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That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
thatpurplestuff:
Soooooo..... not sure if anyone even remembers this build since it's been so long haha. I just looked and the first post was 2009!
11+ years later and my Skeeball machine has kinda sorta been buried under a car cover in the garage for the last 5 years in a state of disrepair. I took it apart because I wanted to upgrade the monitor to run a widescreen version of my software and between life stuff and kids being born, it just fell off my list of things to work on. The other day my 6 year old daughter asked about it, so I let her roll a few balls up the dead machine and she was totally into it (she's seen me working on the Free Skee software, but she was finally able to make the connection that the software is supposed to run on the Skeeball machine). That was enough to light a fire, and somehow I've convinced the wife that this gigantic broken machine needs to come into the house (!) and I've got a whole bunch of upgrades that I plan on making.
This is reboot number 3(?) I think, so obviously I've got issues with follow-through on this one but I swear this time is different. Or is it? I think it is, or my wife may divorce me.
So the bad news first, this thing is in rough shape right now. It gets HOT in the summer and our garage gets absolutely scorching (we're talking a sustained roughly 110+ degrees daily in the unfinished garage). I knew this wasn't good for the machine to be in that heat over the years, but I didn't realize quite how bad until I uncovered it and gave everything a once-over.
My bumper solution that I was very proud of is all cracked and in need of replacement, and the wiring and flexible LED lights on the ramp are absolutely CRISPY. I started taking them off to see if they were salvageable and they literally started cracking in half as soon as they were removed.
The vinyl flooring that I used on the ramp and scoring area went from its original grey color to a gross looking orangish grey. I've tried cleaning it and it is just discolored and nasty. Honestly I was never fully in love with it so it gives me a chance to finally dial it in how I want it. I'm assuming the computer is toast as well, and frankly it chugged a bit on the last version of my software and I've only added to it since then.
Here are my goals, both to give myself a checklist and hold myself accountable... I really want to get this thing done right so I don't regret any shortcuts later on.
Planned Upgrades / Things to finish:
Optical switches (mostly done, but need wire the gutter and confirm that nothing got fried)
Redo marquee screen area to accomodate much larger 16:9 screen
New computer
Speakers moved to the front of the machine
Neon LED ramp lights controlled by software (rather than manual control with remote)
A wood textured lane and scoring area
A viewport on the ball side of the ramp that allows you to peek in and confirm that all balls are in the machine.
Leg covers to hide 4x4s
Repaint yellow parts
Optional:
Explore plexiglass to replace net
Redo scoring rings, possibly cap them with a black edge if I can figure something out
Sound dampening on the entire machine to make it a bit quieter
Here's a sim of my vision for the machine. Picked up the vinyl flooring today and already have the ramp section cut out, going to mess with the scoring area tomorrow... will update more soon!
leapinlew:
Always a big fan of this build!
How much work do you think would be involved with retrofitting an existing skee ball machine or buying a 9ft machine like this: https://www.amazon.com/Loeads-Arcade-Skee-Ball-Electronic-Effects/dp/B07KM5QS12
thatpurplestuff:
--- Quote from: leapinlew on June 28, 2020, 08:45:40 am ---Always a big fan of this build!
How much work do you think would be involved with retrofitting an existing skee ball machine or buying a 9ft machine like this: https://www.amazon.com/Loeads-Arcade-Skee-Ball-Electronic-Effects/dp/B07KM5QS12
--- End quote ---
Thanks! Retrofitting an old machine would just require changing the way that it registers scores... on original Skeeball machines, the middle rings are all worth 10 and the ball rolls down and hits each switch on the way down. When you roll a 50, you're actually getting 10 from the 50 ring, 10 from the 40 ring, 10 from the 30 ring, etc to equal 50. The way mine functions is that each hole has an optical switch that is identified as a unique hole, so it allows for games that require you to hit specific holes. It wouldn't be easy, but absolutely doable.
The machine you linked from Amazon would need 100 rings added, and I'm not sure how it scores but I'd imagine they use each unique holes rather than the older counting method. If not, you'd need to sort that out as well.
thatpurplestuff:
So some quick updates... first, here's a pic of the ramp with the new material installed. I really love it compared to the old material, even when the old material was new haha. I also removed the bumpers (and some black paint along with them) in order to get the new material on and figure out how I was going to repair them.
I also went ahead and cut a peephole in the ball return so that you can look in to make sure all of the balls are accounted for. It still needs some rounding off, some paint, and some plexi but the idea is there!
And finally something I'm really excited about, I've decided to completely redo my rings with some slightly better hardware and also give them a black edge that will hopefully give the scoring area a little more wow factor from a distance. I've ordered some white pop rivets and mounting hardware that are still in the mail, but below are some pictures of my vision for the rings (keep in mind this picture is testing on an old ring).
I initially bought some 1/4" "poly tubing" from Lowes and it was a total failure... too small and also not enough flexibility to follow the shape of the rings. Then I found the stuff above on Amazon, 3/8" vinyl tubing and it seems perfect. Below is a picture of a very quick test install.
My initial thoughts besides "holy $@# this ring idea might actually work!" is that there are a few adjustments I can make to get a better fit. The first is that I can cut the tubing in a slight spiral to make sure it doesn't bunch at all, and the second is that the only spot that looks a bit awkward is where the flooring layers are tripled up and riveted... if I can reduce or remove the areas that are tripled then this thing will be a home run. I will continue experimenting as I wait for the other stuff to arrive!
Also, either my phone or this forum doesn't seem to like horizontal images so I'll just take vertical going forward.
thatpurplestuff:
Got a big shipment of L brackets, pop rivets, washers, etc that I ordered to make new rings but I bought the wrong size L brackets. I didn't make any build progress, but I am trying to flesh out ideas as to how to make a new net... I really dislike my net as it currently is (note, this is a very old picture I am linking just to show the net):
First, the string net just doesn't seem to fit quite right so it has always looked a bit awkward.... the cut ends of string aren't tidy so it all looks very unfinished. It's also loose, so errant balls actually hit the frame pretty hard because the net doesn't have enough tension to bounce the ball back into the scoring area. Finally, since I'm going to try to make the scoring area nicer looking I've been thinking about a way to have a "net" that doesn't obstruct as much.
Here's a quick mockup of what I was thinking... it would be .25" thick clear plexi suspended within the net frame with grommets and paracord or something. The plexi would definitely take some abuse and scuffs, but I'm hopeful that it would structurally be able to handle the impacts of the skeeballs (particularly since nearly all hits would be grazing as opposed to direct shots). I would also cover less area, as the very front of the net is unnecessary and I originally it put there to stop anyone from thinking of cheating haha... after thinking about it I realized it really isn't necessary.
Any input regarding this idea would be sincerely appreciated, particularly if anyone sees a reason why this would not work. Is .25" plexi too thick? Too thin? A sheet of plexi this size and thickness will run about $220, so unlike other parts of the build where trial and error is part of the fun, this would be painful.
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