Sanyo versus Nichijin DX

[mxfaiman]

My next project will be to build a tumbler.

I've been looking and looking locally for the tulip screws. I found a suitable replacement brass screw at a place called "Hobby Lobby". I'm not sure if it's a national chain or not.
$2 for 60 tiny screws seem reasonable. They also had tiny brass tacks which may work for a Nichijin tulip. (My Nichijin tulips are held by tacks not screws)

Harbor freight tools sells a tumbler for about $50. I bought one and it works great for almost everything. (some people complain about the belts breaking but I think that is because the overload the drum. Mine still has the original belt and I have used it for about 6 months.)

Hobby Lobby is a national chain. (But there aren't many near me.)

(oh and just to let you know it isn't Nichijin it is Nishijin. Everyone has spelling errors.)

[SteveFury]

Mrs. Clause was good to me this Christmas and I was able to get my new cell printed.

I still have some work to do, mainly just hinges and the display frame but I'm basically finished. Here's a preview- I'll do better pics when it's all finished:

IMG_2473.jpg

This is a very colorful machine !!

I did a quick sketch of the wiring diagram, if it may help anyone here:

Wiring.jpg

Does anyone know how to get this ash tray looking properly? How can I polish this aluminum to look better?

IMG_2391.JPG

Thank you in advance.

[JACKSJE4]

Does anyone know how to get this ash tray looking properly? How can I polish this aluminum to look better?

Steel wool, elbow grease, and lots of patience. I sometimes spend an hour or more rubbing the tar (and the silver paint someone sprayed over the tar) until the ash tray shines. Start with #1, then #00, then #0000.

[mxfaiman]

Steel wool, elbow grease, and lots of patience. I sometimes spend an hour or more rubbing the tar (and the silver paint someone sprayed over the tar) until the ash tray shines. Start with #1, then #00, then #0000.

Yes you can do that but it is always easier to soak it in super clean first (super clean is available at Walmart and most auto parts stores) that stuff works great for getting off the tar, nicotine, and paint residue. (they clear coated those ash trays and that stuff takes it right off.) But make sure you follow the mix ratios on the jug.

Then if you have a drill press or a bench grinder I'd recommend getting a buffing wheel with the correct rouge for the object. (It gets my ash trays nice and shiny )

Also if you use super clean for plastic watch out cause I have noticed that it sorta reacts and gives it a white film that is hard to get off. (works great on white plastic though )

[SteveFury]

I have finished rebuilding my 1976 Sanyo.

I estimate that I spent 50-60 hours on it and has been a true labor of love. All the original rusty wood screws have been replaced by new ones and there isn't a staple on the machine. The playfield board is sealed with polyurethane, the wood spacers have been sanded and sealed in paste wax and polished. The face board is unstained and has 4 coats of clear laquer. Most of the metal display frame brackets had rusted badly. I wire wheeled them clean and painted with white Rustolium paint and clear coated. All the bolts and screws in the display frame have also been replaced. The original bolts were rusted so badly that 2 days soaking in penetrating oil wouldn't free them. Two of the original flat head hinge bolts snapped off just under the screw head because of rust. Another had to be drilled out to remove. I gave the display frame a light sanding and 2 coats polyurethane. I also made the two support feet.

I really like the graphic very much, and I consider the project well worth it. I am also glad to replace the face board because the other one was beginning to rot. I believe it's why it shattered like peanut brittle when I tried to remove the playfield.
When making the new face board, I used the original one as a template, most importantly to properly locate the various holes. To align the playfield on the face board, the proper horizontal location was determined by the alignment of the front door latch assembly to the front door frame. The vertical alignment was determined by the flipper hammer strike spring, where it enters the hole in the launch guide. Adjusting the two rubber hammer stops made the proper depth of the strike spring. It was easier than I thought it would be.

Some of the clear plastic "windows" had yellowed badly. The screws I bought for it came in vacuum formed clear plastic boxes. I was able to cut those boxes and use its plastic for the windows, such as the supply balls window on the upper right corner of the playfield. I used the same plastic to cover the back of the lights.

