Prewarpinball.com

‘Prewar Pinball’ FAQ’s :

Why ‘Prewar Pinball’ Yahoo! Group?

I was doing some research on my 1935 O.D. Jennings ‘Sportsman’ payout pinball machine so I could restore it, and I could not find any information on preWWII era pinball machines anywhere on the Internet. Finally, I found The Sands Mechanical Museum (www.sandsmuseum.com) on the Internet, and their very informative web pages on restoring their own 'Sportsman'. After spending some time talking to Michael Sands, the owner of the museum, I then decided to open this Yahoo! group to help anyone who collects, restores, or just plain likes to look at these fascinating historic machines. We support coin operated pinball machines made before ‘flippers’ were invented in 1948, including purely mechanical, early electromechanical (EM), ‘wartime conversion’, and ‘payout’ (gambling) machines. We also have a website at www.prewarpinball.com for those who for some reason don't have a Yahoo! account. -Ken

How much is my pinball machine worth?

It’s hard to say…

PreWWII pinball machines are hard to value, because some pinball collectors don’t see them as collectible as, say, a 1950’s ‘wooden rail’ game. But, others (like me) see them as interesting bits of American art. It’s a case of ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’.

As for their monetary value, like everything else, it all depends on the game’s condition, how original it is, and where in the country you are. You may be able to search Ebay or other auction sites, to see what any other comparable games have sold for. Or, you may find a game like yours in a pinball machine price guide. –Ken

Where do I find a ‘prewar’ pinball machine?

This is also hard to say…

Most people search Ebay or other online auction sites for a suitable machine, and then deal with the shipping issues once they find one (see shipping FAQ below). Others may find them in antique stores, flea markets, their local newspaper’s classified ads, or in collectors’ groups like this one. -Ken

What is a ‘payout’ pinball machine?

A ‘payout’ pinball machine is basically a gambling device – if you hit certain targets with the ball while playing the game, the machine will

pay out either tokens or coins, depending on how the game is set up.

This made all pinball machines illegal in many parts of the USA in the 1930’s and 1940’s, because they were considered ‘glorified slot machines’. Many thousands of these machines were destroyed by police departments all over the country, in an effort to combat ‘organized crime’. This makes surviving payout pinball machines relatively rare and more collectible than other machines of the same era. -Ken

What is a ‘mechanical’ pinball machine?

Mechanical pinball machines are the earliest coin operated pinball games, dating from the early 1930’s and before. They are usually rather small, usually made of wood, and use glass marbles for pinballs. They have many holes in their playfields with scores assigned to each one, and the winning strategy is to put the pinball into the highest scoring holes as possible. These are direct descendants of ‘bagatelle’ type games from the 1880’s. -Ken

What is a ‘wartime conversion’ pinball machine?

A ‘wartime conversion’ pinball machine is a machine that was originally built before WWII, but was rebuilt during the war, usually with a patriotic theme. See below for details…

I was reading about the WWII pinball game 'conversion kits', and I wanted to know, what did the makers of the kits actually change? Did they just sell new backglasses, or repaint the whole playfield? Were the games all repainted? How did the kit makers know which
games to make 'kits' for? -Ken

The conversions did all of those. Some of the quality conversions, like Idaho, were complete. The only parts left from the original were the materials. They included a new backglass, repainted cabinet, new layout and paint on the playfield and new logic. The latter was difficult because they did not make any new mechanisms. Metal and wire
were all needed in the war effort and so were scarce.

It was for the above reasons that the conversion could only take place on an existing prior game. They needed all the parts. In other cases the conversion was nothing more than putting in a different playfield with some haphazard mechanical devices and slap some new paint on. Even the operators were able to do this so some games appeared almost
home built and were never documented.

I do not know if any cases where the manufacturers created a kit and sent it out so the operators could make the conversion. I know there were several patents that might have stopped this, among them RotorTable's that was used for Confucius Say (see my article on my website), but doubt they would have been enforced anyway. -Mike

What is an ‘electromechanical’ (EM) pinball game?

An electromechanical (EM) pinball machine is one using either batteries or AC power to power lights, scoring systems, ‘bumpers’, or coin payout mechanisms. The first ‘EM’ pinball machine was invented in 1933. -Ken

How do I clean my pinball machine’s playfield (playing area)?

My Sportsman pinball's playing field is dirty but not
worn at all. It has black streaks where the ball goes
most often. I would like to clean it up but I'm afraid
that I will ruin the paint. Anyone have any ideas on
how to clean it? -Ken

About cleaning your old pinball machine, I have a couple of thoughts.

First, unfortunately, the black streaks are the wear pattern caused by
the ball following the most common track. Operators were not careful
in cleaning some of the older games, especially when the access to the
playfield required the removal of many parts, more than just the palm
plate of today's games.

As a result, the dirt nicks the balls and the nicks act like sandpaper.
The track around the top arch often is worn through the paint and into
the wood grain. In a modern game, a dirty, nicked up ball will
literally sand down the cosmetics of a game in a short time, obviously
because the ball travels more in the newer games. But the tracks are
sometimes(!) composed of dirt ground into the wood grain, past the top
coat of paint. This is terrible when it happens and the solution is
not easy. I will assume you really just have dirt, which is an easy
fix.

