A Trick to Access Your Entire Playfield (Topside)

Cary Hardy·video·4m 21s·analyzed·Jul 20, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.010

TL;DR

Simple clamp-based technique for accessing pinball playfield topside without full removal.

Summary

Cary Hardy demonstrates a practical technique for accessing the entire top side of a pinball playfield without removing it from the cabinet, using mini clamps from Harbor Freight to elevate and stabilize the playfield while keeping it in the machine. The method works on most pinball machines (particularly Stern machines with rubber knobs on playfield rails) and allows technicians to work on mods and repairs while maintaining playfield slope for playtesting.

Key Claims

This playfield access method works on a majority of pinball machines
high confidence · Cary Hardy directly states this in the video, noting that Stern machines have rubber knobs on playfield rails that prevent sliding
Harbor Freight mini clamps are effective tools for this playfield work
high confidence · Cary Hardy demonstrates using mini clamps and states he finds them to work best for his purposes
The technique is a single-person job for most users
high confidence · Cary Hardy explicitly states 'For me this is a single person job and I believe it to be for a majority of you'
The elevated playfield still maintains slope suitable for playtesting
high confidence · Cary Hardy demonstrates and confirms the playfield can still be playtested while elevated using this method

Notable Quotes

“does anybody else use this method or is it just me? so with minor googling on pinside and stuff like that just trying to see what other people's methods are i couldn't find it”
Cary Hardy@ 0:43 — Indicates Hardy searched for documentation of this technique but couldn't find it easily accessible, motivating the video creation
“this method will work on a majority of pinball machines. And I'm pretty sure it's all pros with next to no cons”
Cary Hardy@ 1:10 — Direct statement of the technique's broad applicability and claimed advantages
“And your playfield is now completely out of the cabinet, giving you full access to work on it”
Cary Hardy@ 2:28 — Core benefit statement of the technique

Entities

Cary Hardyperson Jurassic ParkgameSterncompanyHarbor FreightcompanyPinsideorganization

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.013

0:00

Do you ever wish you could easily access the entire top side of your playfield without having to lurch over the cabinet to work on it? Well, there is a method and I'm going to show you how to do it in this video.

0:18

What's up guys and 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. Now, honestly, before making this video, I didn't think I needed to, but it wasn't until I started doing my work on my Jurassic Park, I'm adding some mods to it, and I started thinking as I was getting it into the current position that it is now, I was like, does anybody else use this method or is it just me? so with minor googling on pinside and stuff like that just trying to see what other people's methods are i couldn't find it and if it is out there i'm not saying oh i'm the genius to develop this or nothing like that it just that i not seeing at least something easily accessible to inform others of this really simple method in order to access the entire playfield Topside that is And the thing is, this method will work on a majority of pinball machines. And I'm pretty sure it's all pros with next to no cons. And this is how you do it. You will start by having your playfield lifted and in the resting position on the cabinet like so. Now this is why I say the method will work on a majority of machines and I can't state all. Because Stern has these rubber knobs right here on their playfield rails. And that is what's going to keep the playfield from sliding forward or back. Not all games will have these, but there sometimes are methods on the rails that keep it from doing this on the older games. Now, for me this is a single person job and I believe it to be for a majority of you out there you could do yourself as well, but if you need help then by all means beckon your child over there to help you or something because it doesn't require much effort. Now I use a microfiber cloth but you can also use anything else that keeps these clamps from possibly damaging your cabinet artwork I use these mini clamps available at Harbor Freight There are many other things that you can use, but I find these to work the best for me. And then all you have to do is slide it in position and the playfield will rest on top of these. And your playfield is now completely out of the cabinet, giving you full access to work on it. And just to show you that the playfield is going to be stable at least on my stern here's you an example