What's My Line, more than I can chew, I think

[widget2k4]

finally got there in the end, phew. these are one complicated mech to work on.
new door and cabinet made from oak, new backflash etc.
looking good and working mint

[badpenny]

Well done they are a bit of a brute aren't they?
They must have been expensive to make, and from what I've heard not very popular with operator.
Probably overly complicated for your average hanky wearing holiday maker.

[treefrog]

Widget, having seen many people's work on here over the years, from the pictures you have posted over the recent months you do seem to make a masterful job of these restorations, I would put you up there with Gamewat....very good......mind you I would never be able to afford your machines you sell

[raj]

As it happens, I finished one just this weekend. A big heavy brute and a pig to work on. This one had the end 2 ball pins removed, so I had to make replacements out of long part threaded coach bolts bolted through the chassis and cut to length. The only problem was that the chassis has to be dismantled to get behind the mounting plate to fit a lock nut, and all the rods, plates and split pins removed and then reassembled. There is an absolutely brilliant video about the operation of these giant allwins somewhere on the forum, but for the life of me, I can't find it again!, complete with schematics and animated type drawings.
Anyway, here she is...

[aristomatic]

Both look great machines.

GP

[raj]

I've just remembered, the original balls measured 14mm and had been in the machine a very long time, however they were too small to always tip into the payout hole. I replaced with 9/16th and everything works fine. I can't quite understand how it could have worked for 50 years. Could the balls have worn down from their original size?

[widget2k4]

Widget, having seen many people's work on here over the years, from the pictures you have posted over the recent months you do seem to make a masterful job of these restorations, I would put you up there with Gamewat....very good......mind you I would never be able to afford your machines you sell

thanks treefrog, i do try and make a half decent job of them
i always try and sell them high at first but they slowly come down, trouble is you just dont seem to get any money for the time and effort you put into restoring them there is a hell of a lot of man hours to get them into good shape sometimes and this never seems to be taken into account.

[widget2k4]

yours looks very nice as well raj
mine had the end things missing also, but mine had all been moved down a hole as well (very sneaky) so would take an extra ball to make the win, but considering i had every damn nut n bolt off it i put them all back to original positions, stripping it and rebuilding it wasnt really a hard job but trying to set it up to work right....well thats a whole different story but got there eventually.

[pennymachines]

Must say, you both deserve top marks.

trouble is you just don't seem to get any money for the time and effort you put into restoring them There is a hell of a lot of man hours to get them into good shape sometimes and this never seems to be taken into account.

That's very true, I'm afraid. Until you've had a go, it's impossible to appreciate the painstaking effort required to do a decent, no-bodges restoration.
Anyway, the speed and quality of your work on that wreck is quite astounding. And Raj has to be congratulated for replacing those missing ball stops. Not a job for the faint-hearted.
I really like these games and think they're sometimes rather overlooked. If I'd encountered them as a kid, I would have loved them, but wouldn't have been impressed by those mean operators who saw fit to open the end columns!

JC touched on the 14mm v 9/16" R&W question in this thread. We should get together and start comparing balls.

[youtube]C27vYz-wwI4[/youtube]

[widget2k4]

Mine never came with any balls but I bought 14mm ones and up to now not had any problems with it.

[glittering-prize67]

Looks like a box of spares to me, deffo not a machine. Good luck widget. Very brave even attempting it.

[arrgee]

I really like these games and think they're sometimes rather overlooked. If I'd encountered them as a kid, I would have loved them

I did see these as a lad and played them many times, seeing the half filled columns was like a magnet to me - I loved playing them

(Edited) Incidentally, the video was made by a member of this forum following a totally complete strip down of the machine.

[liquorbox]

There is one on eBay now in the US.
Very pricie

[widget2k4]

well that post brought back a flash from the past, reading through it i dont even know how i did that it was in such a mess

[badpenny]

Is that "how" or "why" ?

[widget2k4]

i think both jeremy