Checking in with our first Pachinko machine - Heiwa Bull

[LynnInDenver]

Not that we have room for more than the one.

We need to order balls for it tomorrow so we can start seeing if it works. When we went to the big flea market on Sunday, one of our first finds of the day (we were hunting for toys and video games) was this vintage Heiwa machine for $20. It appears to have all the bits except one pivot rod for the payout lock (which I've stuck a nail in for right now). The blue chute has one mount broken off, and the other is missing the screw, so I plan on strapping that down using a couple of screws and the existing screw points. The playfield also has the typical water damage darkening around the pins, and the pins themselves are incredibly tarnished. One piece of plex, definitely not original as the inspection sticker is completely missing. The payout linkage wasn't linked, but getting that sorted enabled me to fish out one ball that was stuck (DING!). One more was floating inside the seesaw chamber, and three more were kicking around behind the shooter panel.

Front.jpgBackside.jpgDataLabel.jpgLowerLeftIcons.jpgNoTouch.jpgCenterTarget.jpg

In all, looking forward to getting this cleaned up further, and feeling pretty good about it actually working on the first "pull".

[TheRaz]

Welcome!

[LynnInDenver]

OK, never mind on the lack of inspection sticker, I figured out it was still there. Looks like this one was retired from the parlours March 1976.

Ball order has been placed, only 250 to start with.

The front frame has lots of rust spotting that will have to be cleaned up once we've handled the mechanicals. I would prefer not to disassemble the machine unless it's a serious need.

I plan on replacing the electrics with LED lighting and a AA pack. Not sure if we'll do enhancements there with the column of lenses.

I'm also planning on building a cabinet, so that we won't have to chase errant balls. We'll get the lock rekeyed before we do that, though.

[CarlW]

The front frame has lots of rust spotting that will have to be cleaned up once we've handled the mechanicals. I would prefer not to disassemble the machine unless it's a serious need.

I plan on replacing the electrics with LED lighting and a AA pack. Not sure if we'll do enhancements there with the column of lenses.

I'm also planning on building a cabinet, so that we won't have to chase errant balls. We'll get the lock rekeyed before we do that, though.

One of the member's here sells cabinets, might be worth a peak. Save the cost of re-keying; get a cabinet that doesn't need a key; it's up to you.
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The chrome would clean up a lot with 0000 iron wool. It is easier to clean if the metal frame is removed and the frame is not too difficult to remove.

Have fun!

I do enjoy vintage Heiwas'.

[emmadog]

0000 steel wool is the best material for cleaning chrome. However, it also depends on how badly the frame is pitted. If you do use steel wool then the frame needs to be removed from the machine because steel wool "sheds" and you definitely don't want that stuff in your machine. You'll never get it all out. Also buy some new replacement screws for the frame. The factory screws used throughout vintage pachinko machines are horrible quality and strip out very easily. It sounds like you're willing to spend some time on this machine and so its worth doing right.

[mxfaiman]

Ball order has been placed, only 250 to start with.

250 isn't going to be enough unfortunately. Many vintage manuals will say you only need 200 but it is a false statement. You really need a minimum of 400. But it is easier to just buy 500. The machine is designed to hold 1000 balls and with only 250 it isn't quite enough to push down all the levers in the right order.

There are a number of sources for balls. I usually just tell people to buy them off ebay from the sellers, goldenstatetraders1 or PachinkoPagoda. Both are really easy to do business with and ship quickly. Pachinko Pagoda puts balls for sale with a buy it now price while goldenstatetraders only does auctions so you can get a good deal but you may have to wait.

I'm also planning on building a cabinet, so that we won't have to chase errant balls. We'll get the lock rekeyed before we do that, though.

No matter who you take the lock to I'm sure they won't be able to cut a key for it. As the keys are a special size and shape. Also they never left Japan and there is almost no chance of just buying one. So you have 2 options. You put a key in the side of the cabinet so it hits the lock when it turns or put in an access hole, string, or lever to hit the latch.


Also to Pachitalk!


Oh and for the chrome. First before using steel wool. Go buy some Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and see what you can take off with that. The stuff is rather abrasive and I have cleaned some of the dirtiest frames ever and got them to shine again.

[LynnInDenver]

Well, we'll see. My partner actually placed the ball order when he got into work, so he might have just ordered 500 instead. I'll find out when he gets home. We know this is just the "seed" order anyway, so that we can test the machine. We were planning on making a second order later to get us up to the 750 or 1000 range.

We'll see about the steel wool. Getting the rust off the frame is the bare minimum amount of restoration I'd like to do, just so that it doesn't worsen if nothing else. And with the restoration, I do seriously draw the line at removing the pins and playfield graphics. I can talk to my partner, but I'm willing to live with the machine looking faded and slightly tarnished.

Regarding the lock, yeah, there's a chance I won't be able to get a key made locally and the lock "retumbled" to match. It's something I'd have to remove the lock to even ask around about. Worst case, I could probably replace the lock with a simple knob to actuate the latching mechanism behind it. I do know this guy was able to get his rekeyed, albeit with a modification to part of the lock itself, but that was also years ago and somewhere else. David's Video Game Insanity! - Home Arcade Projects - Chronicles of a Pachinko Machine Restoration

In terms of the cabinet, the primary reason I'd want to enclose it and rely entirely on the door of the machine is that we're probably going to have to house it in the living room, and a complete enclosure would make it more aesthetically pleasing than seeing part of the mechanism. On the other hand, we've got some friends who'd be fine seeing the guts of one of these.

