go!!

[TailTrauma]

that looks good.. ya might try some nova polish to help even the crack lines out..

nice work

I was thinking of trying some very very fine sandpaper, and had pondered painting the tray. I'll give the polish a try first... even better if I can keep it closer to original.

Must have been upsetting seeing the damage, but I think you've got a great result repairing it and looks like no missing bits either!!

Way to go!!

It was... I think after the profanity I actually spoke "Please be okay!" before I picked the machine up.

At least I can share the pain, the repair method, and the results here.