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Thread: Pachinko ball substitute?

  1. #1
    Tokie Owens se4587's Avatar
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    Default Pachinko ball substitute?

    Hi everyone, I'm new so don't yell at me if this has been discussed before...I did a search on the forum but didn't find a direct answer...Would I be able to use Slingshot Ammo, 11mm steel balls in my vintage machine?

    Here's the site on amazon:
    Amazon.com: Chief AJ SLingshot Ammo - 11mm Steel Ball - 410 Count: Sports & Outdoors

    These sound really nice. Turns out to be about 6.5 cents/ea...I understand eBay has them for about 3 cents/ea sometimes...

    Thanks,
    Seth

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    I was thrown out of Top Gear Drunkenclam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pachinko ball substitute?

    I wouldn't know if compatible. It's not just the size but weight as well on vintage machines. If the balls ate the wrong weight it might upset the jackpot seesaw mechanics. For the cost of proper ones in the US. Your probably better just getting proper balls off eBay there.
    Ian #UKPachinko

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  4. #3
    Tokie Owens se4587's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pachinko ball substitute?

    Yeah, I don't know what the weight of the ammo balls are...I'm scoping out some auctions now, I'll probably just stick with actual pachinko machine balls. I'm just antsy to start playing with my new machine! Thanks for the reply!

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    Pachi Puro Moparformances's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pachinko ball substitute?

    why bother.. get the original ones
    Never Doubt that a small group of thoughtful, .......... /........ If your not going to stand behind our troops
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    Pachi Puro mxfaiman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pachinko ball substitute?

    Quote Originally Posted by Moparformances View Post
    why bother.. get the original ones


    They are about the same price if maybe a little more. But spend a little extra instead of buying things that won't work. And to Pachitalk.

    100 machines and counting...

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    Pachi Puro pachiwall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pachinko ball substitute?

    I would say, that the diameter IS correct...but vintace machines are VERY picky about weight! I have an old machine Comicgo 004.jpg It ALMOST worked, except you needed to "touch" the linkage to make it payout.Comicgo reassembly 016.jpg This piece of plastic was old, brittle, and broken. This caused the ball to NOT be centered on the arm. The fact that it was not on center made "X" percent NOT pushing down on the arm. This TINY amount of weight was all that was needed to keep it from paying out! I made a new part from a Listerine bottle. This held the ball on center of the arm. This tiny amount pf weight was enough to prevent a payout.
    Bottom line...it is possible to use alternate balls to use. But, they must weigh the same. When I was young, I had a similar machine. I bought some bearings the same size...they DID work. I think I got lucky. You might get lucky too, or maybe not. With the price difference, I would get REAL pachinko balls! They are going to work, if nothing else is wrong. If you have NON PACHINKO balls, and it don't work...you have an extra variable that has to be taken into consideration.success 002.jpg This is the replacement that I made.success 004.jpg Here is a pic of the old, broken part next to the replacement.
    Once again, WEIGHT IS IMPORTANT! I wont say that slingshot ammo WONT work...but I know that a small amount of weight makes a HUGE difference! I got lucky...maybe you will too. BUT...with the cost difference so small...I would buy genuine pachinko balls! makes troubleshooting easier.

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    Scowlin' Jean Hornigold hanabi's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pachinko ball substitute?



    just popping in the link to the other thread

    Hi from North Carolina

    Member 'se4587' has managed to buy some pachinko balls on ebay



    Angie ...
    Pachinkos, Pachislos, Coffee, Papercraft Ninja, Pinball

    I ran away with the Steampunk Circus!
    I was hiding in a room in my mind...
    You crush the lily in my soul...



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    Tokie Owens se4587's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pachinko ball substitute?

    Thanks Pachiball; nice fix. Since I won that auction, I shouldn't have any trouble using original pachinko balls now, unless something inside the machine is broken that I don't know about yet. But the backside looks good as far as I can tell.

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