Journalist Tool

Kineticist

  • HDashboard
  • IItems
  • ↓Ingest
  • SSources
  • KBeats
  • BBriefs
  • RIntel
  • QSearch
  • NName Review
  • +Health

v0.1.0

← Back to items

Part 7: 1978 Interflip Alaska 4 Player EM. Top side assembly time!

Pinball Shenanigans·video·23m 36s·analyzed·Mar 10, 2026
View original
Export .md

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

Toledo series part 7: EM machine restoration with tumbler cleaning, rust removal, playfield assembly.

Summary

Mike Dus continues his Toledo series restoration of a 1978 Interflip Alaska 4-player EM machine, documenting the tumbler media cleaning process, rust removal techniques using metal rescue, playfield cleaning, LED bulb installation, and assembly of trough and apron components. The episode covers hands-on restoration methodology including parts cleaning, problem-solving for lane guides, and systematic reassembly of the top-side playfield.

Key Claims

  • Metal rescue product (Canadian equivalent to evapo rust) effectively cleaned rusted metal parts when soaked for 24 hours

    high confidence · Mike Dus demonstrated results of metal rescue soak on screws and post caps in this episode

  • Walnut media tumbler ran for approximately 48 hours to clean metal parts

    high confidence · Mike Dus stated at beginning: 'that tumbler is loud and annoying and has been running for pretty close to 48 hours'

  • Gottlieb-style lane guides can be adapted for use on 1978 Interflip Alaska with carriage bolts and rubber, though height/angle may require testing

    medium confidence · Mike Dus experimented with alternative lane guide solutions and tested ball interaction

  • One post-mounting screw went missing during the restoration and could not be located despite searching tumbler, sink, and washing machine

    high confidence · Mike Dus reported missing post screw and extensive search efforts

  • LEDs are wider than incandescent bulbs and required careful socket centering for installation

    high confidence · Mike Dus noted concern about LED width and described installation technique using jeweler screwdriver for socket positioning

Notable Quotes

  • “That tumbler is loud and annoying and has been running for pretty close to 48 hours.”

    Mike Dus@ 0:10 — Establishes the tumbler media cleaning duration and intensity of the restoration process

  • “So, this is why you guys subscribe to this channel, right? Just to watch me pick out media out of screw heads.”

    Mike Dus@ 6:15 — Self-aware humor about the meticulous, detailed nature of restoration content

  • “I'm pretty happy with that. So, moving on.”

    Mike Dus@ 8:52 — Confirms satisfaction with metal rescue results and signals progression in restoration workflow

  • “If I do bring those metal guides to Kevin, then I won't be able to complete that area, but that's okay. I'm sure there's lots to keep me occupied.”

    Mike Dus@ 9:25 — Identifies Kevin as a local service provider for sandblasting/painting and shows adaptive project management approach

  • “I don't know where the f this one went.”

    Mike Dus@ 21:44 — Highlights a common frustration in restoration work: small parts lost during the process

Entities

Mike DuspersonPinball Shenaniganscontent_creatorToledo seriesproductInterflip AlaskagameKevinpersonShadicpersonElliepersonJamiepersonMetal RescueproductEvapo RustproductGottliebcompany

Signals

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Metal Rescue (Canadian equivalent to Evapo Rust) demonstrated effective for cleaning rusted metal fasteners and components when soaked 24 hours

    high · Mike showed before/after results of soaked screws and post caps with visible improvement in rust removal

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Walnut shell media tumbler run for ~48 hours effectively cleaned metal parts; additional 24-hour soak produced noticeably better results than initial 24-hour check

    high · Mike noted dissatisfaction at 24-hour mark, satisfaction at 48-hour mark; peeked at only a few parts early

  • ?

    design_innovation: Experimenting with long carriage bolts with rubber sleeves as Gottlieb-style lane guide alternative, testing ball interaction height and angle to determine viability

    medium · Mike demonstrated prototype setup and tested ball contact points, comparing to original lane guides

  • ?

    product_concern: Missing post-mounting screw during restoration; operator reports limited topside parts availability in playfield inventory

    high · Mike conducted thorough search (tumbler with magnet, sink, washing machine); mentioned contacting Shadic who indicates limited topside parts stock

  • ?

    design_innovation: LED bulbs wider than incandescent originals require careful socket centering technique using jeweler screwdriver to ensure proper fit and tab latching

    high · Mike demonstrated socket manipulation technique and noted rusty springy contacts required pre-installation work

