Complete The Addams Family(s) Restoration

[Ant-H]

So both cabinets are near enough done and ready for primer.
I’ve got a idea for a lighting mod for my game so will need to work on the cab a bit more once some parts arrive.


For the back boxes, unfortunately the one from my game has had a hard life, so I’ll work on that first.
All 4 corners on both sides had either a poor previous repair or damage to to wood itself. I’ve learnt from previous projects that when rebuilding corners on cabinets, the best thing to use is resin.

Once stripped I could crack on with removing the old decals.
Before mixing up the resin, I needed to remove the damaged ply. Because of the way plywood is made, if you try to lift the damaged areas, it will keep splitting and get worse.
To avoid this I score a line across the grain with a sharp blade, so when you lift the damaged wood it neatly brakes at the line.

 

[Gonzo]

Looking good mate

 

[Ant-H]

Before I started filling and rebuilding all the corners, I needed to counter sink all the bolts and to get the back box structurally sound as it was starting to come away in a couple of the corners.
To do this I used 70mm screws along with some glue.


What I like about using resin on damaged corners is that it sets fast and when sanding, you can get a really good finish.


Last job to get it ready for paint, was a final skim of filler to the low areas and light sand with 400 grit. I can now move onto the other back box. Luckily that one is in slightly better condition.

 

[s000m]

Before I started filling and rebuilding all the corners, I needed to counter sink all the bolts and to get the back box structurally sound as it was starting to come away in a couple of the corners.
To do this I used 70mm screws along with some glue.
View attachment 182301
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What I like about using resin on damaged corners is that it sets fast and when sanding, you can get a really good finish.
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Last job to get it ready for paint, was a final skim of filler to the low areas and light sand with 400 grit. I can now move onto the other back box. Luckily that one is in slightly better condition.
View attachment 182316View attachment 182317View attachment 182318View attachment 182320

Holy crap that back box damage!

 

[Ant-H]

Holy crap that back box damage!

Yeah the back box on my Addams was ****ed . The ply was lifting on literally every corner. Luckily I like a challenge

I’m just glad the other back box I’m doing is no where near as bad.

 

[Ant-H]

Working on back box number 2 was a lot easier than my one. The only major structural damage that I needed to address was the back panel coming away from the top.


Again I used some glue and 70mm screws along the back edge to lock everything back into place.

Another little thing was the piece of wood that runs along the top to support the back glass was wobbling all over the place as it was only held in by a few panel pins due to the old glue drying out.
So pulled it off, applied some fresh glue and locked back it to place.

For this Addams I’m not counter sinking all the bolts, however I did do the ones on the top of the back box. I decided to do this as I noticed on the toppers for both games, the side edges were distorted.

I think the reason for this is that the edges of the plastic toppers sits directly on top of the head of the bolts, which when screwed down, distorts the plastic. I don’t want this to happen to the new toppers that I’ll fit, which is why I counter sunk the top bolts on this Addams.

After that it was one final sand and it’s ready for paint along with the other cab.

 

[Happypin]

Stunning work Ant

 

[newdos]

Time to tackle the major surgery on the damaged rear of the cabinet.
First job I did was to screw a piece of wood between the two sides so that it would hold its shape once the rear potion was removed.
View attachment 177951

Next I removed the top panel to give me more access and to help me see what I was doing. I thought I could also give this piece a good sand and paint the underside whilst out of the cabinet.
Pointless I know, as it’s not seen, but at least I know it’s been painted
View attachment 177952View attachment 177953

The rear panel on these cabinets are locked in place, with mitres, glue and loads of nails, so I was concerned that I could cause more damage to rest of the cabinet if I went at this the wrong way.

After a lot of deliberation, I decided to remove the 3 remaining corner supports and cut down both sides at a 45 degree angle. It actually went really well and came out “relatively” easy . I could then use the old panel as a template to cut new 18mm ply replacement.
View attachment 177955

Once I’d cut the basic shape out, I cut Both sides at 45 degrees and marked the line that needed to be routed to support the base of the cab. I messed up the cuts on the 1st attempt, so had to do another
View attachment 177956

After triple checking the measurements I cut the groove needed at the bottom and checked fitment. So far, so good
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I again used the old panel to get the exact dimensions and placement for the vent holes and the one needed for the power cord.
View attachment 177959

I used a hole saw to cut the bottom hole and to get the basic shape for the vents.
View attachment 177960

Final job was to cut the remaining parts of the vents with a jigsaw and to give every a good sand.
Really pleased with how it came out in the end. Next job is to prep the main cab and then glue and screw this in place.
View attachment 177961View attachment 177962

Nice job man!!!!

 

[newdos]

Loving the resin idea - never seen that before will have to give that a go next time I do a full re-decal job. Once again top work mate!!

 

[Ant-H]

Loving the resin idea - never seen that before will have to give that a go next time I do a full re-decal job. Once again top work mate!!

When filling deep holes or when building corners I always used to use regular wood filler. However even when it hardens, it’s easy to over sand it, especially with corners and I think is harder to get a good finish with it.

