New to Pachinko, and this forum, but might make some people mad...

[oauggieo]

I picked up my first machine today (and this is my first post), and now I noticed, that some others from here were looking at the same machine. First, I want to say I'm sorry if I made anyone mad. You might recognize it. mypachinko.jpg

What first drew me to these machines was the "cooped up" feeling during the last storm (nemo) and needing a fun project. I remembered that my grandfather had one of these at his farm when I was maybe 5 or 6 years old and finding it so much fun to play with. I thought how fun it would be to be able to get an older one in so-so/bad condition and get it back to working condition. So i searched.

I found the one above.

When I got to the store (girlfriend in tow), the machine was not working at all, and I really had no idea what i was looking at or if it was possible to get it working. I took a chance, was able to pay a lower price than she asked and took her home (at this point, I think my girlfriend thought I was crazy).

Once home, Girlfriend took a nap, and I started tinkering. A few hours later, I got it figured out.

Here is a picture that she posted. BAD.jpg

I know its a small picture, so sorry. It took me maybe a few hours of tinkering to figure it out, but there is a piece that is not correct (noob here BTW).

The little rod that pushes the jackpot sea saw back into place. You might notice it is kind of acting as a spring/tension rod. After some time, I took this out, and noticed a 60% improvement to the machines. Still getting stuck, but lots better. After some more time, I realized that this rod nudges the sea-saw back into place.

The rod was completely straightened and lodged into place by whoever owned or had it before me. After using some of my girlfriends jewelers pliers and a bit of tweaking, The holy grail was found.

My girlfriend, roommate, her boyfriend and I have been playing for the last few hours. No jams, no stuck balls, jackpots are playing out and fun is being had. My girlfriend, i hope, will never doubt me again (ha!).

Now if you have actually read this whole thing, and are still reading, I have a few question. Could I refinish the wood frame without loosing any appeal or sentimental value to this machine? I would love to sand it down to bare wood and give it a darker wood stain finish with the light brown/tan play field that it came with. Also, the back is extremely rusted. Without dismantling it is possible to at least remove some of the rust. I would like this to last another 50 years while being playable and looking beautiful.

Once again, So sorry if I upset anyone with buying this, but I assure you, she will be in good hands.

Thanks

-Austin

[MrGneiss]

Congratulations on your first machine and..

WELCOME!!!

[Drunkenclam]

Welcome Aboard



All is fair in Love, War and pachi buying
May the deepest pockets win

[ballsofsteel]

I'm not mad. It was too far away.

[mxfaiman]

to Pachitalk!

Don't worry about the auction it never fails the machine ends up with the person who wanted it the most and they deserve it. So congrats on your purchase you got quite a deal.

Please do a favor and post some better pictures when you get chance though.

As for the wood frame feel free to refinish it. Just make sure you do it right and pull off all the part on the front and do underneath them as well. I'm not sure how good a medium brown will look but it is your choice.

If you have any other questions just ask. And once again welcome to PT.

-Max

[Card Shark]

Welcome to PachiTalk and congratulations on your first machine. Looking forward to seeing more pictures.

[cardwwi]

[tommy4132]

Maybe another future pachi collector in Massachusetts. Do not be surprised if another sparks your interest in the near future. These guys will tell you, they tend to multiply quickly.

[oauggieo]

Thank you for the warm welcome. I am already looking for a machine that will need more work to get it going.

I think you are right about the brown. I don't think I will use a stain. I'll probably just sand, then a couple coats of Polly or linseed oil to give it a little shine. Im planning on polishing the pins soon and seeing if I can find someone to reproduce the plastic that is cracked around the ball slot. I'll keep posting pictures of the progress.

As requested, here are some new pictures. The pictures I took are to large to post here, but here is a link to take a look: https://plus.google.com/photos/10174...KGprbP69L20wwE

I'm also trying to date this machine. So far, All I can figure out is that it is from the late 50's/early 60's. Anyone have any ideas? If anyone would like better pictures of anything, let me know.

