Episode 21 - Woodrails and Flippers

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·25m 21s·analyzed·Apr 1, 2015

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.021

TL;DR

Wood rail history and detailed flipper repair guide for EM pinball machines.

Summary

Nick Baldrige discusses the history and technical repair of wood rail pinball machines, focusing on the invention and evolution of flippers from 1947 onward. The episode covers Gottlieb's dominant position in the market, early flipper designs, and provides detailed technical guidance on diagnosing and repairing flipper mechanisms in electromechanical machines.

Key Claims

Flippers were invented in 1947 by Gottlieb
high confidence · Nick Baldrige, host; stated as established historical fact
Humpty Dumpty was the first flipper game and became instantly desirable to operators
high confidence · Nick Baldrige; historical reference about market impact of flipper introduction
Steve Kordak designed the first machine with the typical bottom flipper placement in 1948
medium confidence · Nick Baldrige; specific design attribution but not corroborated in content
Gottlieb held the patent for the flipper mechanism
high confidence · Nick Baldrige; referenced as read knowledge about patent status
David Gottlieb was fair with competitors using Gottlieb ideas because he knew competition kept the industry alive
medium confidence · Nick Baldrige; stated as read information, not directly verified
Nick owns a Gottlieb Circus from 1980, which is the last arcade production game that used a roto target
high confidence · Nick Baldrige, personal ownership statement
All EMs powered by AC will buzz when flipper buttons are held
high confidence · Nick Baldrige; stated as universal technical characteristic of AC-powered flippers
The coil sleeve on flipper coils is either nylon or metal and deteriorates over time
high confidence · Nick Baldrige; technical explanation during repair segment

Notable Quotes

“Gottlieb consistently invented new mechanisms and new playfield toys that would keep people's interest.”
Nick Baldrige @ early in episode — Establishes Gottlieb's market dominance through innovation in wood rail era
“Once the flipper came onto the scene operators started freaking out because those that had already bought their games for the year realize that they were immediately obsolete.”
Nick Baldrige @ mid-episode — Illustrates the disruptive market impact of flipper technology
“They had a saying, that extra touch of quality and it really comes through in a lot of their machines.”
Nick Baldrige @ mid-episode — References Gottlieb's quality philosophy and brand positioning
“If any one of these pieces is not operating appropriately then your flippers will lose power or have issues like machine gunning where the flipper goes and moves back and forth very quickly.”
Nick Baldrige @ tech segment — Diagnostic indicator for flipper problems
“Bushings are cheap but your playfield is not. So while you've got everything apart, it's a perfect time just to take care of that.”
Nick Baldrige @ late in tech segment — Practical maintenance philosophy balancing cost vs. prevention

Entities

Nick BaldrigepersonGottliebcompanyExhibit Supply CompanycompanyDavid GottliebpersonSteve KordakpersonAvapersonHumpty DumptygameExhibit Supply Company MysterygameGottlieb Circusgame

Signals

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historical_signal: Detailed historical account of flipper invention by Gottlieb in 1947, Humpty Dumpty as first flipper game, operator market response, and Steve Kordak's 1948 contribution to standard flipper placement.
high · Nick provides specific dates, game names, designer credits, and market context for flipper adoption
?
restoration_signal: Comprehensive technical guide to diagnosing and repairing flipper mechanisms including parts identification, contact filing, coil sleeve replacement, bushing inspection, and wiring reconnection.
high · Detailed step-by-step repair procedures with specific tools, measurements (1/8 inch gap), material types, and troubleshooting diagnostics
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product_concern: AC-powered EM flippers naturally buzz when held, with increased buzzing indicating coil stop wear or plunger deterioration requiring maintenance.
high · Nick describes AC buzzing as universal characteristic and notes Pop A Card requires coil stop and plunger replacement due to heavy play wear
?
design_innovation: Evolution of flipper placement from early Gottlieb six-flipper inward-pointing layout (three per side) to standard bottom two-flipper design by Steve Kordak in 1948.
high · Nick compares early placement designs to modern standard and credits Kordak with first typical bottom placement
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manufacturing_signal: Gottlieb distinguished itself through manufacturing quality including brass trim on internal components not visible to players, supporting machines' longevity today.
high · Nick references Gottlieb's 'extra touch of quality' philosophy and observes that it has preserved machines through decades