But with resin, it’s much stronger and imo you can get nice straight and sharp corners when using it.

 

[Ant-H]

With the weather starting to turn, I want to get all the cabinet work buttoned up so that I can crack on with with playfields.

First job was to prime both back boxes with putty primer. This helps fill all the tiny pin holes and wood grain. It’s also great to help identify low spots.

I then moved into the main cabinets and corrected any areas that weren’t right.

I like to let the primer harden for a few days before moving onto the top coat.

I also have an idea for a lighting mod that I’m going to try out on my game so will need to do that before painting the black.

 

[Happypin]

With the weather starting to turn, I want to get all the cabinet work buttoned up so that I can crack on with with playfields.

First job was to prime both back boxes with putty primer. This helps fill all the tiny pin holes and wood grain. It’s also great to help identify low spots.
View attachment 182885View attachment 182886View attachment 182887View attachment 182888View attachment 182889View attachment 182891
I then moved into the main cabinets and corrected any areas that weren’t right.
View attachment 182892View attachment 182895View attachment 182893View attachment 182894View attachment 182896
I like to let the primer harden a few days before moving into the top coat.

I also have an idea for a lighting mod that I’m going to try out on my game so will need to do that before painting the black.

Nothing wrong with my original TAF but then again watching this thread might get me thinking I should do something.

 

[Ant-H]

Nothing wrong with my original TAF but then again watching this thread might get me thinking I should do something.

You should mate. You know TAF deserves it

 

[Ant-H]

To give me a little break from painting and sanding, I thought I’d tackle a quick job and modify the power box.

On the early 90’s Bally Williams games, like TAF and T2 they still used the old style leg brackets they used on System 11 games. IMO when compared to the later ones they aren’t great, so I like to install the newer larger brackets.

However if you fit the new brackets, your see that there will be an issue with the power box. As the power box has a fixed position due to the hole in the bottom of the cab for the on/off switch, it will now overlap the newer brackets which are a lot wider.

So to get round this I move the position of the on/off switch in the power box itself.
I firstly move the box over by approx 10mm, and then from underneath mark the new position on the bottom and drill and small pilot hole.

I then used a step drill and drilled it out to 1/2”.

I then quickly test fitted the switch to make sure my measurements were correct and if it would give me enough room to mount the power box in the cabinet.

 

[Ant-H]

TAF is quite a dark game imo and I’ve had an idea to try out for a while now, so thought my Addams would be a good opportunity to experiment on.

I toyed with the idea of adding Pinstadiums to my game, like the other Addams Family that I’m restoring as I think this particular game, being so dark does benefit from them.

However I’ve never liked the concept of having to always remove them from the sides of the cabinet when lifting the playfield.
So my idea is to integrate them into the cabinet itself, thus removing the need to unclip them anytime the playfield needs to be lifted. I plan to install art blades on my game so these will be trimmed around the cut outs. However I could also fit pair of modded mirror blades if I changed my mind.

I did look into making my own light bars, but in the end, I purchased the thinnest Pinstadiums available, which are the new NEO Atoms, as they are under 10mm in width.

Before I started cutting into my cabinet, I wanted to make sure that they would still give off enough light when fitted in a 10mm deep groove.
So I made 2 prototype panels out of a couple of lengths of plywood and basically cut the grooves needed to house the Pinstadiums. I then clamped these to the insides of one of my other pins and wired everything up. Overall I was really pleased with the results and was confident to move onto the real thing .

First job was to mark out the area that I needed to cut. This is we’re the Pinstadium light bars would usually be mounted with the standard magnetic stripes.


I then clamped a straight edge to the side of the cabinet and cut a 8mm x 10mm groove in both sides with my router.



To help the light distribute correctly towards the playfield, I repositioned the straight edge and cut a 45 degree angle at the bottom of the groove.

Final job was to re-prime the grooves and test fit the light bars.

I’m well pleased with how it turned out and I didn’t completely ruin the sides of my cabinet .
Next job is to paint every black.

 

[Happypin]

TAF is quite a dark game imo and I’ve had an idea to try out for a while now, so thought my Addams would be a good opportunity to experiment on.

I toyed with the idea of adding Pinstadiums to my game, like the other Addams Family that I’m restoring as I think this particular game, being so dark does benefit from them.

However I’ve never liked the concept of having to always remove them from the sides of the cabinet when lifting the playfield.
So my idea is to integrate them into the cabinet itself, thus removing the need to unclip them anytime the playfield needs to be lifted. I plan to install art blades on my game so these will be trimmed around the cut outs. However I could also fit pair of modded mirror blades if I changed my mind.

I did look into making my own light bars, but in the end, I purchased the thinnest Pinstadiums available, which are the new NEO Atoms, as they are under 10mm in width.
View attachment 183242
Before I started cutting into my cabinet, I wanted to make sure that they would still give off enough light when fitted in a 10mm deep groove.
So I made 2 prototype panels out of a couple of lengths of plywood and basically cut the grooves needed to house the Pinstadiums. I then clamped these to the insides of one of my other pins and wired everything up. Overall I was really pleased with the results and was confident to move onto the real thing .