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:03
Okay, welcome back to another episode of Alaska. And that tumbler is loud and annoying and has been running for pretty close to 48 hours. So, if you watched the last episode, I kind of left you in suspense. I just threw the parts in there, the metals, turned it on, and ended the episode. So, now we actually get to see what these parts look like. I'm Mike Dus and [music] this is Pinball Shenanigans. [music]
0:47
All right, let's have a look here. I did a peek after less than 24 hours and I wasn't pleased. So, let's see what it looks like after another 24 hours. All right, that's actually looking really good. The first time I looked at one of these, it was not good at all. So, that extra 24 hours definitely helped. How the heck did that happen? That's looking good. And I only looked at like one of these and it didn't look great either. So those are about the only things I peaked at. Uh it's because whatever coating that is. See this really needs a sand blast and a paint job, but not sure I'm going to go through that trouble. This trough part here doesn't look that great, does it? How about these posts?
1:49
That's looking pretty good. All right. Oh, here's the rest of them. Yeah, I think that these are looking a lot better. Sweet. So, I'll fish out the rest of the stuff. Oh, yeah. One of these posts. Let's see. What do they look like? Oh, they came out much better. But I'll give these all a rinse and then we'll get a really good look. Oh, look at that. Beautiful. Got a washer. Where did that come from? So, I also had uh ultrasonically cleaned some metal parts like smaller screws and bits. In the last episode, they didn't come out very good. But someone commented and said I should try evapo rust, which reminded me that I actually have the Canadian version of that cuz I don't know if we have evapo rust here. Um, but we do have metal rescue. So, thanks for that comment. It reminded me that I had that product. So, I did soak those same bits. Oh, there she is. Jamie was just asking me if Ellie was down here and she has surfaced. Ellie, come say hi. Where are you? Hello, Ellie. You want to be part of the action? You want to check out these parts, too? Here, have a look at this. What do you think? Pretty good, eh? Oo, it's getting dusty. Especially when I zoom out, it really picks up the floaties, but Oh, that's looking real nice. Oh, except the back side. See that? I don't know if that's old paint.
  • ?

    restoration_signal: Multi-pass playfield cleaning with plastic rail restoration yielded significant cosmetic improvement; butts area identified as dirtiest section requiring extra attention

    high · Mike showed before/after cleaning results, noted satisfying transformation of rails, applied novice and polish

  • ?

    operational_signal: Adaptive project sequencing: identified missing parts early, planned workarounds (trough/apron assembly), communicated with parts suppliers, and maintained forward momentum despite obstacles

    medium · Mike adjusted next-episode plan around missing post screw, planned alternative task sequence

  • ?

    content_signal: YouTube series documenting meticulous EM machine restoration with technical detail, troubleshooting, and personality; audience engaged with specific techniques and parts sourcing challenges

    high · Viewer comment recommendation led to Metal Rescue product rediscovery; interactive style inviting audience input on design problems