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.076

0:00

What's that sound? It's 4 Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to 4 Amusement Only, this is Nick Baldrige. So tonight I am excited. I've disassembled and removed the couch that was down in my arcade. Now I have space for two more pins with A good line on one and room for a second so just thinking about various EMs I might like to have. Got a single player and a two player. Might be time to add a four player. So tonight I thought I'd talk a little bit about older machines. By older I mean older than the sixties. We're talking wood rails. At this time, there were several different manufacturers and Gottlieb was the undisputed king. Gottlieb consistently invented new mechanisms and new playfield toys that would keep people's interest. Some of those toys or mechanisms were a bit infuriating for some. For example, the gobble hole. Gobblehole was actually a hole in the playfield that would return the ball to the trough and would end your ball in play. Now you could shoot for these intentionally or unintentionally. Ideally you would light special in one and when you dropped in the lit gobblehole you would receive a replay. However if you're like me you end up in the gobblehole that you really don't want to be in When it's not lit. So you get one point or something equally frustrating. Another wonderful example of a wood rail toy is the roto target. Now the roto target persisted in a couple different forms through many eras of pinball. It first appeared in wood rails and then was transplanted into E.M.s with metal rails because the wood rails are E.M.s as well. And I have the last production game that used a rototarget and that's a Gottlieb Circus from 1980. So through System 1 with Close Encounters and to System 80 with Circus the rototarget would appear. And in the later games it's typically used as a novelty and less as the main focus of gameplay. But in the earlier games there was always a reason to shoot for the rototarget. For example in Gottlieb's Domino Wedgehead shooting for the rototarget would light additional dominoes completing a set and then helping you to earn Special Most notable mechanism invented during the wood rail years is one that's still in use today that's flippers electromechanical flippers as we know them were invented in nineteen forty seven by godly at the time all machines were flipperless some had I'm controllable kickers or other unique rebound situations uh... but there was nothing like the flipper once the flipper came onto the scene operators started can freaking out because those that are already bought their games for the year realize that they were immediately obsolete people started looking for Humpty Dumpty which was the first flipper game Everywhere. And if your game didn't have flippers, it looked like it was antiquated, outdated. Similar to every other major change in technology that's happened in pinball. For example, the conversion to solid state from EM. Although that one I question a little bit. I prefer the chimes and more gentle sounds over the bleeps and bloops of the original TTL sound chips. But regardless, because the operators were freaking out, they started asking the companies what they could do to make their games more appealing. And one common trick was for, I'm not sure if it was distributors or manufacturers, to sell at the time of the tie into an existing Circuit on the machine sometimes dangerously and a provided space for the flipper to operate now I have won would rail game in its in 1947 exhibit supply mystery if you've been on the Facebook How Albertoples , the Galaxy C The flippers when activated were impulse And what this means is you have a high current draw immediately and then power to the coil is cut off Now the only problem with this design is if the power doesn cut off So in this circuit the idea was that the power would cut off to the flipper button immediately after it was pressed So the cabinet flipper switch you would have to let go of and then press again in order to engage the flipper. Well apparently that circuit had been defeated at some point in the past and there were many burn marks under the playfield that were caused by these high-powered coils pulling off the already stressed GI circuit on this game and engaging the flipper. The game was set up in a very low-earning environment, but it was still a very good game. The game was set up in a very low-earning Environment, and it was sold in the Operators Warehouse until it was sold some many years later. Part of the reason, probably, for its low earnings was the dangerous way that the flippers The flippers were set up and the fact that they probably didn't work very well for very long. The beauty of Gottlieb's design of course was that the flippers would be easy to maintain. And that's something that Gottlieb got very right all through the EM era especially. They had a saying, that extra touch of quality and it really comes through in a lot of their machines. They, as I mentioned in my episode about the 60s, they used all brass trim on the inside where people don't even see. But that extra effort certainly goes a long way to keeping these machines alive today. And the same goes for their wood reel era.