First job was to mark out the area that I needed to cut. This is we’re the Pinstadium light bars would usually be mounted with the standard magnetic stripes.
View attachment 183208View attachment 183207
View attachment 183209
I then clamped a straight edge to the side of the cabinet and cut a 8mm x 10mm groove in both sides with my router.
View attachment 183211View attachment 183214
To help the light distribute correctly towards the playfield, I repositioned the straight edge and cut a 45 degree angle at the bottom of the groove.
View attachment 183212
Final job was to re-prime the grooves and test fit the light bars.
View attachment 183215View attachment 183216View attachment 183217View attachment 183218View attachment 183219
I’m well pleased with how it turned out and I didn’t completely ruin the sides of my cabinet .
Next job is to paint every black.

Brilliant idea

 

[Silverpaolo]

Superb ant an ingenious idea ! Well done

 

[Big Phil]

Holy effin Mary!

 

[roadshow16]

Outstanding Ant, your work really is on another level

 

[Bobbdobalina]

The attention to detail, thinking outside of the box and having the confidence to implement your ideas… outstanding

 

[Ant-H]

Superb ant an ingenious idea ! Well done

Holy effin Mary!

Outstanding Ant, your work really is on another level

The attention to detail, thinking outside of the box and having the confidence to implement your ideas… outstanding

Thanks guys.

@Bobbdobalina, you mentioned having the confidence to implement my ideas, but trust me, when doing this job, it was a proper squeaky bum moment when cutting the grooves out especially on a newly restored cabinet
Ideally I wanted to do in before I primed it but I decided to go ahead with the mod after painting it plus I had to wait for the Pinstadiums to get delivered.

 

[Ant-H]

Both back boxes now fully painted with 3 coats satin black. I’ll leave these for a week to let the paint harden before sanding the sides and applying the decals.

 

[Happypin]

To give me a little break from painting and sanding, I thought I’d tackle a quick job and modify the power box.

On the early 90’s Bally Williams games, like TAF and T2 they still used the old style leg brackets they used on System 11 games. IMO when compared to the later ones they aren’t great, so I like to install the newer larger brackets.View attachment 183094
View attachment 183106
However if you fit the new brackets, your see that there will be an issue with the power box. As the power box has a fixed position due to the hole in the bottom of the cab for the on/off switch, it will now overlap the newer brackets which are a lot wider.
View attachment 183095View attachment 183096View attachment 183097
So to get round this I move the position of the on/off switch in the power box itself.
I firstly move the box over by approx 10mm, and then from underneath mark the new position on the bottom and drill and small pilot hole.
View attachment 183098
I then used a step drill and drilled it out to 1/2”.
View attachment 183099View attachment 183101
I then quickly test fitted the switch to make sure my measurements were correct and if it would give me enough room to mount the power box in the cabinet.
View attachment 183100View attachment 183102View attachment 183103

I’ve now done the same to my WH20, same issue with the new type of leg bracket.

 

[Silverpaolo]

Both back boxes now fully painted with 3 coats satin black. I’ll leave these for a week to let the paint harden before sanding the sides and applying the decals.
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Look at that finish like bloody glass !

 

[Ant-H]

Both cabinets are now fully painted. I’m really pleased with the finish of the new Satin Black I’ve used on both these games.

Before painting the top coats, I go over the entire cabinet with 600 grit sand paper just to flat it back and remove any dust particles.
I then wipe it down with a tack cloth to remove the dust followed by panel prep/degreaser, as even though it looks like the tack cloths picked everything up, after wiping down with this stuff, you realise they didn’t.

Next up, I laid down 3 coats of the satin black, firstly on the inside, and let it dry, then the exterior.


Next job, will be to apply the decals, screen print the back boxes and cabinets and start on the playfields.

 

[s000m]

Both cabinets are now fully painted. I’m really pleased with the finish of the new Satin Black I’ve used on both these games.

Before painting the top coats, I go over the entire cabinet with 600 grit sand paper just to flat it back and remove any dust particles.
I then wipe it down with a tack cloth to remove the dust followed by panel prep/degreaser, as even though it looks like the tack cloths picked everything up, after wiping down with this stuff, you realise they didn’t.
View attachment 183561View attachment 183562View attachment 183564
Next up, I laid down 3 coats of the satin black, firstly on the inside, and let it dry, then the exterior.
View attachment 183559View attachment 183560View attachment 183563View attachment 183565View attachment 183566View attachment 183567View attachment 183569View attachment 183568

Next job, will be to apply the decals, screen print the back boxes and cabinets and start on the playfields.

Best finish in the UK

 

[Tony]

These look great, can I ask are you just using rattle cans? Or do you have a compressor set up?

 

[roadshow16]

Outstanding work Ant, it's really impressive to see the work you are doing.

Have you ever heard of Christopher Hutchins?

YouTube.com/user/highendpins/videos

He is probably regarded as the best in the world at all this. I have spent a lot of hours watching his videos (even though I have absolutely no intention of ever doing anything like this!). