# Episode 164 - The Ball Return Board **Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2015-08-22 **Duration:** 6m 57s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-164-the-ball-return-board --- ## Analysis Nicholas Backbone discusses the ball return board (bottom board) found beneath the shutter in Bally solid-state pinball machines from the 1980s. He explains its function as a ball-catching mechanism that directs dropped balls toward the trough, notes that these boards are game-specific and not interchangeable, and provides maintenance tips including keeping the board clean and reinforcing wooden support blocks. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Ball return boards were custom-made by Bally and laid out differently depending on game type and playfield layout, making them not immediately interchangeable between games — _Nicholas Backbone, describing structural characteristics of Bally EM machines_ - [HIGH] The bottom board is held in place by four screws to rails on both sides of the cabinet and features 2-3 angled wooden blocks that direct balls toward the trough — _Nicholas Backbone, technical description of ball return board construction_ - [HIGH] Bally's trough design is 'incredibly hard for the balls to jam up' and is 'incredibly clever and at the same time very simple' — _Nicholas Backbone, expressing opinion on Bally trough design quality_ - [HIGH] The primary maintenance for ball return boards is keeping them clean to prevent dirt from being picked up by balls and transferred to the playfield — _Nicholas Backbone, providing maintenance guidance_ - [MEDIUM] The ball return board is distinct from the bottom board found in 1960s-70s EM machines — _Nicholas Backbone, distinguishing between different era designs_ ### Notable Quotes > "There has to be some system for the balls to make their way back to the trough so that they can be pushed back up to the shooter lane." > — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~2:00 > _Core explanation of why the ball return board is necessary in the machine's ball circulation system_ > "I really, really, really, really love this design, and there are few machines that replicate it. I just think it's incredibly clever and at the same time very simple." > — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~4:30 > _Expression of admiration for Bally's trough design innovation_ > "Depending on the type of game and the layout of the playfield, these boards were actually laid out differently, so they're not immediately interchangeable." > — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~1:30 > _Key technical detail explaining why ball return boards must be matched to specific games_ > "So ensure that you give that a good wipe down" > — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~5:30 > _Primary maintenance recommendation for ball return boards_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Nicholas Backbone | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast; restoration enthusiast and technical expert on electromechanical and early solid-state pinball machines | | Bally | company | Historical pinball manufacturer that custom-designed ball return boards for their solid-state machines | | Gottlieb | company | Pinball manufacturer; Alvin Gottlieb mentioned as maker of the 1980 Circus machine Backbone is restoring | | For Amusement Only | organization | EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast hosted by Nicholas Backbone | | Alvin Gottlieb Circus | game | 1980 solid-state pinball machine owned by Nicholas Backbone; currently undergoing playfield swap and restoration | ### Topics - **Primary:** Ball return board design and function, Electromechanical pinball machine restoration, Bally trough design - **Secondary:** Playfield maintenance, Game-specific parts interchangeability ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.75) — Backbone expresses enthusiasm for his restoration project and genuine admiration for Bally's engineering design. Tone is educational and encouraging toward maintenance practices. No negative sentiment expressed. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Nicholas Backbone providing detailed technical education on EM/solid-state pinball restoration to podcast audience (confidence: high) — Episode focuses entirely on explaining ball return board design, function, and maintenance in accessible detail for listeners with machines --- ## Transcript what's that sound it's for amusement only the em and bingo pinball podcast welcome back for amusement only this is Nicholas Baldridge sorry for the delay tonight i've been in the middle of a playfield swap yes another one It's for my Solid State 1980 Gottlieb Circus, and it is looking beautiful. So, I'm pretty excited to get this all back together and fire it up, see what happens. There were some spots in the harness that had been cut, so I'm going to attempt to repair those tomorrow. I had contemplated simply swapping the entire harness from my other playfield, but decided against doing that because that's crazy. Now, as usual, I'm under a deadline, and that never helps anything. So, for tonight though, I wanted to pick up where I left off. Last night, I talked about the shutter, but one thing that I've never talked about is the board that lies underneath of the shutter And I not sure of the correct term for this board You know I always call it the bottom board or the roll board and this is separate from the bottom board that might be in a 60s or 70s EM flipper game. This bottom board acts as a ball ball catcher. When the shutter opens, all the balls drop, but if they drop straight down, they just fall down into the cab and never make their way to the trough. There has to be some system for the balls to make their way back to the trough so that they can be pushed back up to the shooter lane. In order to do this, Bally custom made these boards that would return the balls to you. Depending on the type of game and the layout of the playfield, these boards were actually laid out differently, so they're not immediately interchangeable. If you happen to have one lying around for one game, it may not work in the game you're intending to use it for. So if you have a few of these parts in storage somewhere, it's probably good to note the game that it came from, just in case you run into an issue with fitting it in a particular game. So the bottom board is essentially another piece of MDF which is screwed to a rail that sticks out of the side of the cabinet on both sides It's usually held in place by four screws, and there are two or three blocks of wood, which are not very large, that stand up from the bottom board and are angled down. So when the balls drop, they always fall down towards the trough, and it's angled when it's installed. So as the balls go down, the bottom board narrows as it gets toward the trough. Now, Bally's ingenious trough design, which I've talked about before, makes it so that it's incredibly hard for the balls to jam up. I really, really, really, really love this design, and there are few machines that replicate it. I just think it's incredibly clever and at the same time very simple. But this board, this bottom board, the only maintenance tip I can give you is to keep it clean because, of course, if it's dirty, the balls are going to pick up that dirt as they roll back down to the trough and then lift up into the shooter lane with that dirt still attached which will then roll onto your clean freshly waxed playfield So ensure that you give that a good wipe down The other thing I'll say is to inspect and try and jiggle the pieces of wood that stand up from the bottom board and see if they move at all. If they do, what may make sense is to drill a small pilot hole and nail an extra support nail or two into that block of wood so that it doesn't move. You want to be careful not to split any of this wood, but this will help reinforce it should there be an issue. And of course you can just take it apart and replace the nails that hold it together normally, should you so choose. Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you again for joining me. My name again is Nicholas Baldridge. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com. Or you can call me on the bingos line. That's 724-BINGOS1. 724-246-4671. you can listen to us on iTunes Stitcher, Pocket Casts, via RSS on Facebook, on Twitter, at Bingo Podcast you can follow me on Instagram at nbaldridge or you can listen to me on my website which is for amusement only dot libsyn dot com thank you very much for listening and I'll talk to you next time _(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 8d0afa00-2e90-468d-baec-1ede3261cbe3*