Re: LOTS OF THANK YOUS TO LOTS OF FOLKS (really really long)
- From: Ken In Texas <ken@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 03 Jul 2006 13:53:58 -0500
Anytime I show up in one of these lists I feel a bit humbled by it. Thats why I like this hobby so much (the people)....I cant count how many people over the years have really helped me out and I appreciate each and every one of them :)
michaelgeib@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Greetings,
Just wanted to thank a whole bunch of folks who directly and indirectly
helped me with my first shop job. Once I finished the list, it was
cool to see how many folks had an impact on my first shop/restore.
My name is Mike Geib from West Chester, PA. Started playing 35 years
ago ... started buying 1.5 years ago. Bought a WhiteWater in March
2005, a 1984 Jacks to Open in October 2005 and a 1975 Top Score
Gottlieb EM in May of 2006. That's definitely it - for now :-)
I "cleaned" my Jacks to Open first. I read a ton of posts on
"how to clean/restore/shop" etc. on RGP. Looked at many many sites
that offered great information. It was already in good shape but I
bought a Berry Tumbler, stripped all parts off the playfield and
cleaned it up as best I could. Bought a new, full set of plastics and
waxed the heck out of it and it looks great. Did it over a couple
weeks in November 2005 and had a lot of fun doing it. Definitely no
big deal but it was fun.
In the meantime, the bad boy - WhiteWater - was getting dirtier and
filthier as my sons and I played the hell out of it. 2,500+ games
since I got it by January of 2006. Time for an overdue cleaning. But
I was definitely nervous about it since I never did anything like that
before and it would require new parts, new decals, sanding, painting,
mylar removal, all kinds of stuff I'd never done with a pinball.
Plus I was way nervous about putting it back together.
Quite a few hundred dollars later and about 3 months elapsed time, I
was finished with what I planned to do. I did not do the cabinet
decals and I'm not sure if I will. I'll give myself an "A" for
effort - I sure as hell tried hard. But I sure wish I was more
creative and handy. I had a blast doing it, I learned a ton, and it's
clean now, mylar removed, lots of new parts, new paint on the back and
backbox, flippers rebuilt, etc. And I can flip the upper mini pf on
and off in less than 10 minutes. And now it plays great and we're
playing the hell out of it - which is why I bought it in the first
place! I'd like to thank ...
Bryan Kelly - I thought his restore pics of his WH2O were simply
awesome. So I decided to call him up - I sent him an email - asked
if I could call and talk "shop" and he said yes. He was also the
first Minnesotan I had the pleasure to talk to in my life and I must
say the accent sounds cool to a Philly guy. We spent an hour on the
phone and Bryan did his best to steer me in the right direction. Trust
me - over the course of those few months, Bryan received several
unsolicited email questions - he always took time to respond and
never voiced any regret in helping the "pinball guy who wouldn't
leave". Thanks, Bryan! I purchased pin footies as a small token of
thanks - and they look great !
Lloyd Olsen - Only "direct" contact came via a question I had
after my first flipper rebuild failed - Lloyd responded to my
question in about 45 seconds after I posted with perfect advice which
fixed my problem. More importantly, I've learned a ton from many of
the helpful posts that Lloyd has written. I divide RGP posts into 2
categories - entertainment (favorite pin, how much, ebay stories,
rants, reviews, etc.) and advice/help/opinion (best paint, best
cleaner, how to fix a flipper/target, removing swirl marks, etc.).
Lloyd posts both but his "help" posts are invaluable and numerous
and I referenced my share. Thanks, Lloyd.
John Wart, Jr.- Read many of his "help" posts. I also want to
thank you for hosting my pictures. Thank you, John!
Kevin Strasser - If his cards were good enough for B. Kelly's WH2O,
then they would be good enough for mine. And they are! They're
beautiful. Thanks, Kevin! Your "parts" were actually the first
thing I bought ... and they were the very last item I put in place.
Clay / Marvin3m site - Thanks for ALL the helpful, usable info !!!
James at Pinball Inc - Parts wise, I'd dedicate my restore to you.
Since my ramps were in HORRIFIC shape and beyond flame polishing help,
your repro of all WH2O ramps had the biggest impact on my restore.
What awesome work you do. I love playing my pins but, man, I actually
like looking at my WH2O now and just seeing THROUGH the ramps!!!
Thanks for your patience as I probably sent you a zillion "Are they
done yet and please reserve a set for me" emails.
Otto - Thank you for your assistance on my flipper issue as well as
your numerous "help" posts. Plus the following sage advice I read
in one of your posts to someone else :
"Scared is good! Complexity is all relative. The whole shop/restore
thing is more fun if you find yourself doubting your ability to get it
all back together and playing correctly. Everything else is boring."
