Rotted Pinball Cabinet Repair - Dowels, Biscuits? Which Jig?

[Adrian Anguiano]

This is an old pinball cabinet. Water Damage is always the culprit in Pinball Cabinets from their days in arcades, drugstores, and bars. The drinks always sweat and drain to the front of the cabinet leaving rot. In this case, it took off the entire corner of the cabinet.

I scribed a line of where I can cut off the bad section, and join in a new piece of plywood. The question is, what method should i use? Dowels? Biscuits? Then that answer leads to, do I need to purchase a tool or jig.

Why I dont already have a biscuit jointer/dowel jig? - I make face frames using pocket screws, and attack them to carcuss using nailer and glue, or pocket screws and glue. Making a laminated glue up I align using parallel clamps and cauls. For shelves I use dados, because i like the mechanical advantage.

Could I see myself using a jig/tool in the future? Possibly for verticle shelves in a carcuss that dont have stress with the shelves axis. Maybe for glueups for alignment. Maybe... seems like un-needed work. Maybe in other furniture projects.. maybe

What do yall suggest?



284941

[Matt Meiser]

What material and how thick? Looks almost like thick hardboard?

[Bill Huber]

I am not sure I understand how you are going to fix it with a biscuit jointer or dowels but I am sure you have an idea.

I am in far north Fort Worth and maybe we could meet, I have a Ryobi biscuit jointer and a Jessem doweling jig so you could see which one you liked best.

[Adrian Anguiano]

Its a 3/4" Thick piece of plywood. I was going to circular saw off that top 3 inches, and dowel in another 3" x 13" by 3/4" Piece of plywood.

[Myk Rian]

Just cut it off, add the new piece, and use a backer board glued to them.
No need to over-engineer it.

[Bill Huber]

Its a 3/4" Thick piece of plywood. I was going to circular saw off that top 3 inches, and dowel in another 3" x 13" by 3/4" Piece of plywood.

I think then you would want to go with 2" dowels and that should hold it good I would thing.

[Adrian Anguiano]

Just cut it off, add the new piece, and use a backer board glued to them.
No need to over-engineer it.


The playfield sits perfectly against the inside of the cabinet, so I cant use a backer board or the playfield wont sit right.

My main question is really not engineering, its which is better, and if I should buy a jig.

[Larry Browning]

Even if you do figure out how to add a new piece, won't it have to be painted to match the rest of the cabinet? Which seems to me to be an almost impossible task match the existing paint job. Why not just replace the entire panel? Or even build a whole new cabinet?

[Matt Meiser]

You could pocket hole screw, dowel, biscuit, or domino something like that with good results. The trick is going to be getting a good cut so that a glue line can do a good job. Even then its going to be tricky to hide.

[Adrian Anguiano]

Even if you do figure out how to add a new piece, won't it have to be painted to match the rest of the cabinet? Which seems to me to be an almost impossible task match the existing paint job. Why not just replace the entire panel? Or even build a whole new cabinet?

The way the bottom of the cabinet is built its either replace that small section, or rebuild the entire cabinet. This project is not my pinball machine, its for a customer. They dont want that expense or id gladly do the entire cabinet.

And yes, the entire cabinet is getting sanded down and being repainted and webbed exactly like it came from the factory, before 60yrs of age took place.

[Larry Browning]

Could you devise a way to cut a spline slot into both pieces? Maybe use a small trim router or Dremill to cut an 1/8 in slot. Or maybe cut off a little more of the cabinet to where it is below the bottom of the playfield so that you can add the backer board.

[Charles Lent]

Contact Steve Young at The Pinball Resource. www.pbresource.com and talk to him about your problem. He is the source and knowledge base for just about anything pinball.
He might even have a good cabinet around for that machine. Just by looking at the paint scheme on the cabinet he will be able to tell you what the name of the game is and who made it.

If you are bound and determined to fix the cabinet, cut the bad part off, then straighten the cut by clamping a straightedge to the cabinet and use a router with a flush trim bit to put a clean straight edge on the remaining piece. 3/4 cabinet birch plywood will be a nearly perfect match to the original cabinet. Make the replacement piece and then biscuit and glue the piece in place. At one time Steve had all of the colors in the paint that was used by the factories and I think he still does, so with the right paints, some care and an air brush you should be able to match the repaired area to the rest of the cabinet almost perfectly. He should also be able to supply you with an electrical schematic, manual, and any parts that you will need to get it running.

Charley

[Erik Loza]

...The trick is going to be getting a good cut so that a glue line can do a good job. Even then its going to be tricky to hide.

+1 on replacing the whole panel. Especially if the entire carcase is going to get refinished. Blending that long and obvious of a seam sounds like a potential headache.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do and please post some photos of the result.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Adrian Anguiano]

Contact Steve Young at The Pinball Resource....

I happen to be a pin collector and Steve is the name you learn on day 1. All us collectors have a running tab with him. My buddy and I have done so many restores, we have all the stencils, colors, webbing etc etc etc all perfectly matched as they came from the factory. Most pin owners do the mechanical repairs themselves because something is always going down in the old games. Reels, Steppers, Relays.. you name it.. it will go down and its good for the owner to know his way around. Most of the people I help we are all close friends. This guy has 47+ Pinball Machines. Yep. 47+ But all this is another topic.

Interesting idea with the Flush Trim Bit.. thanks. That's is one way to get a good 90 degree. Id probably trust that a little more than my circular saw being at a perfect 90 even after setting with a gauge.

I think I'll be going to Bill's to try the Jessem Jig. Will let everyone know when its complete.

[Bill Orbine]

It seems to me that in the picture the cabinet is more than "water and drinks" damage! Looks like more of a physical abuse from years of shaking machine and one corner with the leg broke off... possibly taking the whole front panel with the coin mechanism with it. For your repair, you'd want the cabinet to be structurally sound. I'd replace the whole side at the very least. I'm a pin guy too and if this were mine, make a whole new box.