A find that could end up as my showpiece

[chadtower]

I have had my eye on this item for a few months at a local second hand shop. I saw this weekend that the seller finally got a bit desperate and put an ad in the local paper in an effort to sell it. I went back to check it out and offered him $200 cash, which he readily took with the agreement that I can test it in any way I want but he's not selling it as a completely operable unit. I had no problem with that so I bought it after testing it for an hour or so. Everything works decently except the score rolls, but all of the mechanicals are intact so I'm thinking it's a worn connection someplace or maybe even just dirty contacts. I'm going to fully restore this baby, and when it's done, this will be a true showpiece.

http://www.distantsoil.org/~chad/arcade/Bowling_Mech/

[djbeatmongrel]

wow, thats pretty damn cool, congrats.
it took an hour of "testing" huh? LOL

[chadtower]

It wasn't playing. The formica playing surface is exposed currently and using the metal puck on it would scratch the hell out of it. I have to decide if I want to use the traditional wax or if I want to look into a thin plastic barrier that would be transparent on top of it (of a type not possible in 1950). I spent the time pretty much testing contacts and hitting triggers to see that they work properly (90% of them do, the rest need simple maintenance).

[djbeatmongrel]

now i feel like an ass, i geuss i was just putting myself in your situation hehehe

[Dangerboy]

Holy childhood flashback! My grampa used to have one of those at his bar when I was like, 4! That's a kick ass find! If you can get it fully restored, I want pics! =D

[Ed Oscuro]

So this is it! Nice find indeed, and probably more exciting than an old slot (and doubtlessly fun to play, if you intend to use it).

I could easily see testing that thing requiring over an hour, and even then it'd be very possible to miss some problem with the mechanical parts. ooh. Is the paint on the glass original? I see how it's peeled off in parts, but the style of writing doesn't seem to match (as I see it) the dated look of the machine overall. I could be off by a mile...

[Sotenga]

Excellent! :D

I remember playing on one of these... don't remember exactly where, but I've always like the concept of knocking mini-pins down with a puck. I was never that good at it, as it reflected my skills on actualy bowling... :embarrassed:

Still, super-nice find, Chad! Gotta love the retro appeal... sure, the label's been a bit peeled, but I think it adds to the old-timey fun-timey charm! :)

[bensenvill]

wow, thats going to need quite a bit of work.

On a similar note, I was doing some restoration on a friends bowling machine (trivial in comparision, a pin thats alittle sticky and 2 lights that are burned out). He was curious what its value may be. Its called Windy City Bowling and is also from around the 50's and has always been in private hands and is in absolutely impeccible condition.

~Tj

[bensenvill]

sorry for the double post but does anyone know a supplier for those metal pucks?


~Tj

[chad great find by the way]

[norkusa]

It wasn't playing. The formica playing surface is exposed currently and using the metal puck on it would scratch the hell out of it. I have to decide if I want to use the traditional wax or if I want to look into a thin plastic barrier that would be transparent on top of it (of a type not possible in 1950). I spent the time pretty much testing contacts and hitting triggers to see that they work properly (90% of them do, the rest need simple maintenance).

You know, when I was working at Chuck E. Cheeses 10 years ago as a game room attendant, we had a shufflepuck bowling machine allot like this. To give the puck some nice, smooth action, we sprinkled this substance on it. It was basically tiny plastic balls....balls allot smaller than the head of a pin. The puck would just glide over these tiny balls and not even touch the actual surface. You just sprinkled it on the playfield whenever you wanted it to go faster. I can't remember the name of the product, but it might be worth looking into.

[sisko]

That thing looks friggin cool. Fortunately it looks like its actually wood (vs particle board) so refinishing it should be a snap.

Can't wait to se it finished!

[goatdan]

I would heartily suggest using regular playfield wax. I attempted to put a new layer of Mylar on a machine that I own, and it was a huge pain. That's the best "plastic coat" you can do, and you'll just need to remove it again eventually, completely destroying the wood.

The wax I use on my other pin works much nicer.

[§ Gideon §]

Well, it looks like you've got your work cut out for you. I hope the final job turns out impressively!

[hu6800]

wow, thats pretty damn cool, congrats.
it took an hour of "testing" huh? LOL

wow what a piece!!!! (cough of crap cough cough)
I thought for a moment you were gonna say you found an original Zaxxon arcade machine or something lol...