Trust me - those were words I lived by for 3 months especially when I
was initially duking it out with the mini, upper pf.
Spencer Carey - Thanks, Spencer, for the FREE clear plastic on the
Insanity Falls ramp. Mine was yellow and ugly. Now it looks great
thanks to you!
Tim Hanian / PinballPal - Thank you, Tim, for determining the WH2O
blue paint specs and thank you PinballPal for posting them! The blue
on my backbox was in horrible shape so getting nice matching paint was
a key part to my restore. I think the blue came out awesome on my
machine. I love it.
Steve Channell - Thanks Steve for all your help ... you were the
first to really take time to "talk" (via email) about shopping a
pin back when I did my JTO. I really appreciated your guidance,
advice, tips, wisdom. You also have an awesome links collection.
Aeneas Verhe - Wow - what a great site - especially for newbies
like me. I got a TON of helpful info off of your site. Thank you,
Aeneas. www.flippers.be
Eric Johnson - Thank you for your assistance with my flipper rebuild
question.
Cliffy - Tons of helpful posts that I read as well as some specific
help directed to me. Plus some of your restore work is just incredible
and inspiring.
Chris Bucci - Thanks for posting your restore/shop job pics. Every
bit helped !
Krakboi - Thanks for posting your restore/shop job pics. Every bit
helped !
Gary Cuberto - Thank you, Gary, for the free pin footies from a Free
Friday give-away way back when.
Paisley's - For hosting the WH2O owner's site.
Ken in Texas - For tips, helpful posts, etc.
Pinrestore / Scott - Got a ton of supplies/tools from Scott that made
the restore go a lot smoother!
Terry at PinballLife - I did competitive pricing (i.e. I shopped) and
Terry's prices were always great. I bought $200+ worth of items and
the delivery was super quick and the quality was always high.
Questions responded to quickly.
Marco Specialties - Also bought ~$200 worth of items from Marco -
again, delivery was super quick and quality was high.
Dave at For Amusement Only - Definitely bought a bunch of stuff from
Dave, too - again, high quality and super quick delivery and quick
answers to my questions.
Steve at Pinball Resource - great parts, super quick delivery -
ALWAYS!
Brian at BodyWerks - Thanks for hunting and finding that spare set of
WH2O backbox decals! I just have to get the nerve up to apply them!
Rick at Bay Area Amusements - Thanks for having one of the last
WHIRLPOOL ramps around!
Ron Clemins / Pindoctor - Great site - helpful maintenance tips!
Todd Tuckey - Found a lot of helpful info in your posts, Todd !
TXPinball - Great site with tons of helpful info !
Illinois Pinball - Thank you for the complete set of under ramp
decals! HUGE impact on my restore.
Andrew Meckler (Old School) - Great tips.
Berry Mfg - Tumbling parts is key!
DAD - Thanks Dad for doing a lot of soldering for me and helping me
out in general.
Mark (son #2) - Thanks for figuring out a couple problems that I
could not (he's 12 - how embarrassing) and all your assistance.
And thanks for PLAYING pinball with the old man!!!
Mike Jr. (son #1) - Thanks for figuring out a couple problems that I
could not (he's 17 so I don't feel as bad) and all your assistance.
He already fixed the animated backglass problem we had with our Top
Score EM. And thanks for PLAYING pinball with the old man!!!
Folks whose RPG posts I seemed to read a lot and have found helpful -
Kevin L'Heureux , Metallik, Mike Schudel, seymour-shabow, Nomad, Steve
Baumgarten, Bill and Dan Heatherly, Jason (mnpinball), Wolffy, TheKorn,
RickSwanson, Ray Johnson (Action Pinball) , Mario/Pinthetic, Kirb,
Manic.
Finally - I found inspiration in restorations completed by others not
previously mentioned - Dave Schulpius, Chris Hutchins, Treasure Cove,
Pinrescue. Beautiful work!!!
I'm sure I missed some folks - please accept my sincere apology for
missing you and my sincere thanks for your assistance. For example -
whoever was the first to do the "blue mod" for WH2O - that is really
cool.
Link to some before/after pics :
http://usergallery.myhomegameroom.com/gallery/Whitewater-Shop-Restore-Pics
--
Ken In Texas
http://www.pinballrebel.com
Custom Pinball Cards, Jukeboxes, Drive In's
"Never ask a man if he's from Texas.
If he is, he'll tell you on his own.
If he ain't, no need to embarrass him."
.
- References:
- LOTS OF THANK YOUS TO LOTS OF FOLKS (really really long)
- From: michaelgeib
- LOTS OF THANK YOUS TO LOTS OF FOLKS (really really long)
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