Looking for opinions

[SharonM]

I got my pachinko all working, and would like a cabinet for it. I've seen a lot of different styles, tabletop, free standing, wall mount...what do you prefer and why? Is there a particular style that's better over another? Are there design faults to avoid, or tricks to incorporate?


Thanks so much!

Sharon

[Card Shark]

I use cabinets from The Pachinko Store...

cabinets

I really like the quality and I wanted my machines to have a uniform look to them.

Game room.jpg

I put in long line of shelves and have my machines set on them. This makes it easier for me to pull a machine out and work on it or to swap out machines.

Their cabinets are designed to be standing or hung on a wall.

[naha13]

I want to build a large cab for 2 rows of machines, but I need to replace my flooring first so I don't have to move it around after it's built. Plus I have lofty ideas of what I want it to be like, so I need to start drawing some plans out to work on a few details for ball return in a master hopper/tray feed system. Should be interesting to say the least.

[Drunkenclam]

Just make sure you have access to the waste balls and a way to refill the top of the machine. Either with a large storage area above the machine, or lifter or a funnel to pour balls into. A drawer under the machine to catch balls and easy to empty. Oh and a way to switch the machine off and on if you mount the machine over the wall socket

[jodini]

I've built 9 cabinets so far...different designs and figuring out which one I like the best. I'm not the best carpenter but I manage and sell a few. I prefer the wall mount because it's out of the way and normally doesn't take up any table space. The only problem I have with the wall mount is making sure I have enough support on the more modern machines. I decided to take out my scale and get an idea on how much these machines weigh...and here's the averages (without balls)...vintage's were right around 35 pounds, my lumina frame machines (starwars and vicki chance) was 55 pounds and my new modern machines (Tom and Jerry and Kung Fu Panda) was 75 pounds!!! So I decided to make those two machines table mounted...AND screwed them into the 2x4 in the wall! I have my kids play these machines all the time (my basement sounds like a pachinko parlor when the neighbors are over) and the last thing I want is to be in the news for a crushed kid because I didn't mount my pachinko machine!

My vote would still be wall mounted, unless my machine weighs 75 pounds!

[Wayne-Ooo]

I don't know that one is better than the other. It really depends on your situation and the look you are going for.

I would suggest that it is secured properly. Wall, or on a stand. Even on a stand it should be secured. Because when you open the door the machine will fall forward because of the weigh of the door.

My set-up was to put the cabinet on a stand, (to carry the weigh of the machine), and also the cabinet is screwed to the wall, (so when the door is open the machine doesn't fall forward).

I set-up all my machines as "semi-cycle" machines. All the lost balls return to the bottom tray and no balls exit from the back, (as normal). So I just empty the bottom tray into a container and dump them into a top tray, that sticks out, to refill the hopper. This can all be done with one hand, so you can keep one hand on the shooter, which comes in "handy" during a fever round.

035.jpg

[SharonM]

I set-up all my machines as "semi-cycle" machines. All the lost balls return to the bottom tray and no balls exit from the back, (as normal).
035.jpg

Ohh, that sounds like a good thing. How do you do that, just creative carpentry?

[luckydog]

here's my easy design for balls to return to the front

Polish carpenter

[Wayne-Ooo]

To make your machine a "full cycle" or "semi cycle" normally requires removing some part of the plastic track or blocking off an area that the balls ride on and directing it to the upper or lower tray, depending on if you want a "full" or "semi" machine. One machine I have is full cycle and all the balls return to the upper tray. It only takes 25 balls to play the machine and you never have to refill anything. Of course the machine doesn't payout , you just play. It's really not to hard to figure out. Just look it where the balls go and what it would take to get them to go to the bottom tray instead of exiting out the bottom of the machine.

Here are some links to "cycle machines".

PachiTalk Research Center - FAQ - Pachinko - What is cyclic usage - PachiTalk
PachiTalk Research Center - FAQ - Pachinko - Cyclic to front on a Lumina Frame - PachiTalk
PachiTalk Research Center - FAQ - Pachinko - How to convert your Heiwa frame to Cyclic - PachiTalk
PachiTalk Research Center - FAQ - Pachinko - Cyclic Mod for Taiyo Elec Top Gun Black/Orange - PachiTalk

[Moparformances]

I like mine and I think i got it right the first time...

http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/pach...o-cabinet.html

I like my machines to work as intended so Cyclic mods dont do anything for me..


this is one i just sold... he is a 9'ers fan so he asked for RED

vince Pachinko in painted cabinet.jpgvince Pachinko in painted cabinet (1).jpgvince Pachinko in painted cabinet (3).jpg

[SharonM]

Wow, you thought of things I hadn't considered yet. Very nice design.

[p.opus]

I think cyclic machines are fine as long as there is another method for keeping score. For example, I am getting a couple of gaku counters which can keep track of balls shot and wins. With that installed, a Cyclic Machine makes perfect sense.

However, if the balls themselves are the only way to keep score, then Cyclic doesn't seem to make any sense at all.

I'm going to put the Gaku counters on my two vintage machines just to keep a running score. But I still like the payout so my machines will remain unaltered.

[Shadowseer_Kim]

I like the look of wall mounted, because it is more like functioning artwork then. And with a good cabinet design, where the balls feed forward in a lower tray, I have no need of a ball lifted outside my own two hands and a scoop.

[Wayne-Ooo]

It appears this thread has gotten a little off track and I'll take the blame for that. Sorry SharonM.

The only reason I brought up cyclicing machines is because when you put a machine in a cabinet and it's back is against the wall. You will have to open the machine and get the lost balls. Being new to these machines maybe it was something you were not aware of.

So unless you want to open the machine every time you need empty the lost balls you will need incorporate some type of cyclic system.
All cyclicing is, is moving the balls that you shoot into the playfield and then exit via the hole at the bottom or in a payout pocket, (these are called "lost balls"), to the front of the machine.


So, anybody that has done a "paint tray" or "sliding door" type system to get their lost balls to the front of the machine in their cabinet has cycliced a machine. I just prefer to use the trays that are already on the machine. Cyclicing a machine to either the top or bottom tray in no way effects the gameplay or payouts of the machine. Cyclicing a machine to the top tray does give you the option to play the machine with less balls and received no payouts, but this is an option only. Just because lost balls are coming to the top tray doesn't mean the machine will not payout. Just keep balls in the hopper and the machine plays as it was meant to be played.

So just so you are clear, Cyclicing a machine to the top or bottom tray on the machine does not effect gameplay or payouts. It does give you options that a "paint tray type" cyclicing system does not.

I hope this clears up the whole cyclicing thing and good luck with whatever you decide to do with your cabinet.

[Wayne-Ooo]

Another way the cyclic balls to the hopper is to invest in a ball lifter. That way the lost balls remain in the back of the machine and the ball lifter cyclics them to the hopper.

[Card Shark]

I am a big fan of using a ball lifter. It certainly made my modern machine a lot more fun. One of the reasons I have been a fan of the cabinets I use is the fact that the "lost" balls are stored in a lower reservoir with a door on the front of the machine to access them. Also the cabinet includes a wooden funnel at the top to make it easier to fill the upper hopper.

Here are a couple of pictures of the back of my JAWS modern machine with the ball lifter installed...