# How to Remove Side Rails from Your Pinball Machine

**Source:** Cary Hardy  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2021-05-17  
**Duration:** 13m 9s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqBTcF1lD6Y

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## Analysis

Cary Hardy provides a practical tutorial on safely removing side rails from pinball machines, compiling techniques from his previous restoration videos. He demonstrates two main methods: using putty spreaders for machines with mechanical fasteners, and using a heat gun with a specialized scraper for machines held by thick double-sided adhesive tape. Hardy emphasizes the risks of damaging both the rails and cabinet veneer, sharing cautionary anecdotes from his own experience.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Williams machines are more difficult to remove side rails from than Data East machines — _Speaker states 'I think that Williams is even more difficult to remove than data East' based on personal experience_
- [MEDIUM] Side rail removal typically takes 10-15 minutes per rail depending on difficulty — _Hardy estimates 'each side rail depending on how difficult it is, is a good probably 10-15 minutes'_
- [HIGH] Stainless steel side rails are excellent heat conductors — _Hardy demonstrates this property: 'where I really understood how good of a conductor stainless steel is when it comes to heat'_
- [MEDIUM] Side rails cannot be easily purchased separately as replacement parts — _Hardy states 'I don't think you can buy them separately' regarding side rails_
- [HIGH] Aggressive removal of side rails can cause significant damage to cabinet veneer — _Hardy shares personal anecdote: 'I know of a buddy of mine that removed his side rails and he was a little rugged with it and took a big old chunk of the veneer out on his cabinet'_

### Notable Quotes

> "side rails can be a major pain whenever you want to remove these things without damaging them or the cabinet"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~4:45
> _Core thesis of the tutorial establishing the difficulty level and stakes_

> "I think that Williams is even more difficult to remove than data East"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~6:30
> _Comparative insight about manufacturer-specific difficulty variations_

> "patience is key"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~13:20
> _Key safety and technique principle emphasized throughout_

> "once you get to the end and you're having to use a little bit of muscle to pry up there's a chance that this side rail can fly off and land on your skin and burn you"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~10:15
> _Safety warning based on personal injury experience_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Cary Hardy | person | Pinball restoration and modification content creator; runs YouTube channel about pinball maintenance and restoration |
| Williams | company | Classic pinball machine manufacturer; mentioned as having more difficult side rail removal compared to other manufacturers |
| Data East | company | Pinball machine manufacturer; machines referenced as having easier side rail removal than Williams |
| Pinside | organization | Online pinball community forum where removal method questions are frequently asked |
| Harper Freight | company | Retailer where Cary sourced putty spreaders for side rail removal work |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Pinball machine restoration and maintenance, Side rail removal techniques and methods, Cabinet damage prevention and risk mitigation
- **Secondary:** Tools and materials for pinball work, Manufacturer-specific machine variations

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0) — Content is informational and educational with a cautionary tone. Hardy shows respect for the difficulty and expresses practical frustration with the process but maintains a helpful, non-judgmental approach to teaching the technique.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Content creator compiling fragmented knowledge from multiple sources into unified tutorial to address repeated community questions on forums (confidence: high) — Hardy states: 'I've seen on multiple forums whether it be pin side or Facebook that people are asking what are the best methods... I figured I would take those sections out of those videos and compile them together for one video as a good reference point'
- **[design_philosophy]** Manufacturer design choice variation: Williams uses adhesive-based attachment while other manufacturers use mechanical fastening, affecting serviceability (confidence: medium) — Hardy demonstrates different removal methods for different machines, noting 'I kind of wish they would just you know do the whole nail nail nail thing and be done with it... But it looks cleaner this way'

