153 replies to this topic

[court461]

Got my backbox painted.  I used gloss black, now I am thinking I should have used flat black.  Oh well, will eventually be covered with art anyway, so I guess not a big deal.

 

 

Also put in my super complicated backbox attachment system.   3 bolts with wingnuts.

 

 

Got some button holes drilled.

 

 

Got my brackets in for my playfield mount.

 

 

And I found reason #25 you should not use 1/2" plywood, but use 3/4".  All the buttons and the plunger basically need 3/4".  I just ended up cutting some 1/4" I had laying around in order to be able to mount the plunger and flippers.  I will have to cut a strip for the front too so the lockdown bar sits correctly.  I probably could have bent the leaf springs and got the flippers to work, but I would not have been able to mount the plunger without adding the wood.  Pretty easy fix though, so not too worried about it.  Hoping to get to start on the wiring by the end of the week.

 

[Pinball999]

Looking good, but aren't your flipper buttons a bit too low?

[court461]

Looking good, but aren't your flipper buttons a bit too low?

 

Hmmm, not sure?  The top button feels pretty good, but the magnasaves did feel a bit low.  I went by this picture I found when I was searching for measurements.  I did not have a real machine to model after.  Does anyone have definitive measurements for the flippers?  I would rather move now if needed before I get wired up.

Attached Files

•  Flipper layout.png   76.81KB   28 downloads

[hmueck]

As long as you converted mm to inches correctly...
  

[Pinball999]

Don't forget that the glass will add a few mms on top.

[court461]

Got some more done on my backbox.  Got the door hinged, the lock installed (although I need some type of bracket inside to actually lock it I guess, and the fan guards on.  I just need to find some screws to mount my fans inside.  Don't have any long and skinny enough.  The mounting holes on the fan are not tabs, they are holes through an inch of plastic.  

 

 

 

I could not resist putting the screens in and playing around for a while.  The backbox is close to finished.  I need to add the fans, add my speaker mesh in the speaker holes, and determine a way to connect the DMD cover.  I will add some speakers at some point but have not bought any yet.  

 

I did get a few more tables set up (getting BG server running, moving and resizing DMD, etc.).

 

[scubajoe]

Looking real good

[court461]

I had to go out of town last week, so nothing got done.  I am getting back on the horse and hoping to get some things accomplished this week.  Summer is tough, I have to (first world problems) go to the lake every weekend, so my only time to work is during the week.  With a 7yo and a 4yo that is tough.

 

I did get the inside of the cabinet primed.  Have not done the outside because I still have a ton of sanding to do.  

 

 

I got my vent holes cut for my cabinet fans.  I made a bit of a mistake here.  I set my hole cutter to 4.5" because that is the size of my fans roughly (120mm).  But I forgot to take into account the width of the bit, so the holes are almost 5.5".  The fan grills I have will look fine, the fans themselves may just be smaller than the holes.  Since it is on the back close to a wall, and the fact that it will be painted black, I am not going to worry about it.  I doubt it will be noticeable.  

 

 

 

I also got my drawer slides in.  As I am posting this, it just occurred to me I have not measured my computer case to make sure it will fit through this opening.  That will be a problem.  I guess if I have to recut a smaller back piece, I can fix my hole problem at the same time.  I will have to measure when I get home tonight.

 

 

Other than that, just some patching and sanding.  Nothing too exciting.

 

[court461]

Another thing I did was bite the bullet and decide to go ahead and do force feedback from the beginning.  So, I ordered ledwiz output kit from zeb along with some other goodies.  This thing is getting expensive.  I just thought I would rather setup once and be done, then set up, then have to re-wire everything to get the feedback later.

[court461]

Another day, another couple of small steps.  Got my PC drawer cut.

 

 

Also printed out my artwork (thanks again to stuzza) just to make sure it fits before I send to the printer.  All looks good so I think I will sent this week.  Looking at hopefully next week to get painted, then not sure how long printing takes or even who to use.  I will check the posts to find a good printer.

 

 

[court461]

Again not much to report.  I did get my cab all painted up.

 

 

I should get my printed decals today with my artwork.  I am pretty excited about that.  Once I get the art on, I can put everything together and hopefully start making some real progress.

 

I also got a shipping notice from Zeb for the force feedback goodies.  It is almost time to start wiring.  That should be entertaining (for anyone following this thread) because I have no clue.  But, I do have a copy of pinball electrical 101, and I do have a ton of pics from other builds, so I am confident that.....  well, I am confident something will happen.

[viktory2k1]

HI, long time, no post. First, I do think you should have went with 3/4 high grade plywood otherwise the decals may not stick properly but gloss may help. I love the project you have going, it was a little complex for me because I am using a 46" playfield and had to scale everything to be in proportion, I do love woodwork if my back allows. You can use a big washer or 2 behind each button for the proper fit, and like someone said, use alot of bracing. Mine is all pocked screws and I cut a 2X12 on 45 degrees and made 4 corner braces and air nailed them in place with 1 1/4" staples. I think I showed you pics. As far as electronics and force feedback, I can help prevent the mistakes I made. Read the digital plunger instructions carefully, if it is out of place, the whole thing will go goofy. I am good with that part but not the software until Wed night. I built all my own flasher panels and toppers and all that stuff, have 3 power supplies but 1 is for pc and won't use that for anything else to prevent noise. I do have a question about the strobes which I will post after this. Nice cab man. later....Vic

[court461]

Got my artwork in.  Looks awesome.  Printed by Lucian045.  I hope to get it on this weekend.  I also hope to apply the artwork.  

 

 

 

 

Artwork commissioned from Stuzza.  He did 99.9% of the work.  I made small changes.  I added manufacturers on the bottom stripe (from another Stuzza creation), added Raphael in the window, added the owl from Haunted House.  After much deliberation I also went with black and white.  The color was awesome, but mainly went with black and white because of where it will go in my house.  I am happy with this.  Here is Stuzza's original creation.

 

 

Edited by court461, 14 August 2015 - 12:37 PM.

[court461]

Artwork is on!  Now assembly can really start!
 
Very happy with the artwork and how it turned out.  Highly recommend Stuzza for art and Lucian045 for printing.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Hope to start wiring this week.

Edited by court461, 18 August 2015 - 02:28 AM.

[scubajoe]

great!

[Sneetch]

Yup, that looks awesome indeed! Now get the internals done!

[court461]

Last night progress.

 

Legs on.

 

 

Installed fans and fan guards.

 

 

 

Started the wiring.  Have most of the button wiring done for Ipac.  Next will be all the lighting wiring.

 

[drben]

Court - firstly fantastic job! It is coming along nicely! Just a thought - if the bigger fan holes at the back bother you, could you put in 140mm fans?

[court461]

Yes, I could definitely step up the fan size.  I am not sure you will be able  to tell once it is together.  If it bothers me when I am done, I can quickly change them out.

 

Meanwhile, have not done much.  I did get a box of goodies from Zeb.  Got some RGB LED's, a LEDWIZ output kit, couple of strobes and a knocker for my force feedback.  I have ordered a cheap ebay gear motor, and a couple used contactors for my flippers.  I also got 8 car starter solenoids for the rest of the feedback.  I soldered the LED's to Zeb's resistor board, and soldered the LEDWIZ to the adapter board.  That is really all I have done.  Don't make fun of my poor soldering skills, it has been a while since I picked up an iron.  I used to solder a good bit on RC airplanes/helicopters but two kids later and I don't do that much anymore.

 

 

[scubajoe]

Those soldering skills are nothing to be sorry about.