    • 3:44
    Looks like paint. Anyway, not too concerned about that. You can't even see really any of these parts, so I'm not going crazy with them. I could technically bring them to Kev and have them sand blast and spray paint, but I don't think I'm going to do that. Anyway, let's check on here. I'll show you the metal rescue first. Here we go. Rust remover bath. And it's pretty full. So, I haven't used it a whole lot. There's the instructions. Whatever. You just soak them for 24 hours or 2 hours to 24 hours, I think it said. And here's the results. Oh, Jamie's calling. One moment. Oh, I guess our internet is down and Jamie's playing in a poker tournament and wanted to use my phone basically, but uh I'm kind of using it right now. I don't even have the Poker Stars app on my phone anyway. Okay, so let's have a look here. That's better. So yeah, I soaked these for solid 24 hours and uh worked well. So I'm happy with that result. So now with my tumbler done, metal rescue done, ultrasonic parts done, I think I can go ahead clean up the playfield and install everything. Don't you agree, Ellie? I think she agrees. Okay, here's the fun part. Cleaning out all the walnut media out of every screw and post. So, I did that for every flathead. And now I'm going through all of these guys with uh this little pick and getting out all the walnuts out of these grooves here. I'm glad I thought of this. I was just going to do the flatheads and I'm like, well, maybe I should double check these guys. So, if I installed all these first, then a lot more of a pain in the ass to do this after the fact.
    6:13
    But this is why you guys subscribe to this channel, right? Just to watch me pick out media out of screw heads. I know you love it. Just got another uh maybe 10 to go. You want to watch all those two? All done. I know. I'm sorry. You wanted to see me pick through all the other grooves, but uh left you out this time. So, this is the finished product.
    6:41
    These posts, I don't know, depending on how far I get tonight, maybe I will soak these in the um metal rescue. Still a little crusty. These guys are good. These guys are not good. Well, this one is pretty deplorable. This one is somewhat tolerable. Don't really need to worry about the inside. But I don't know if I can. I'm I'm le. But I don't know if I'm that leap. Maybe I am. We'll see. I might take these two parts to Kevin and see if he can uh do them up for me. This piece is beauty. And then it's just a trough part. It's um functional, not cosmetic. So, that is that. Now, I'm going to bust out the metal parts out of the metal rescue. Okay, I rinsed off these metal parts. Let's have a close look and see what they look like. Some of these post caps were pretty crusty, but they look like they cleaned up beautifully. And what about this pile of screws? That is significantly improved. I'd say that my metals were sufficiently rescued. So, in the meanwhile, I did put these four posts in my uh in my juice there while I mess around with things. I'm sure they will improve to some degree. Well, I I don't think this is toxic. So, sticking my fingers in here is not bad like my Super Clean is. You don't want to turn into bones. Let's see. Do we got bones here? Uh, no. I think uh I think we're safe. It doesn't mean I'm not going to rinse immediately. Oo, that's cold. But yeah, that's um I'm pretty happy with that. So, moving on. All right. In the last episode, I did Dremel all of the slingshot switches and all of the lamp sockets, including the pop bumpers. So, I think um next step is to clean the rest of the playfield, the plastic rails, and then I can reinstall all of the posts. If I do bring those metal guides to Kevin, then I won't be able to complete that area, but that's okay. I'm sure there's lots to keep me occupied. In the interim, I can even start reassembling my trough and install the apron. We're starting to make progress here. Check this out. Also trying to figure out solutions for lane guides here. uh the existing screw. It's not going to work if I want to use a gotle style lane guide, but I've got these like long carriage bolts stick on a rubber. Then you go in through the top side. And yeah, it kind of looks a little funny, but if I throw a nut on the bottom side of this, then that could be a viable solution for um lane guides. And let's uh let's test the ball here. See if it bounces. Oh, it hits
    10:34
    doesn't hit like the center of the ball, right? It hits the top of the ball. though. I wonder if that could be problematic. Let's check out the other lane guides. They look a lot lower. But if these worked on got leaves, why wouldn't they work on uh It's actually about the same height. Let's see. Let's do a comparison here. And let's actually put the comparison in the frame so you can see what the hell I'm doing. What do we think about this?
    11:15
    I don't know. I don't know. I guess I'd say this rubber is a little bit lower, but this is fatter. So, as long as the ball isn't smashing
    11:35
    into the lane guide itself, then it might be okay. So, I don't know. That might be my solution. [snorts] I'm still kind of figuring it out, but I'm leaning in that direction for now. Unless you have a better idea. Let me know. All right. I'll let you watch me clean some playfield. I know it's very enthralling. [music]
    12:10
    All right, so I did the middle of the playfield. My first passover.
    12:17
    And look at these rails. They cleaned up so nice. I did that off camera. Should have shown it because it was satisfying. And
    12:34
    I will do a novice at the end. Still looks a little bit dirty. Or is that wet?
    12:46