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## Transcript

I'm really I'm really actually kind of dreading this what's up guys welcome back to my channel where I talk and do everything pinball so if that sounds interesting to you then hit that subscribe button down below as of just recently I've seen on multiple forums whether it be pin side or Facebook that people are asking what are the best methods or what is a method in general on removing side rails from your pinball machine and I realized that I have multiple videos where I go about doing this but instead of basically sending people references to a whole entire video I figured I would take those sections out of those videos and compile them together for one video as a good reference point for those out there that would like to know a method on how to go about doing this. So if you are here to learn how to remove your side rails from your pinball machine, here you go guys. That should just push out. Flipper button removed. Bolt removed. Phillips removed. The only thing I've got left is the double-sided tape that is up underneath this thing. Honestly, it doesn't feel that bad. I don't want to apply uneven leverage. Don't know who you are, don't care. Sweet. So this side came off pretty easy. So if you want to do the method I just did, that is like a 20 piece pack of putty spreaders. Got that from Harper Freight. I going to get off this excess double sided tape I don need it entirely stripped and cleaned off because they going to have to get it all sandblasted and everything for the powder coating anyways So I not too concerned about getting it completely clean All right, let's get this Phillips screw off. Just like the other side, let's get a feel of things. I'll tell you right now, this one feels like it is on there very good. So I'm probably going to end up using a lot more of these. This one's definitely on there a lot better than the other side. Oh man The way I see it is if these things fall out, and they have served their purpose being really difficult on my hands son of a bitch all right let's bust out the heat gun There we go! Straight to the board! Now you can see that took a little more finagling and a little more effort to get that shit all right so side rails can be a major pain whenever you want to remove these things without damaging them or the cabinet I'm really I'm really actually kind of dreading this I think that Williams is even more difficult to remove than data East I kind of wish they would just you know do the whole nail thing and be done with it kind of thing. But it looks cleaner this way. So we gonna be removing this because you have essentially a long strip of double adhesive tape The real thick squishy kind all the way down here So I've removed the screw and bolt. It holds both ends down so now it's being held with the adhesive. I'm going to take a scraper like so and I'm going to heat it extremely hot with my heat gun. And use that to scrape and cut through like a hot iron through all the adhesive all the way up. So that way I don't damage my side rails by bending them. Because these are good. These are actually pretty solid. Be cleaned up, polished out, maybe even chromed. We'll see where things go. So let's get started. where I really understood how good of a conductor stainless steel is when it comes to heat. Woo! And that's what you gotta look for whenever you're removing this stuff, because that thing is incredibly hot right now. I'm gonna leave it there, actually. I'll let that side rail cool down. I might be able to grab it. Yeah, it's a little warm. Definitely would not want to catch that. But you know what? Didn't have to pry it off and bend it. Still usable. I'll show you guys how I go about removing side rails because of this double-sided adhesive. And this is a difficult and a little bit of effort and everything has to be put into this, especially if, one, you don't want to damage your side rails, and two, you don't want to damage your cabinet. I know of a buddy of mine that removed his side rails and he was a little rugged with it and took a big old chunk of the veneer out on his cabinet. And I also know someone else, and that guy was me on my getaway. I think if you go through my restoration portion, I have pictures, but at that time I wasn't doing video. But I had pictures about why I think it was like down around this area right here, and I had to bond to that all over and fix it. So these side rails, I think the left one does have a pretty good size of a dent in it. This one looks pretty good. Of course I don think you can buy them separately But I still going to take them off and try to keep them intact and what we going to have to do is use the heat gun and this designated scraper right here I believe the only time I've ever used this in my toolbox is for removing these side rails. Now so what we're doing is we're heating up the scraper and the side rail simultaneously. this is a giant heat sink so eventually it's going to get hot and i want to stress that because once you get to the end and you're having to use a little bit of muscle to pry up there's a chance that this side rail can fly off and land on your skin and burn you i don't think i've got the scar anymore but trust me once again learn from my mistakes so when you get to the last portion you're pulling up be very careful on not to let this land on you all right i might be still a little wore out from the other side rail that i just did but we're going to go at it i'm obviously going to speed the time up on this because i want to say each side rail depending on how difficult it is, is a good probably 10-15 minutes. Here we go. This should be the last section right here. you go. Yeah side rails are removed and intact. Whew that doesn't work out. And there you go those are the methods I use if you choose to use this method you do so at your own risk as long as you remember one to be very careful when prying up the side rails because you can take the veneer of the wood with you causing much more damage in the long run do not be too aggressive patience is key and there you go give me the thumbs up if you learned something and if you haven't already subscribe button and until next time guys peace out We'll see you next time.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 0710d014-b154-43fb-b183-31b8eba80902*