About Stu's Dungeon Tour...

[Art Mulder]

Tonight, I was cleaning up and puttering around my shop for a bit, and I found myself reflecting on Stu's shop tour video. And it struck me that really, our shop's are quite similar.

Both are located in the basement of our homes.
Both are similar in size (mine is 11x23, his is 14x23.)
Both are reached by a steep(ish) set of stairs.
Both are fairly cramped and full of tools and stuff.
And both of ours are located fairly close to some authentic examples of Japanese culture. ;)

...

...

But I don't think I noticed a Pachinko located inside Stu's dungeon.

Happy Weekend, folks. :D

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hey, that is neat, I personally do not understand the atraction of that game, I went to a Pachinko Parlor once with a Japanese friend and played it, did not ring my bell at all, I've never been back, way too noisy, way to depressing, but I'll admit the machines are cool, and the little steel balls make perfect ammo for a good slingshot :D

Cheers!

[Jon Eckels]

did you happen to notice the men outside the pachinko parlor that trade the prizes for money?

I've only heard about this, not witnessed it myself.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Yes of course, that is the business, but even so it is so boring, like watching paint dry.

Each to his own, I guess..... :rolleyes:

[Art Mulder]

... like watching paint dry.

Mine is a mid-70's model. My old college roommate got it somewhere around 1980, and then gave it to me many years later. It is completely mechanical. Nothing electric at all, except lights, which aren't hooked up.

There is a *smidgen* of skill in this one, since you can vary how far you pull the lever before releasing it to launch the ball. And the kids love the noise of the balls rattling and the big bell sounds when you sink it in a hole and score more balls.

But yeah, I keep fantasizing that someday I'll get an actual full size pinball machine.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Maybe the small basement shop is a Canuck thing, Art. ;)

I've got a pachinko machine in my shop, in playable condition as far as I know. It was buried in the garage at LOML's old house before we consolidated our stuff. Now it's buried behind a shallow cabinet, gathering sawdust. Cleaned up, it should work fine. We have a bunch of balls for it, and LOML remembers playing with it as a kid. Someday I need to get it out, clean it up, and find somewhere else to store it. (That whole wall of the shop needs a re-working.)

- Vaughn

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Some of the old mechanical ones are really coveted by collectors, you never know you could have a new Uni-saw sitting right there :eek: ;) :D

[Art Mulder]

Some of the old mechanical ones are really coveted by collectors, you never know you could have a new Uni-saw sitting right there :eek: ;) :D

That'd be nice... but I just checked on ebay, sorted the "completed items" and didn't see any old "Nishijin" models (what I have) that went for more than $100.

Darn, no uni-saw.