    So, as you can see, it's definitely cleaning up nicely. And then uh this is the nastiest of it all here. Probably because the machine was sitting on its butt. And this is where I don't know. I think the butts are usually the dirtiest, don't you? So, I'll clean up these rails and playfield this post here and show you the finished product. All right. I'm done cleaning the playfield. It's got some novice on there. Polished it up and it's as good as I think it's going to get. Did the pop bumper skirts and bodies and tops. And the back is looking a lot better now. So, I think that means it's time to start populating the playfield. First things first, going to have to deal with the uh LEDs. And hopefully they don't pose any problems for me cuz they're wider than incandescent. So, I think I will pop in the LEDs and then we can start installing posts and trough stuff. Okay, I had to do some fighting and install some bulbs from underneath, but I got them all. I The trick was to really center the socket in the hole. I used a jeweler screwdriver to just manipulate the position of the socket so it was as center as I could get it and then bend in one or two of the little tabs to make sure that uh the bulbs latched. So, I'll try and show you what I mean. See how nice and centered that is? And then also you got to some of these like little springy butts are uh rusty. So you got to like kind of work them in before you install your bulb just to make sure you get rid of the rust. Anyway, I think that's all the bulbs. And I thought we should do something dumb. Should we plug this in just for like a second just to see what happens? see if any lights come on. And like I got the towel uh on all of the relays and motor and everything. So, this is a horrible idea, but let's see what happens.
    15:39
    Uh I think I heard a relay click and some humming. So, I think that means it is in the off position. But if I'm going to be this silly, I should at least remove the towel. Okay, I removed the towel and made sure none of these connectors that are hanging down here or shorten anything out. So, let's plug this in again.
    16:09
    See what happens. I heard something. I mean, the fact that nothing is happening is probably better than sparks and or fire. All right, this is really getting ahead of myself. Let's turn it on just for a millisecond and see if anything happens. 3 2 1.
    16:34
    Actually, I think it was in the on position. When I turn it to one direction, you can hear something. I don't know if you can hear it. Here we go.
    16:51
    Maybe this is one of those games you got to hit the left flipper to start [snorts] it.
    16:59
    Okay. Well, not a lot going on right now, but I thought I we'd at least see some light bulbs turn on and the general illumination, but guess not. All right, let's start reassembly of these parts here for the trough and for the shooter lane. So, throwing bit of tunes here. Do a little uh time lapse and check out the action. [music] All
    18:10
    Looks like a little bit of a kind of curve there. These screws were bent when I removed them. So, I don't know. Maybe the holes weren't drilled perfectly, but as long as the ball does its thing, oh, oops. Then, uh, we're good. And yeah, we need to we need to redo. That was a very lame. You know what? Let's just grab another ball. Be much easier. That was a lame launch here. Let's launch the new trough into the new piece here with authority. Boom. There we go. Didn't even lose my bowl. Now we can do the apron. All right. All right. Which one of you eagle-eyed shenaniganders spotted what I missed? I was wondering where that screw went. Okay. Now we can install the apron. I got two um North American screws that are/4 in instead of 7 mm. Two things. Where the hell is my quarter inch nut driver? There's that. And where the hell did I put the apron now? Where did it go? Oh, yeah. Over here. [snorts] All right. Here goes nothing.
    19:49
    I lost one of the screws. I had two in my hand. Oh boy. Oh boy.
    19:58
    That one's in. Oh yeah, there's my other screw. So silly. I did insert these screws already just into the brackets to basically tap them because there was a wood screw on the right side initially and there was a um Spanish screw on the left side. [snorts] But look at that.
    20:32
    That is beautiful. All right, let's do the scoops. [music]
    20:51
    All right, those are looking good.
    20:51
    All right, those are looking good. [music] All right, let's install some posts.
    21:14
    And now for the posts. All right, posts
    21:14
    And now for the posts. All right, posts are all installed. Well, with one exception. I am missing one. One of the post on the top style screws. Oh, and I didn't finish all my screwing.
    21:38
    Like and subscribe cuz you like to watch me screw posts. Okay, there we go. But I don't know where the f this one went. I searched into my tumbler very thoroughly with a big magnet. I searched over in the sink, the washing machine, which is my other workbench, and it is nowhere to be found. This guy here, I know where that guy is. That guy is stuck to the plastic and does not want to come free. And I don't want to crank it too hard because I'm going to break it. So, that's where that one is. But I cannot for the life of me find the other post. So that's slightly annoying. I'm hoping it'll turn up somewhere at some point. If not, I might have to try and hit up Shadic, but he says his parts playfield has pretty much nothing on the top side. Um, but maybe there's posts. Shadic, are you listening? But here's the thing. >> [snorts]
    22:46
    [snorts]
    22:46
    [snorts] >> You can't really remove them very easily
    22:49
    You can't really remove them very easily
    22:49
    You can't really remove them very easily without the special tool, but you could maybe put channel locks on this post and crank the living crap out of it nice and tight and then you might be able to twist it out. So, I'll uh report back whether I can find this stupid post or not. But that is a wrap for tonight. So, next episode I think we we should be able to install the apron parts. We're going to clean up and rebuild the shooter rod and install rubber and plastics and then uh yeah, might be done the top side on the next episode. So stay tuned.