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Pinball

Pinball Helper-like cabinet support

pinball leg helper

 

I generally move my pinball machines alone. I had seen a device that helped to support the back of a pinball cabinet while installing or removing the back legs that looked like it would be useful. It was called the Pinball Helper, made by PinballLifter.com. It looked like something I could make pretty easily from stuff in my garage. Here's what I did to make my own version - the pinballlifter.com website looks like it hasn't been accessible for a few years (as of June 2022) so they might not be in business any longer.

 

I took a roller stand that I bought at Harbor Freight for less than $20 and removed the roller. I cut two sections of 1.5" angle iron, one about 5" long and the other 1" long and welded the smaller piece upside down onto the center of the larger piece (my welding skills are not great - there's usually more grinding than welding - but for this project they were fine). I drilled two holes into the smaller piece so it would match the screws that held the roller to the base of the stand. I painted it gloss black just to dress it up a bit, and that was it.

 

pinball stand

 

The height is adjustable; I used it at about 25" high today to move a Stern Star Wars machine and it worked fine. The HF stand is not rated to hold the entire weight of a pinball machine but as the cabinet is also supported by the two front legs it doesn't need to hold all of the weight. I try to get the legs on and off quickly just in case something starts to slip but I've been using it for years and have never had any problems. If I'm working with a very heavy machine with a cabinet that's lower to the floor (such as a Multimorphic P3) it still works but I'm more nervous - I think the stand will not totally collapse but I wouldn't rest the game on it and then go out for lunch.

 

I've seen people use much simpler devices to do the same task. Some people use two 2x4s in a T configuration (or I, for three-piece stands) and it seems to work.

Copyright © Steve Shoyer