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| unclet:
RandyT: The chutes are made from GoodYear especially for SkeeBall Inc. They are rubber with a "white-wall" outer covering (just like the white-wall on a tire). The height of the chutes (white rubber) are 4 inches. The thickness of the chutes are 1/4" Ixliam: The picture here shows the ball return. The ball drops down vertically and lands on my custom yellow spongy stuff which is attached to a black plastic curve. You can see the curvature of this black plastic in the picture. After the ball hits the yellow spongy stuff then the ball slowly rolls to the right (since this is at a slight incline) and then enters the hole seen in the picture. This hole takes the ball back to it's starting location in the right side ball return "tube" (for a lack of a better word). Right after entering the "hole" on the right side of the ball return tube, the ball triggers a microswitch with a metal arm. This is the switch which keeps count on how many balls were thrown. This is the best picture I can get with dismantling some more stuff. There really is nothing else to describe ..... just that the ball hits the yellow stuff and rolls on a slight incline to the right until it goes into the ball return tube hole where it activates a microswitch. Let me know if this is what you wanted.... PS: In this picture you can also see the red ball "stoppers" which are in place to slow the ball down so the ball does not roll down and "over" the chute and come out. The ball hits the red stopper spongy stuff and slows it down a bit so the ball goes into the hole rather than coming out of the chutes. Please note I added my own custom yellow ball stopper in the center, but the "red" ones came with the machine. Also, there should be 3 "red" ones, but I am missing one on the lower chute ..... it should be on the opposite side of the "red" stopper which does exist .... |
| Ixliam:
McMaster-Carr/Grainger sells rubber sheets (not for the bedroom), but the way they describe it is by resistance/hardness. They do have some that is white, but I was reluctant to order any without being able to get my hands on it to see if it is the right substance. That might be an option to look at other than calling around and seeing if you can find some old skeeball rings. Brad |
| unclet:
Seems like we posted at the same time ..... see my reply above ... Also.... what are you planning on using for the rubber bumpers? Maybe the rubber which separates carpet from tile will work for you. ... do you know what I mean? It is a strip of rubber (I forget the offical name) which is placed where carpet meets tile. I believe carpet distributors carry this stuff (not carpet sellers). I also believe a track is available which is mounted so the rubber strips can be attached to the track to hold it in place. The rubber strips come in different shapes and sizes. Maybe someone else can help out with the official name of this stuff, although if you call a carpet distributor and you my lame description, they will know exactly what you are talking about. |
| Ixliam:
I'll dig around and find something for the bumpers. I thought about using a cut-down rubber ball like kids use for playing jacks. I reinforced the support to put the two sections together with my favorite material, STEEL. The tubing is bolted to the frame with 5/16" bolts, so it isn't going anywhere. The tubes slide in each other, then when I pick up some more bolts (forgot to buy enough) the panels on the scoreboard and ramp will bolt together as well. The panel that pulled lose from the ramp is now secured with large 3" wood screws. |
| Ixliam:
One thing I ended up having to recut another panel for the scoreboard section on the front. I played around with the original looking at getting a gutter working, then realized I did it wrong to begin with and cut off too much. I was able to use a nice piece off the miscut target panel, so it wasn't a total waste. Anyone have a line on trip-wire switches ? I'll ask in the FS section as well, as Happs is a bit expensive. Brad |
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