Show Us Your Mods!

[Tablejam]

Wouldn't it be nice if all of the mods techs have come up with for this machine were in one easy to find place? Well, that place can be right here! With so many great minds working on these machines day after day there are countless problems that arise and ingenious solutions by innovative mechanics to solve them. I think any and all of those ideas should be showcased right here. This thread is simple. If you have come up with a modification to the original design of any part of this machine and it has proven to solve a problem then please post it here.

Your post should include the following:

-the original problem
-the solution or modification
-the steps and parts needed to install the mod
-an explanation of what the mod does to solve the problem
-pics showing the before (if possible) and after

I'll start. I have some below...

1. Problem: distributor post is sloppy in support bracket, causing distributor to bounce up and down. This can lead to pinfeed problems. Solution: instead of replacing an otherwise perfectly good distributor support, just add a set screw to keep the post tight. All you need to do is drill a hole on the front of the tube on the support, low enough so that the distributor casting has clearance and centered, then tap it and install a short bolt. I used a 1/4" coarse tap and bolt. What this does is tightly clamp the support post in place and eliminates the up and down bounce while saving money on re-using an otherwise perfectly good part...


2. If you have any version of AMF scoring then this is a must. Problem: scoring when it should not or double scoring on a sweep reverse/gutter ball. This problem is due to the fact that the sweep zero switch is far from the sweep link, leaving very little room for error. The tiniest bit of sweep coast will close the switch and cause it to score when it should not. Solution: all you need to do is mount the sweep zero switch closer to the sweep link and to do that you just flip the slotted bracket around and mount the switch and adjust for clearance. What this does is mount the switch assembly much closer to the sweep link giving it much more room for error, even if the sweep is coasting a little it will stop the scoring issue.

Before...

After...



3. Problem, at the 2 and/or 3 in the bin, the second pin sometimes goes past the pin butt guide, then both pins shuttle and jam in the table. Solution... install an extra pin guide to block the second pin. Just add another "hook" pinguide to the outside of the pin butt guide, bend the top up (bending it up to be horizontal seems to work much better) and twist it to face the distributor. Now, the second pin will hit this guide stopping it from following the first one through the shuttle....


Well that's some of mine, now let's see yours. Maybe if this is popular enough it will become a sticky thread.

[AMFsupt]

Is that a HEX headed bolt on the pin guide? Not a BUTTON head allen bolt!

[Tablejam]

Yeah on the shuttle tube, no way pins can touch the front one and if they can then there is something very wrong!...lol

[DarkDays]

I have cap bolts on most of our shuttles. It makes changing bin straps 10 times more easy.

[Scooter185]

i usually replace the button heads with hex heads when i changes shuttle straps. The machines that have had the 2 and 3 straps added all have hex heads.

[Pietenpol]

2. If you have any version of AMF scoring then this is a must. Problem: scoring when it should not or double scoring on a sweep reverse/gutter ball. This problem is due to the fact that the sweep zero switch is far from the sweep link, leaving very little room for error. The tiniest bit of sweep coast will close the switch and cause it to score when it should not. Solution: all you need to do is mount the sweep zero switch closer to the sweep link and to do that you just flip the slotted bracket around and mount the switch and adjust for clearance. What this does is mount the switch assembly much closer to the sweep link giving izt much more room for error, even if the sweep is coasting a little it will stop the scoring issue.

When I read this I thought it might be a possibility as to why lane 15 would sometimes score randomly. Sure enough I noticed the sweep jump just a little when returning from a short cycle. I thought it might help to run the bolt on the switch arm in a little bit. All of the sudden I had no scoring as the bolt head couldn't engage the switch at the angle the arm was at. I ran the sweep to first guard and watching the zero light on the MIU I slowly ran the bolt out until the zero light went out. Gave it an extra quarter turn and locked it. Machine scores a lot quicker and seems to have solved the issue. If it does crop up in the future I will try this mod.

[8270king]

The scoring switch mod is genius!

[Tablejam]

Thanks KING!