9:51

To hit the high value passive bumpers It was Steve Kordak who designed The first machine with the typical flipper placement at the bottom that we know and love today. And that wouldn't be until 1948. For today's tech segment I thought we could talk about the construction of flippers and how to perform repair. Your flipper is made up of several different parts. There's the flipper bat which is visible to the player above the playfield. There's the flipper shaft which goes through the playfield. There's the flipper bushing which holds the shaft in an appropriate position while it rotates. And under the playfield you've got the pawl which is the piece that pulls the shaft. You've got the coil which pulls the pawl. And you've got the coil sleeve Particip commissioner Narrative and both can be replaced or filed down uh... to remove burrs it just depends on how cheap you are moving beyond the units which are directly connected to the flipper we travel to the flipper cabinet and the flipper cabinet switch the button itself is just a mechanism used for pressing the switch The switch is a high-powered contact, which when closed energizes the solenoid, which pulls in the pawl and flips the flipper. Now your flipper solenoid is actually comprised of two different coils. You have a high power, which is engaged immediately when you press the flipper cabinet switch. And then you have the low power or hold solenoid which is activated by an end of stroke switch. So as the pawl rotates it will push open a switch which will cut power to the coil and allow it to hold in that position indefinitely now for this discussion we not talking about impulse flippers we talking about the typical flipper that you might see in any machine if anyone of these pieces is not operating appropriately then your flippers will lose power or have on issues like machine gunning where the flipper goes and moves back and forth very quickly so as I mentioned in a previous episode a solenoid or coil is like a big magnet, an electromagnet when it turns on it pulls in a piece of metal in this case it's a piece of metal attached to the pawl which pulls the shaft which moves the flipper however it has to stop somewhere where it would just shoot out the back So a coil stop is just a piece of metal that has a small round piece welded on and that round piece is slightly bigger than the size of the plunger that's being pulled and the plunger smacks into it and it stops it from moving. So Ava in my last episode mentioned that Pop A Card makes a lot of buzzing noise. Now all EMs that are AC powered will buzz when you hold in the flipper buttons. However, my coil Stops need to be swapped in Pop A Card and the Plungers themselves might need to be replaced. I'll have to take it apart and take a look. But the coil stops haven't been changed since I've owned it and it's received a lot of play from both from Ava and my other daughter and also from many of their friends and many of my friends so and myself so it's probably time. So as I mentioned all EMs that use AC power for their flippers are going to buzz The worried about uh... but if that buzzing becomes more and more noticeable it's time to take part in shop the flippers so how do you do them well you need to take a look at the design of your flipper bat and see if there's a screw at the back and what i do is i always take the screw out first and remove the flipper's shoe which is a plastic piece which fits over the shaft and replace it if I'm gonna do that or just take it off and clean it very well uh... both inside and out and this will prevent dirt and junk from getting on the shaft if uh... there's some kind of dusty buildup or something inside of the flipper shoe next underneath the playfield I loosen the pawl which holds the shaft. You do this typically with an allen wrench. You take the shaft out, make sure it's clean, and if I'm doing, if I'm actually replacing the flippers, which normally I'll do if I get to this point, I'll replace the shaft if it's available for that game. And the reason for this is The set screws are set in two different positions. So let's say that I put everything back together but I changed the alignment of my flipper slightly. The flipper shaft. Well, it's going to want to slide to the position it was in in the first place. Video Character Paul and the plunger out of the machine. If the Paul is a bakelite material and there's wear, then I take a punch and punch out the roll pin that holds the Paul to the plunger and replace that. Again, if it's available. And that's something that you have to often consider. Is this piece available? Don't take the pawl and the plunger apart.

21:27

Moving, moving on, once you got your coil straight, either the sleeve replaced or cleaned, then you want to move on to your cabinet flipper switches. And again, this is a very important piece for the power to the flippers because this is the initial jolt To the power winding of your flipper coil. These are also tungsten contacts and they are also cleaned with an ignition file. And you want to file all the pits out or just replace them. And um... you can get new flipper switches at most any pinball vendor. You've done all that. Put everything back together but let's say you didn't take any photos before you took everything apart and now you don't know where wires go to the coil and where wires go to the end of stroke and also where wires go to the cabinet flipper switches. Let's say you just completely missed that. Well, if you know which wires are paired together so for example on the cabinet flipper switch is probably going to be pretty obvious which ones they are it really doesn't matter which side is soldered to which side of the switch on the end of stroke you got the same deal however on the coil it very much does matter and this can be resolved by reading the schematic So looking at this schematic for pop-it card, I see the flipper coil at the very top right and it shows me three different connections so the larger side of the coil is connected and to the power side then you have an orange and red wire which is connected to the hold side and the common So you want to make sure that that orange and Red wire is wired up appropriately and the power side is connected to the twenty five volt source and it uses the same wire color which is black on this game on the slingshots and various other coils that you'll see throughout the game Oh, one other important note the bushing I mentioned It's a plastic piece that goes through the playfield and it keeps the shaft in the inappropriate position. This is frequently broken. So if you've ever played a game with really sloppy flippers or ones that are dragging on the playfield it's either because they're just totally misadjusted or the bushing's broken and if the bushing's broken that kind of thing can happen and it'll cause all kinds of wackiness. So Win, I've got the whole thing disassembled. I inspect the bushings and if they're not pretty much perfect, I go ahead and replace them. Bushings are cheap. But your playfield is not. So, while you've got everything apart, it's a perfect time just to take care of that. Okay, well I think I've talked your ear off about flippers enough for tonight. My name again is Nick Baldridge. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com. You can find us online at 4amusementonly.libsyn.com or you can find us on Stitcher, iTunes, Pocket Casts, maybe other sources, I'm not sure. Thanks very much for listening and I'll talk to you next time.