-Austin

[Moparformances]

nice machine and congrats on geting it

of course

Welcome to Pachitalk

[oauggieo]

Made some progress over the long weekend. I have started polishing things up. I had some trouble with the balls. Rust has been removed but some are still dull and pitted, but I think I'm alright with that. I love the artwork on them. Always fun finding the balls with the naked girls on them...oh...wow... and the ball jokes begin.

Removed all the pieces on the front, polished all the metal/chrome and used steal wool on the plastic to remove paint and the odd browning. After that, I sanded off the paint on the frame. This was a little worrisome as there is a chance it was lead paint. Lets hope I didn't inhale too much. Looks beautiful as bare wood, but I will finish it to make sure it lasts. I will probably put the first few coats of finish on this weekend. I think I'm going to keep the finish light colored. In the mean time, It has been reassembled (don't want to loose the parts, thought it was best to put them back) and I have started polishing the pins. Not an easy task. Anyways, here is an updated picture:

DSC_4070-004.jpg

Any feedback is always welcome!

[jodini]

WOW! Looks like this vintage machine fell into the right hands! Excellent!

[alphaminor]

Very nice!
welcome to pachitalk!!!

[Dan in Toronto]

I'm new to this Pachinko thing but that is a gorgeous machine. A personal question I know but what price range would a machine like this be in?

[oauggieo]

Well, I'm no expert, so for the actual value of this machine, I think you might have to wait for some of the forum experts to chime in.

As for what I paid and what I value it at, I don't mind sharing as after less than a week with it, what I paid is far less than the enjoyment I've had with it. So I think it was well worth it. The lady originally posted it on eBay, and from what I gathered, she didn't want to ship and was getting lots of emails to do so, so she took it down. It was posted to Craigslist a few days later for $150. I countered with $100, and we settled with $125 (which I'll add was what I was willing to pay, but you have to play the game). I couldn't be happier. To me, the value is way higher and I don't think I would let this go for anywhere close to that. I'll also add that I'm surprised that these machines can go for so low sometimes.

As I think I've seen posted to this forum, and what influenced my purchases (but maybe worded different), is a machine is worth what you are willing to pay.

For me, I wanted a pachinko machine, I did my research, and within the week, this beauty was less than an hour away from me. Maybe I paid too much, maybe I didn't. I don't care. I loved it. I'll probably never see one for sale like this again, so I jumped on it. I sure hope I find more as the bug has hit.

[Moparformances]

Maybe I paid too much, maybe I didn't. I don't care. I loved it. I'll probably never see one for sale like this again, so I jumped on it. I sure hope I find more as the bug has hit.

value it damn hard... i have seen nice machines sell for little bit.. i have seen broken machines sell for over 1000...

if your happy thats whats important... i dont think your got a great deal.. but i can also say i dont think you got a bad one either.. ya paid more then i would have paid.. but others would have paid allot more.. beauty is in the eye

congrats on your machine

[Card Shark]

Well said Mopar. In the little over a year I have been collecting, I have learned one thing. There really is no definite value of these machines. I have paid as low as $25 for a machine and spent close to $1000 total on another. I have enjoyed each and every one and feel they have all been worth every penny.

[Dan in Toronto]

I think you got a great deal. Here in the Toronto area standard machines needing a lot of work seem to be listed on Craigslist for the $100-150 range and require a lot of work. If anyone has a machine of this vintage they want to sell I'd be interested.

[oauggieo]

Update: Finished with 5 coats of Poly after Lots of sanding. Discovered a possible worm hole under all the paint, but decided to leave it instead of fill it. It adds character. I also tried to repair the crack at the top. Don't think its turned out too bad. Still going to polish a bunch but it will have to wait a bit so the polly fully cures. Next up, Polishing up the back of the machine. Should be an adventure.

DSC_4082.jpgDSC_4077.jpgDSC_4080.jpgDSC_4081.jpg

[mxfaiman]

Looks good.

I see your using General Finishes. That is what I use, great stuff. Did you use gloss or semi-gloss?