The dreaded ball on front roller problem

[SVLFever]

Guys,

We have 2 lanes, one odd and one even, that we can't get rid of the the ball on front roller problem. Both pits have been gutted, twice, and nothing unusual found.

In both cases, a light ball, usually a 10 or 12 pound, will bounce off the cushion and ride up on the edge between the deck and the pit. It will move toward the ball exit, but not fast enough to prevent the table coming down on it during spotting.

My mechanic and I have tried all the tricks we can think of with the machine, but there has to be more out there. What do you guys do to stop this problem?

Fever [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/usflag.jpg[/img]

[8270king]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

New springs on the front roller hinges usually does it for me.

Jerry

[Coors]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

need to jack up he front of the pit/ lower the rear. had this on 27 & 13. perhaps washers under the front of the OBD side of the bounceplate assy.

[deadwood_dup1]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

SVL: Your problem is not with the pit. I had this similiar problem myself and it was as simple as pie x 5 [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif[/img]

Problem #1: Make sure your tail plank's are in good condition. Sometimes they get old and get soaked with cleaner and as wood does it will swell and eventually crack at the screws and fall.

Problem #2: Vantage makes a product and it goes by the part number V-204 or V-201 but i think its V-204. They attach to the back of the flat gutters. Their main purpose is to get rid of those pesky pins that linger around your flat gutters.

Hope this helped. g00d Luck.

deadwood

[John_Galt]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

Well, if it's all good 204 springs (and watch the areas where it bends to hook onto the shafts) then...
Check that the 900 112 203 bushing AND shaft on the kickback aren't scarred so as to disallow it from moving forward. If they're OK...
MAYBE you've got a wierd too-small carpet...
MAYBE your kickbacks are deformed, or...

Nothing that a piece of plywood nailed to the tailplank behind the flat gutter wont fix...

C [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

[Pin_Head]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

This may sound real stupid but have you got the ball idle bracket fitted on the bounce plate? I find when we fit the idle braket to the front of the bounce plate we never have the problem of balls idling between pit and tail plank, just a thought.

[8270 pinspotter]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

I just nail a piece of old distributor belt about 8 inches long to the back of the flat gutter and let it ride on the carpet. Gets rid of the problem every time.

[Guest]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

The answer IS the ball idle bracket on the bounce plate assembly. Just add one, I bet you don't have one on there. Cures it every time.

[SVLFever]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

Update...

We have the ball idling bracket on one of the lanes, and we have replaced all the front roller springs (all 32 lanes had their springs replaced within the last 2 months).

We have not tried to raise the machine, yet. We had also thought about tacking something on to the back of the pindeck, but we will inspect both tailplanks closely. We knew Vantage had made some sort of part to address that, but we couldn't find the number anywhere. If an old distributor belt would work, that's a thought too.

Thanks for all your ideas and insight. If anyone else would like to add, feel free.

We are getting ready to close down for resurfacing so we may not have any results for a couple of weeks.

Thanks again,

Fever [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/usflag.jpg[/img]

[BowlEquip]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

Gentlemen: The ball idle bracket on the bounceplate will eliminate the ball from idling between the BOUNCEPLATE and the FRONT ROLLER, not the frt roller and the tail plank. Watch carefully! Many will accuse the ball of trailing along the tail plank, but actually it's behind the roller.
If it IS against the tail plank, and your pit and carpet are all OK, then the back end unit may be back too far. This can happen if you do not have those "trip-over" angle plates behind the machines, bolted to the floor, and the bolts between the back end and front end are broken or missing. The pit assembly will inch backward, especially at the common side first. I have one machine like that, and once every other day I give the pinwheel guard a "hip-check" back into place.
One other possibility that happened to me: the front common side jackscrew lock was missing, and the front of the common kickback lowered itself, causing the ball to sit and idle between the roller and the flat gutter.
Good luck! [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif[/img]
By the way, the installation spec for the back end unit is as follows:
22" Pindeck surface to top of steel kickback (not the treadplate)
6 3/4" from the 7-10 centerline to the front edge of the kickback, more if your wood kickbacks are too far back, but never less, or the distributor will hit the bin. [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif[/img]

[Jimmy Jam]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

Sounds like a bad cushion shock. Balls should never hit the Tailplank.

[deadwood_dup1]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

JJ: If its a 6lb ball it will never hit the cushion.

deadwood

[Jimmy Jam]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

[img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif[/img] Sometimes pieces of the plastic fly off and hit it.

[Coors]

Re: The dreaded ball on front roller problem

Originally posted by BowlEquip:
One other possibility that happened to me: the front common side jackscrew lock was missing, and the front of the common kickback lowered itself, causing the ball to sit and idle between the roller and the flat gutter.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">yep, i have had that before also. in a house that as you said, were not "shot into the floor" &amp; the front to back weld was broken. the common side of lane 27 was at least weekly scooted forward using a crobar.