The heads of the brass screws from Hobby Lobby were slightly too big but they worked anyway. They are brass coated steel.

I'm extremely happy with this rebuild and here are some pics:

IMG_2530.jpg IMG_2481.jpg IMG_2508.jpg IMG_2502.jpg IMG_2495.jpg IMG_2518.jpg IMG_2504.jpg IMG_2515.jpg IMG_2483.jpg

[SteveFury]

Here's a quick video I made of it:

[owennewton]

Great job

That is an amazing looking machine now

[SteveFury]

I don't know why I keep thinking it's a 1976 model.
Oh well, what's a few years anyway.

[JACKSJE4]

That machine looks absolutely FANTASTIC!! It totally looks like a new machine. Job well done!!

[Moparformances]

great looking machine..

question... is there any of the original wood left??

[mxfaiman]

congrats it is always well worth the effort to restore a machine to this level.

[SteveFury]

is there any of the original wood left??

The only wood I replaced is the main front piece. The playfield board, its 4 spacers and the display frame (stand) is original. I had done quite a bit of work on the playfield board itself. I put wood hardener in all the rust-rotted screw holes then followed it up with wood filler. I sanded all sides of the board with a power sander, and hand sanded all the cut-outs such as the tulips and center feature. Then I applied a couple coats of polyurethane. The polyurethane has a gold/brown tint to it and darkened the board a bit.

The cotter pins that hold the steel playfield rails had rusted very badly and I didn't think they could be salvaged. I guess I should have replaced them but instead I carefully sanded the corrosion from each one, on all 6 sides being extremely careful not to bend them unnecessarily so not to break them. I gave them a good coating of paste (Bees) wax to keep them from rusting again.

I didn't have a playfield glass when the machine reached a stage of playability.
I was really so eager to play it that I removed the clear acrylic sheet from my 1971 Nishijin and used a cut-off wheel in my Dremel to cut it to size.

I was in Home Depot yesterday to get the last few things needed to completely finish this project and I looked at their acrylic sheets. The smallest sheet they had which would have worked was 20x24" for just under $10. But they had a sheet of real window glass that is 16x20" for less than half the price. Wow! 16 inches is the right width for the pachinko frame so I got the real glass instead.

When I got home I used a tiny carbide cut-off wheel in my Dremel to score a straight cutting line in the glass. It used most of a token-size cutting disk to score a line maybe 1/3 into the glass. I went slow and did maybe 8-10 passes across the glass. It made a lot of tiny glass "dust" particles as it cut so I did it outside wearing a cotton respirator mask and of course, safety goggles.

Just a bit of bending pressure on the excess side of the glass and it snapped right off. I used the flame of a propane torch to take the sharp edge off the glass.
That was my 1st try at cutting glass and it went well. I plan to get another glass sometime and do the same for this Sanyo.

I understand the word "Pachinko" means clicking sound, and I never really knew why they would apply the reference to this game. But that was before I used real glass. Geeze what a clicking sound... and loud too! I had to do a lot of reassuring to my wife that the balls weren't going to break the glass

[JACKSJE4]

I much prefer glass on my machines. The clicking sound adds to the excitement and experience.

[SteveFury]

I much prefer glass on my machines. The clicking sound adds to the excitement and experience.

I agree. When I do get the glass for the Sanyo, I'll also have the acrylic and I plan to put it in the other track in the frame as they would have it in the parlors.

I think it's funny that I'm doing local pachinko searches in CraigsList again. Strange how that "happens".
Uh-oh. Two Nishijin recyclers:

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/tag/2778719767.html

I'd get a SERIOUS whack from the Mrs. if these appeared in the house...

[Moparformances]

when cuting Plexi all you need is a razor knife and a straight edge... make 2 or 3 hard passes with a razor blade and it will snap just like glass.. and no plastic dust

[mxfaiman]

when cuting Plexi all you need is a razor knife and a straight edge... make 2 or 3 hard passes with a razor blade and it will snap just like glass.. and no plastic dust

yep. And if you look around a company makes a tool for beveling the edges on the sheets. (picked one up at my local plastic shop. cost about $10 but well worth it cause the edges are smooth and don't have sharp corners on them.)