Pie,

^I would strongly suggest doing this to all the machines anyway. I never understood why AMF mounted the switches so far away from the sweeps in the first place, it just doesn't seem to make sense to mount something like that so far away that it barely makes contact and if things are not absolutely perfect all the time (which they never can be) there will be issues, but I witnessed first hand what problems that causes. I first started doing this mod about 12-15 years ago at another center that had all kinds of scoring problems, mostly on the sweep reverse/gutter balls and nobody could figure out a solution. We knew why it was happening but even when the sweep did not coast, because of how things were adjusted (that otherwise worked just fine) it would still happen. *True story!* So, one day I decided I was going to find a solution, didn't know what or how but I figured no matter what I would come up with something. Now I may not be the originator of this but at the time I had never heard of doing this before. So I was staring at a sweep zero switch one day and it dawned on me, "why not just flip the bracket around?" I knew the switch had to be closer to contact the sweep longer and this seemed to be the way to do it. Long story short, we ended up doing them all like that at this place (44 lanes) and at the current place I am at when we had BOSS, another 59 lanes, and I can say with confidence that this mod has proven itself to be 100% true and I have 103 lanes to back me up! Not once on any of those lanes did we ever have that scoring issue again after this mod. So it is because of that I strongly suggest doing this if you have AMF scoring. Your scoring should never cause you problems and this is just one of those stupid things that causes problems that you can eliminate.

There are two things you need to watch out for, because the switch is much closer to the sweep make sure you set the clearance with the sweep cranked to TDC- here, the sweep link should have at least 1/4-1/2" clearance from the switch body AND make sure when the sweep is at TDC the switch lever, which will be pushed up all the way, will still have about 1/4" clearance minimum before it is pushed into the switch body. These two things are critical to prevent damage to the switch due to the sweep's tendency to bounce as it goes up. As long as the sweep link does not touch the switch body and the lever isn't forced into the switch body- and you still have room to go, it will be fine.

[bowling mech ne]

I would post some of my mods on here but I would get in trouble..........

[Tablejam]

I would post some of my mods on here but I would get in trouble..........

Aww darn it!

[pinfeed]

Oh my...This is a lengthy list.

This first one is like yours TJ. Cuz when you add washers to the safety link to get the 7 and 10 to feed better, the distributor wants to over-feed the 2 and 3. They all didn't need them, but decided to be proactive with this. Easy to make...Just flatten out a butt guide. then trim off an inch from one side and 1 1/2" off the bottom. Uses existing mounting holes and hardware.

Picture 004.jpg

[pinfeed]

Some of our other mods previosly posted in other threads, however I don't remember which ones included pics. So if you would like pics...Just ask.

Distributor clutch...Cuz originals require too much maintenance.
One-piece bounce plate frames...Cuz originals just don't hold up to the punishment.
Beefed bounce plate support brackets...Same as above, and I'm getting too old to pull pits every year.
Beefed plows...Cuz I'd rather do things "once and done" instead of the same repairs over and over.
Brunswick up-track and C-track covers...No more yo-yos, cheap and bullet-proof.
One-piece up-track bullets...For a quick change when you're under the gun.
Quick-release cushion hanger weldment bracket...Though not our design...Vantage...but beefed up to hold up.
Adjustable lower pinwheel rollers...I like Stahl's version better cuz theirs is self-adjusting, but we made these before theirs came out.
Magnets for C-90 control box covers...Cuz bowlers like to kick them.
Brunswick rubber curtains retro-fitted for AMF...Cuz AMF curtains are paper thin and just don't hold up...Still in the R and D stages with this one. I would like to find a company to stamp these out for me cuz they're a bit of a pain in the ass to make.
Now on the drawing board... Elevator-mounted O-pan...Cuz one that moves is just dumb.

[Rep]

I never did much in the way of mods when I was wrenching 70's but one thing I did to many lanes was to lower the head pin guides by removing them and redrilling the holes that they attach with. I had issues with quite a few lanes and the head pin "standing up" in the bin and falling thru the shuttle. I read about it on here so I know others have done it as well. I never got to do all the lanes before my "departure" but the lanes I had issues with and did that to ran great afterwards

[Tablejam]

pinfeed, those all sound good and pics of any would be great, especially interested in the elevator mounted O-pan because we all know the downfall of this machine is the pin orientation. And you said something interesting, when you add a washer or two to the safety link to get the distributor to move more to the 7 and 10 what a lot of techs I think don't realize, as you said, is it also makes the distributor "move" in all of the other positions besides the 1 and 5, which can lead to that issue at the 2-3. Never thought of using a pin butt guide like that.

Rep, I like that mod too and all of these machines have it. The nice thing is that no matter how the height of the distributor is adjusted the pins will not stand up in the bin anymore.

[StunedM]

Distributor clutch...Cuz originals require too much maintenance.
Quick-release cushion hanger weldment bracket...Though not our design...Vantage...but beefed up to hold up.

I would like to see a few pics of these please