Fun With Pinball

 

The Restoration and Photographic Study of a 1934 Rock-Ola World's Series Pinball Machine (continued)

The Elevator Lift and Coin Slide

While most of the complexity of World's Series is in the Field Disc mechanism the Elevator Lift and Coin Slide mechanism mounted inside the cabinet is very clever too.  Note that some of these parts do not appear on Rock-Ola's parts list so not all part numbers are included in this section.

692 Ball Lift Channel 692 Ball Lift Channel 692 Ball Lift Channel

Part 692 is the Elevator Casting which mounts to the right side of the cabinet.  Balls rise from below into the shooter lane through this channel.

_MG_5443 _MG_5442

RWS11 (not in the original Rock-ola parts list) is the Elevator Lift Casting.  It too mounts to the right side of the cabinet and lifts balls one at a time through the Elevator Casting above into the shooter lane.

Elevator Push Rod Lock Out Elevator Push Rod Lock Out

This pivoting arm and bracket are mounted to the right side of the cabinet with four #6 x 1/2" round head slotted wood screws.  While playing a game the pivoting arm rests with the front end down as shown in the photo on the right.  Once the 3rd out is reached the 3 Outs Lockwire under the playfield pushes down on the thin piece of spring steel on the back end to pivot the arm into its upper position (not shown).  In the upper position the front end of the pivot arm serves as a lock on the elevator lift mechanism so that no more balls can be lifted from the reservoir into the shooter lane.

Guard for Shooter and Elevator Lift Rods Guard for Shooter and Elevator Lift Rods

The exterior Guard for the Shooter Rod and Elevator Lift Rod mounts on the front of the cabinet with four #4 x 5/8" oval head slotted wood screws.  This should be installed before the Elevator Lift mechanism because the Elevtor Lift Rod will be inserted through the bottom hole.

You may notice that the two pieces of this guard do not line up.  That may be because either the Guard or the lock down bar is not original to this game.  The top piece will need to have the existing holes filled and new holes drilled so the two pieces will align properly.

Installing the RWS11 Elevator Lift Casting Installing the Elevtor Lift Casting Bumper Installing the Elevator Link Spring

RWS11 Elevator Lift Casting

The RWS11 Elevator Lift Casting and its support hardware are mounted just behind the right front leg.  Before mounting the Casting the push rod must be inserted through the middle hole as shown. Both the Casting and the rubber Bumper can then be mounted with a #8 x 1-1/8" round head slotted wood screws. The RWS23 Elevator Link Spring is mounted between the small hole in the Casting and a #6 x 3/8" round head slotted wood screw screwed into the top of the angled leg mounting block.  Note that the spring shown is not an original but one I found that seems to work.

Installing the 692 Elevator Casting Installing the Ball Deflector

The 692 and RWS11 Castings

Once the RWS11 Elevator Lift Casting is installed thread the push rod through the smaller hole in the left side of the 692 Elevator Casting.  Then mount the Elevator Casting with a #6 x 5/8" flat head slotted wood screw near the top and a #6 x 3/8" round head slotted screw at the bottom.  Finally the blue spring steel kickout can be mounted just above the 692 Casting with a pair of #2 x 1/4" oval head slotted wood screws.

At this point you should be able to pull on the push rod and the RWS11 Elevator Lift Casting should rotate and rise behind the 692 casting without binding or excessive rubbing.

Push Rod Spring and mounting hardware Elevator Lift rod and hardware

The push rod that pivots the RWS11 Elevator Lift Casting is coupled to the Elevator Lift Rod that enters through the front of cabinet with a spring, bracket and other hardware.

Coupling Mechanism detail Coupling Mechanism detail Coupling Mechanism detail

Elevator rods and 692 Elevator Casting

First install a cotter pin in the push rod through the hole closer to the front of the cabinet.  Then slide the slot of the C shaped coupling bracket over the push rod on the other side of the cotter pin from the 692 Elevator Casting.  Thread the Elevator Lift Rod through the front of the cabinet, through the larger hole in the coupling bracket, through the hole in the 692 Elevator Casting and finally through the smaller hole in the coupling bracket.  Secure the Elevator Lift Rod in the coupling bracket by putting a cotter pin through the hole at the end of the Elevator Lift Rod.