Look,, frankenfurter is on the left ! hahaha

[bensenvill]

norkusa is right, there is product and I'll check on the name of the stuff. To be honest, it looks terrible to have on the lane but really makes a world of difference when playing and keeps wear to a minimum (that was my buddy's secret to its perfect condition).

~Tj

[Duncan]

wow, thats pretty damn cool, congrats.
it took an hour of "testing" huh? LOL

wow what a piece!!!! (cough of crap cough cough)
I thought for a moment you were gonna say you found an original Zaxxon arcade machine or something lol...

Meh. Zaxxon isn't the greatest game in the world -- but you don't see these bowling machines all that often anymore.

Ever played one, Hu? It's actually very entertaining... 8-)

Great find, Chad. That now goes on my unofficial list of "cool things to envy" for this year.

[MarioAllStar2600]

SOmebody had a re-released one at CGE. They were asking 5 grand. It looked exactly liek teh original but with all new parts. I can bowl over a 250! COngrats Chad.

[chadtower]

SOmebody had a re-released one at CGE. They were asking 5 grand. It looked exactly liek teh original but with all new parts. I can bowl over a 250! COngrats Chad.

Could you elaborate on the 'all new parts' phrase? Are you talking new electric and mechanical parts, or just the wooden frame?

[den68]

I've got an old electro-mechanical pinball machine and it's innards look very much like your bowling machine. check the contacts that are visible in the 3rd picture of the inside of the unit. I can't say for sure but they look like just like the ones in mine, if they are then check to see if any are slightly bent and touching one another. if any are touching it will disrupt the current passing through them and cause something to malfuntion. on mine it prevented the pinballs from loading. one little tweak with a screwdriver and all was well.

again, I can't tell for sure from the pic but it may be worth a look.

[maxlords]

Wax that sucker like a baby dolphin. Wax is WAY better than any sort of plastic, and plastic WILL look like crap after a while. Plus, you can't remove the plastic.

[hezeuschrist]

SOmebody had a re-released one at CGE. They were asking 5 grand. It looked exactly liek teh original but with all new parts. I can bowl over a 250! COngrats Chad.

Could you elaborate on the 'all new parts' phrase? Are you talking new electric and mechanical parts, or just the wooden frame?

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/uselray/images/eye-dollar-image.jpg

[hu6800]

Wax that sucker like a baby dolphin. Wax is WAY better than any sort of plastic, and plastic WILL look like crap after a while. Plus, you can't remove the plastic.
HAHAHA
wax that shit like its your job... haha.

Yeah you can use the stuff they use on bowling lanes,, its like a sealer wax.

If you fix a room up in your home to look like a bar, that thing would rule,
just find a nice zaxxon machine to put next to it and get some beer taps
hooked up.

[hu6800]

wow, thats pretty damn cool, congrats.
it took an hour of "testing" huh? LOL

wow what a piece!!!! (cough of crap cough cough)
I thought for a moment you were gonna say you found an original Zaxxon arcade machine or something lol...

Meh. Zaxxon isn't the greatest game in the world -- but you don't see these bowling machines all that often anymore.

Ever played one, Hu? It's actually very entertaining... 8-)

Great find, Chad. That now goes on my unofficial list of "cool things to envy" for this year.

i see them once in a while at some bars, but they are usually beat up.
i aint gonna lie,, if i had one id play it too.

[chadtower]

I've got an old electro-mechanical pinball machine and it's innards look very much like your bowling machine. check the contacts that are visible in the 3rd picture of the inside of the unit. I can't say for sure but they look like just like the ones in mine, if they are then check to see if any are slightly bent and touching one another. if any are touching it will disrupt the current passing through them and cause something to malfuntion. on mine it prevented the pinballs from loading. one little tweak with a screwdriver and all was well.

again, I can't tell for sure from the pic but it may be worth a look.

Thanks, man, that's good advice. I'm probably going to stick this sucker in my basement and make it a long term project. I'm not sure yet how far I'll go, but I may go as far as replacing a lot of the original wiring or at least resoldering a lot of connections. This is all fairly average skill level electronics and carpentry so I'm going to use it to learn a lot of skills I don't have yet.