3 new projects

[mxfaiman]

Thanks for your replies guys. I soaked the nails in CLR overnight. Very little brasso on them with the dremel mounted to my bench. 20 seconds each to polish. Been experimenting with different methods and this works the best for me. Just thought I would share.

Everyone has their ways of doing it. Just use what works best for you.

Also just a note if I didn't state it before. When polishing the nails WEAR GLOVES. It keeps your finger oils off the nails thus making them oxidize less.

[sethbramwell]

Interesting... I personally used a drop or two of brasso on an old shirt for each set of nail heads. Planning on using the shoestring method for the shafts next. Removing them makes me nervous, LOL.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that some nails had threaded bottoms, has anyone come across that? or are they typically smooth?

[mxfaiman]

Interesting... I personally used a drop or two of brasso on an old shirt for each set of nail heads. Planning on using the shoestring method for the shafts next. Removing them makes me nervous, LOL.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that some nails had threaded bottoms, has anyone come across that? or are they typically smooth?

shoelace works. Just get a wide thick one. (the skinny ones don't work)

Yes all the playfield nails are posi-drive. (means they have a screw bottom.) They would never make the main nails smooth shaft as they would wiggle out.

[sethbramwell]

So they need to be twisted out and not pulled straight out, right? (I'm assuming pulling would rip the threading from the playfield)

[emmadog]

you can pull them straight out and they go back in just as snug. you can also make a tool to pull them or spend 5 bucks and buy a tool made for the job from harbor freight, northern hydraulics, home depot,etc., similar to the one pictured. called a cat's paw. i think many of us like to create things and are tinkerers but at the end of the day, nail pulling is not fun and i want it done quickly. i've always found it amusing how much discussion is devoted to home made nail pulling tools. creative ideas for sure but to me it's like discussing what's the best hard object around the house to use to drive the nails back in or just buying a hammer. i used to use a pair of pliers but it takes too long and there's a good potential for bending the nails and marring the heads if the pliers slip.
as for polishing i use blue magic and it's worked well but all brass polishes are probably close to the same in performance. if the nails are all pulled out and you have the time or a tumbler then the entire nail can be polished. when polishing nails that are mounted, i don't worry about the shank and just polish the head. i take the polish and a microfiber cloth, line up groups of nails diagonally and you can do many nails at once. takes about 15 minutes to do an entire machine.

[sethbramwell]

Yep, I just left mine in my vintage, opened the glass, and polished the heads with an old shirt and brasso.

[naha13]

I have seen a couple older machines that used smooth shaft nails in the playfield, so they are not all posi-drive.

Yes all the playfield nails are posi-drive. (means they have a screw bottom.) They would never make the main nails smooth shaft as they would wiggle out.