Pinball 'bimini' lift table mod

[@johnny_bruhchill]

I’m not a pinball guy…but I am a plumbing contractor and boy did you just save me a lot of headache!! You’re a gentleman and a scholar sir 😂 but seriously thank you I’m gonna be able to save what little body I have left my guy! Thanks again brohamlet

[@spin907]

Saw a video on this a few months ago and it wasn’t as detailed. I am glad I found this video instead. I am going to get my cart today and doing this mod probably next week. Thank you for such a detailed video.

[@jschlarb]

Great design and and an excellent tutorial! Very much appreciated.

[@MrGlobaldave1]

I just purchased mine to move a few slot machines while flooring my game room. Caught your vid while seeing if anyone else has used this for those larger upright (350lb?) machines? I also have a Blacknight 2000 pinball. I used the large Teflon sliders under each leg. Worked well for my needs. This is a great idea. Thanks!

[@davidavanderburgh]

I've lifted some quite heavy machines on this before (300lbs) without issue. Of course, make sure you follow the specs of the lift table and not just some dude on KZbin 😂 The main thing is to make sure it is balanced. That's pretty easy to do with a pinball machine.

[@MrGlobaldave1]

Yup - kind of thinking returning the 500 lb for the 1000lb. Not so much about weight - the larger seems to have a bit larger surface area . Slot machines have a good height so not to sure how stable it would be on the 500?

[@davidavanderburgh]

My dad has the 1000lb table and it is very capable. It's also super heavy itself so consider that if you need to load it in a car or anything like that. I haven't moved a slot machine before, but my gut tells me you would be fine with a lift table and probably some straps to help secure it. I would probably prefer to move it with a dolly or an escalera instead though.

[@shawnallarding9278]

Exactly what I've been looking for. Excellent work for all of us in the pinball community

[@davidavanderburgh]

Glad you enjoyed it! One modification I've made since this video is to drill a bolt through the cap to better secure it to the bar instead of relying on the built in set screw. This makes it so that when you are pulling the lift handles they won't detach from the table.

[@jeffpinball]

What size cap do you order from Amazon? Great video.

[@davidavanderburgh]

It's the link in the video description. Basically 0.98" inner diameter. Enjoy!

[@cocoabear9859]

Do you have any suggestions to create an easy way to loosen and tighten the fastener into the Benoni joint? Like possibly a star through hole knob with some sort or locking / castle / t-nut for a more sturdier adjustment.

[@davidavanderburgh]

Already sounds like you have a better idea than me on that one 😂 Only other thing I can think of is using wing nuts.

[@alexorear7807]

Do you have any issues with it releasing too quickly when lowering?I just got the same lift and modified the handle the same way and while it's great for moving my games it's a bit of a rough landing when lowering.

[@davidavanderburgh]

Yes, mine does the same if you press the handle in all the way. I believe you can do some adjustment to prevent this but I have not done it yet. If you look underneath the lift, there is a spring with the wire fed from the handle. You should be able to loosen the nut on the end to adjust the excess length of the wire which should in turn affect how deep you have to squeeze the handle. Let me know how it goes!

[@alexorear7807]

@@davidavanderburgh I did end up loosening the tension some. It took a bit of fiddling with as the first time around I put too much slack in the line. I have also noticed that if I raise my games 3 or 4 inches off the ground instead of .5 to 1 inches it will drop hard for the first 1 inch or so and then smoothly top the rest of the way down. I suspect that there might be some air in the cylinder causing this dramatic initial release. Overall very happy with my cart and your suggested handle modification works perfectly. Thanks for sharing this.

[@davidavanderburgh]

@@alexorear7807 awesome! Glad you got it to work!