With the Elevator Lift Rod and coupling bracket in place slide a washer onto the push rod followed by the push rod compression spring and another washer.  Once all that is in place push the last washer towards the front of the cabinet to compress the spring and slip a cotter pin into the hole near the end of the push rod.

When correctly assembled the coupling bracket should be pinched between the forward cotter pin and the washer (top center photo above) and should be able to slide towards the back of the cabinet and compress the spring when the Elevator Lift Rod is pushed in from outside the cabinet.

Elevator mechanism (unlocked) Elevator mechanism (locked)

These photos illustrate the Elevator Lift Mechanism from front to back.  The image on the left shows the lock in the lower position as it would be during a game.  On the right is the lock in the raised position which prevents the push rod and in turn the Elevator Lift rod from being pushed forward. Enlarge either photo and switch back and forth between the two to compare the lock positions.

Patent US1975374 Fig 13

Patent US1975374 Fig 14

The original patent includes a detailed drawings of this assembly.

Coin slide Coin slide Coin slide

The coin slide mounts into the front of the cabinet with three 10-32 x 7/8" round head slotted machine screws and washers.  The coin slide is pushed into a hole in the front of the cabinet from the outside while the machine screws attach to the coin slide from inside the cabinet.

Ball lockout bracket Ball lockout bracket Ball lockout and return spring Ball lockout and return spring

The Elevator Lock Wire crosses the bottom of the cabinet from one side to the other.  Behind the coin slide it mounts to a bracket that is fastened to the bottom of the cabinet with a pair of #4 x 7/16" round head slotted wood screws.  The other end of the ball lockout wire passes through a hole in the 692 Elevator Casting as shown.  The RWS18 Elevator Lockwire Spring mounts between the elbow of the Elevator Lock Wire and a #6 x 3/8" round head slotted wood screw in the bottom of the cabinet.  I used a spring identical to the RWS23 Elevator Link Spring on the 611 Elevator Lift Casting shown earlier.

The Elevator Lock Wire is another anti-cheating mechanism.  When the coin slide is pushed in to start a new game various mechanisms are reset and temporarily disabled including the Outs counter.  Without the Elevator Lock Wire one could keep the coin slide pushed in and play an unlimited number of balls without registering any outs.  By keeping balls out of the Elevator mechanism while resetting the Elevator Lock Wire ensures that the coin slide has been released and that the game is ready to play before balls are released to the player.

Coin slide Coin slide and ball lockout wire

When everything is installed one end of the Elevator Lock Wire rests on the back of the coin slide.  As the coin slide is pushed in to start a new game the Elevator Lock Wire rotates and blocks balls from entering the Elevator mechanism until the coin slide has returned to its rest position.

Elevator and Coin Slide

This short video demonstrates how the coin slide and elevator work.

Adjusting the Ball Elevator

Some time after the video above was finished I realized that the Elevator Lift Casting was rubbing and grinding as it traveled in its arc behind the Elevator Casting.  You can hear it in the video.  At first I suspected that the Elevator Lift Casting was warped or that its mounting screw was not straight.  After taking everything apart and inspecting things more carefully I discovered that the Elevator Casting wasn't straight.

Bent Elevator Casting Bent Elevator Casting

I don't know if the Casting was damaged at some point or deformed with use or age but if you study the photos above you can see how it is not straight.  In the first photo the casting is straight compared to the ruler from the left end (or top) to below the tube where the balls enter.  From the bottom of the tube to the right end (or bottom) the casting bends away from the ruler.  In the second photo you can see how the arms on the bottom bracket curve up at the ends.

The effect when mounted to the inside of the cabinet is that the gap between the Casting and the cabinet wall narrows behind the ball tube.  This is where the Elevator Lift Casting was rubbing and grinding.

Elevator Casting correction

Rather than try to bend the Elevator Casting to straighten it out I chose instead to just put a shim behind the bottom end.  This moved the bottom of the Casting far enough away from the cabinet wall that the Elevator Lift Casting can pass behind without rubbing.

I also strengthened the hole for the Elevator Lift Casting pivot screw by lining it with slivers of bamboo skewer dipped in wood glue.  I installed the pivot screw while the glue was wet as deep as I could without constraining the motion of the Elevator Lift Casting.  Once the glue dried the screw was set much more tightly than it had been and would be less likely to enlarge the hole or work its way loose over time.

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