Speaking of which, anyone know HOW the pachinko parlor mounting system worked? I don't see anything that would be bolting hardware on the frame, nor do I see any penetrations into the frame for anything like bolts. But I assume they had something so that the machine wouldn't just fall out of the wall or cabinet if it was pulled on with any force.

[LynnInDenver]

I do enjoy vintage Heiwas'.

I saw that video, and that Arduino modification is something I'm contemplating adding.

[LynnInDenver]

OK, so I did some fiddling with it tonight, using the five balls we have on hand to at least test the targets. Everything seems to fire OK, although I had to manually finish the processes at the back to get the balls through. The shooter works, and all the tulips cycle, including as secondaries of other targets, except the bottom one. That one will cycle from closed to open, but won't close again on subsequent drop-ins, I'm hoping it's just a matter of not having the system correctly set up. I've got a pretty good feel for it not requiring anything more than an overall cleaning, though.

[Super Dave Osbourne]

IMHO, having 1000+ balls is a great place to be at and having 250-500 is a good place to be from... Good find, right price JACKSJE4 IIRC is located near you. His work and videos and online information may help you. Good luck.

[LynnInDenver]

And I can happily report that it is all mechanically functional. We got the balls in, I played a few rounds, and even manually fed the targets a few times to verify they pay out.

BTW, Vintage Pachinko, we're going to order more balls from them in the near future. Definitely a quick turnaround on that first order.

[mxfaiman]

BTW, Vintage Pachinko, we're going to order more balls from them in the near future. Definitely a quick turnaround on that first order.

Billy is very good. I have never had a problem with anything from him. (he is also a member here. thepachinkoman is his user name.)

Also glad the hear everything is working fine.

[LynnInDenver]

So I've gotten most of the electrics redone. I replaced both bulbs with LEDs, all the wire is new, and the connector point is gone in favor of a switch and a AA battery holder. The only real issue is the jackpot light switch, I was able to reuse the original leaf switch, but it's really finicky. I've put a nail in to hold the one side, but it's taking some serious bending and finagling of the other leaf to try to get the light to fire consistently.

Worst case, I've got a microswitch that I can fit a lever onto to replace the leaf switch. If I do that, I'll probably do it come the weekend.

[LynnInDenver]

Well, new wrinkle - the system doesn't reset properly after some payouts. It appears the primary linkage on the right (that actually causes it to drop balls, and presses the jackpot light switch) isn't actuating all the way. Is this something that should be lubed (I'm thinking silicon), or is there something else going on to look at? I've already tried the "remove my electrical work" to see if that was the cause, but it still sticks.

[CarlW]

Normally, none of the levers need lubrication. This seems to be a common issue on the forum today. Did you take any of the back pieces off the machine during your work?

I've had a few Heiwa's like yours and can make a few guesses.

If you remove all the pachinko balls; do the levers move freely without scraping on the plastic or the wood? Test first with your fingers and then with pachinko balls. The see saw reset and the jackpot refilling are all caused by gravity. You probably know all this! You can lube the bottom axle pivot point with out worrying about gumming up the works. It is behind a blue plastic cover on my machines, bottom right corner. Cleaning it is a better option but not too easy without a full dis assembly.

If you removed the jackpot mechanism that could be the problem; but I'm guessing you did not because it is not an easy one to remove.

If you make a video, try to show the action from a lot of views, close ups at the pivot points, more than one example of the movement, etc.

[LynnInDenver]

Of course, now that I'm trying to take high quality video, it works perfectly.

The thing is, I had to move the machine to get an angle for video of the back... and while it leans backwards where I had set it for the video, it leans FURTHER back where I had it set to play with it. It's a difference of "bubble not centered on the level" and "bubble shoved firmly to one end on the level".

I had no idea the machine was THAT sensitive to being leaned too far one way or the other. At least I know there's a lean maximum to aim for with the eventual cabinet. It also means I'm going to have to fit the cabinet with adjustable feet so that we can fine tune it in position.

[CarlW]

My understanding is that the machines were installed out of plumb in Japan intentionally. About 1-1/8" tilted back at the top out of plumb.

Idea is to keep the pachinko balls against the play field instead of against the glass and nail heads is my guess.

But it's working?

[LynnInDenver]

It was definitely working when I went to bed last night.

I did determine that it needs to lean back slightly, or else balls get caught in the playfield. In particular, there's a spot where a ball will get caught between the center feature, the spinner just to the right, and the plex, unless it's slightly leaning back.

On the other hand, leaning it too far clearly leads to the jackpot area being incapable of resetting correctly. And it's difficult to force a correct reset when it's that far back.

So, adjustable feet will be part of the cabinet.

I do plan on setting it up ON the fairly level workbench here tonight or tomorrow, so I can get an idea of how far out of plumb it actually is (versus needs to be), so that I can plan the cabinet correctly for it.

[Super Dave Osbourne]

Or if my trig comes back to me well, about .88 degrees leaning away from the player? Is this folklore, or actually documented? As an aside, i was having this conversation about putting 'legs' on the bottom of the games and always noticed the games leaning back a bit, maybe even .88 degs. I attributed this to the old frames, and also the weight of the balls when the game was loaded up and playing.

[Moparformances]

thin plexi will flex and give you problems.. thicker plexi or glass may solve all your problems..