I use Johnson's paste wax. (There was a recent rumor that the product
was going to be discontinued and all the pinball people panicked.)
This is a wax product with some chemical but no abrasive cleaner. It
was intended for furniture and wood floors. It cleans and protects as
you polish. It also makes the surface slippery which aids in ball
play.

I apply it with a clean cloth and continually rotate it to a clean
section as it picks up the dirt.

I do not use any of the Novus or other synthetic cleaner as I worry
about removing some of the paint. In some rare cases the paint has
oxidized and faded. It can be brought back by using either 1000 grit
sandpaper, 000 steel wool or even cleanser. I sometimes use white
rubbing compound. All of these will remove paint! You must proceed
slowly and carefully and only remove the very top oxidized coat. I do
not recommend this unless you have practice with other less valuable
items.

Always test your weapon of choice on a hidden or obscure portion of the
playfield or other artwork. -Mike

The balls on my pinball machine are missing - how can I find
out what kind of balls are used and where can I find more?

Most bagatelle games and very early pinballs (like Bally Hoo?) usually used small clay
marbles for balls. These are not made anymore, your best bet is to look at flea markets and antique malls, where they are usually inexpensive. Later pinballs, like Bally's Goofy, used solid colored glass marbles for pinballs. These can be replaced with just about any marble that will work, usually regular sized 5/8" diameter. Most more mechanized pinballs, like Bally Airway or Rockola's 1934 World Series, used small steel ball bearings called 'steelies', because regular glass marbles didn't have the physical mass to trip ball traps. Most EM (electromechanical) pinballs also used steelies to work any under the playfield electrical switches, although there were exceptions, like Rockola's 1936 one ball payout pinball, 'Credit'. This early EM game used a 1 3/16" red plastic ball. -Ken

The way to determine the original size of the marbles in a game is both easy and difficult. If the game is in original condition and has only had the correct size marbles in it, examine the tracking. Measure the diameter of the clean space around a pin and that is the diameter of the original marbles. You can also examine the tracking around the arch, looking to see where the biggest wear is. Double the distance from the tracking to the arch and that is the diameter of the original marble. Sometimes the marbles have been removed and a different size metal bearing has been substituted. New wear patterns are created, making it difficult to determine the original size. Sometimes, looking at the wear patterns with a magnifying glass can help determine if there are two patterns, one on top of the other. Discount the pattern that matches the current bearings and pick the faint previous pattern. -Michael

Two good places to find glass marbles for early pinball machines are glassmarbles.com and the Moon Marble Co. at moonmarble.com. -Group

I need new locks or keys for my machine - what can I do?

First, don't even try to 'drill out' an old lock. Many of these haven't been made in over thirty years, and also your drill may slip, marring the surface of your machine. Firstly, check the locks - are any of them open? If any of them are open, remove it from the machine, put the lock in a plastic bag and squirt the lock inside and out with a lubricant like WD-40 to loosen any frozen parts. Then, take the lock to a reputable locksmith and ask him to make new keys for the lock. If your machine is locked and you cannot open any of the access doors, you may have to take the entire machine to the locksmith to get the machine open. Please call the locksmith first to see if they will accept a job like this. DO NOT try to get the machine open by yourself, you may do major damage to your machine. If you really do need new locks for your machine, most drawer locks have a hole diameter of 7/8" as a standard. Just take the lock you want to replace to the locksmith and ask for a new matching lock. You may as well replace all the locks at once then, just save all the pieces so you have them if you do get a key. Some locks, like the playfield lock on a O.D. Jennings 'Sportsman' payout pinball, have a removable cylinder. The locking part of the lock is part of the front casting of the machine, so just take the old cylinder to the locksmith and replace that instead. -Ken

I want to pack and ship my pinball machine somewhere –
how do I do it?

I would put all the small parts (like the balls and leg bolts) in the coin box in a plastic bag, remove the legs, and if they fit inside the machine, place them inside the cabinet secured with cardboard, sheet styrofoam and filament tape so they don’t move around.

Then I would fill the game full of packing peanuts and lock the top shut, and then tape the coin box key to the top glass in an envelope with a letter with the shipper's and reciever's addresses on it. Then place the entire machine in a heavy 2 layer reinforced cardboard box or wooden crate with sheets of styrofoam all around it. -Ken

It is possible to arrange shipping easily through North American Van Lines. There is a broker, Beltmann Group (800-959-8880 x2842, ask for Michelle), that can arrange for the door-to-door shipping of an arcade piece. The game is picked up at the seller's door, blanket wrapped, shipped, and delivered to the buyer's door. The cost is around $250-$300, not cheap but convenient. There are some minor problems, like are the homes accessible to a semi, or does the game need to transferred to a van. However, the dispatcher in my area can be a real pain to deal with when it comes to scheduling a pickup or delivery. –Mike

Or, once it’s packed up securely, there’s always UPS (if it’s relatively lightweight) or Greyhound Bus Lines. I have three words of advice here –

1) Insure your machine heavily no matter which way you decide to ship it.

2) Allow ample time for the machine to get to its destination, usually at least a week easily.

3) Once at the destination, open the machine up in front of the deliveryman so the shipping company can document any possible damage, and take pictures of the crate (before and after opening and of the actual machine after inspection) in case of any damage.

All this is for insurance purposes. -Ken

Where can I find more information on preWWII pinball machines?