Pinball Rotisserie Build
By: John Havel (Cmndr Brain) © 2023


Working on a pinball playfield can be an undaunting task. To make things easier, a pinball playfield rotisserie is a very helpful tool. A playfield rotisserie allows you to remove the playfield from the cabinet and mount it for easy access. The great benefit of having a playfield rotisserie is the ability to rotate the playfield over and be able to work on either the top or the bottom with full access to all the parts. As with any project, this is my take on the build and to be used as guide.

A 3d Printer and the ability to Weld Metal is required for this build.

I would like to thank Charles Kline for the project idea, miter stand reference and for providing some of the pictures. He is a well known member of VAPS/KLOV.
(insert link to Charles' kit for sale page)

WARNING: The building of this playfield rotisserie requires you to have the knowledge to properly and safely cut and weld metal parts. It is assumed you have all of the required tools and safety equipment to take on this project.
Materials:
Cutting/Drilling:


Here we have The parts cut and ready to weld.
The angle irons are 1 1/4" x 1/8" cut 24" in length. (Not shown: I cut 45° angle on all the corners. Can be seen in later images.)
The square tubes are 1" 14 guage punched square, cut 18" in length.
The round tubes are 1" 16 gauge steel, cut 8" in length.
- These could actually be shorter but, I like the extra length to ensure they won't pull out of the mounts.
The flat bars are 1 1/2" 1/8", cut to 4" in length.
- If you've 3d printed the parts prior, at least the drill template, you can use the template to mark your flatbar for length.



Cut the 3/8" threaded rod. You will need 4 rods 3 3/4" long. I use an angle grinder with a thin cut-off wheel. Clean the cut edges at a slight angle to allow the nut to go on smoothly.




Drill a 3/8" holes in the 4" flat iron plates. I 3d Printed a template to mark the proper location for the holes. Then used a punch to make a dimple to prevent the drill bit from slipping. First, start by drilling a 1/8" hole and progessively drill larger holes until 3/8" has been achieved. Or, you can use a step bit.

Welding:




Weld a 1 1/2" x 4" flat iron to one of the square tubes. Repeat this a second time for the other side.
This is prepping and welding the flat bar to the square tube. Please note that his project used slightly different sized/type of metal and he used premade clamps instead of the 1 1/2" flat iron. Also, I decided to us 1" punched square tubing vs. the solid square. But, the concept is the same.
* These images were provided by Charles Kline.



Weld 1" od round tube to the 1 1/4" angle iron.
* This image was provided Charles Kline. Notice the nice weld joints, unlike the next image that shows my poor welding skills



Here are the finished welds of all 4 parts. Notable diffences: Charles is using a larger outside diameter round tube and larger angle iron. I believe he uses 1 1/2" od round and angle iron whereas my design used 1" od round and 1 1/4" angle iron. Either are plenty strong enough for any playfield. I welded my square tubing even with what I consider the "back" of the 4" metal plate. The overhang is towards the playfield.

Painting:




Mask off the round tube up to the angle iron and mask off a portion of the angle iron where the playfield will sit. Paint the bracket. I used a combination primer/semi gloss black spray paint. I did 5 light coats, letting it sit 1hr between coats. Then let it sit for 24hrs before working with it.



I painted 2 of the flat iron plates to protect them and make a nice finish. The other 2 plates were left unpainted and welded to the square tubing.

Assembly:

The assembly process will need to be done twice. There are 2 sides to the rotisserie.


After 3d Printing the bracket parts, you should now have all the pieces ready for assembly.
3d Printing and settings are discussed on another page.

Insert a nut into each of the 4 knobs. The nut mounting holes are designed too small on purpose. Place the nut on top of the hole and use a soldering iron, inserted into the middle of the nut to heat it up. As the nut heats up, it will slowly melt the plastic. Press down to insert the hot nut into the plastic. This will "lock" the nut into the knob as the plastic cools around it.



Insert a nut into each of the recesses of the 3d printed bottom bracket. Thread the threaded rod through the nut so that the rod is sticking about 3/4" out the bottom. Insert the protruding rods through the 4" metal plate that is welded to the square tubing. Use the washer, lock washer and a nut to hold everything together. Adjust the threaded rod so it is even with the bottom of the nut. Tighten the bottom nut with a 1/2" wrench



Place the top bracket assembly onto the bottom, pushing the threaded rod through the holes. Place the painted 4" plate on top of the 3d printed top assembly, inserting the threaded rod through the holes. Place 2 washers, 1 on each of the threaded rods and install 2 of the knobs. The knobs are installed with the nuts facing upward. Leave a gap between the top and bottom bracket assembly.



Insert the round tube assembly into the hole of the bracket assembly and tight down the knobs.



Insert the spacer into the miter saw mount roller hole with the cutout towards the tightening knob. Insert the square tube of the bracket assembly into the spacer the tighten down the roller hole knob.

Finishing Touches:


In order to protect the playfield from damage from the metal angle iron bracket, we'll need to add some cushioning. The reason we masked off the angle iron while painting was to accomodate the protective felt. You could use almost any weatherseal but, I felt that using a foam weatherseal could be damaged too easily and might dry out in the future. I'm using Gorilla brand double sided tape 1.41" wide and nail-on felt weatherseal 1 1/4". Believe it or not, it may seem like the felt won't stick to the tape but, it actually does a remarkable job.



Unroll and place the double sided tape onto the angle bracket where it has exposed metal. Cover the entire flat of the angle iron, even if there are painted areas. Overhang the tape on the 3 open sides. Press/rub the tape onto the angle iron to get a good seal. Using a cutter/razor blade, trim the tape even with the angle bracket. Place the felt weatherseal on top of the tape. Note: it won't stick very well right now. Place a 2"x4" board on top of the felt and clamp it down tightly. Leave the clamps in place for at least 4hrs. Remove the clamps and trim the overhanging felt on the sides with a good sharp pair of scissors. No need to trim the front. There is very little overhang if using the 1 1/4" angle iron.



Add the C-Clamps and the rotisserie is now completely assembled.



I chose to use Husky 2" C-Clamps. These are the pefect size and they came with rubber pads on the clamp foot. Besides the theme was black and these looked good.

Completed:


The playfield rotisserie is now complete and ready to use. Measure the length of your playfield and adjust the lenth of the miter saw stand to match. Make sure the rotation knobs are tightend down. Place the playfield on the angle irons of the bracket and clamp it down using 2" C-Clamps. Proceed with your restoration project.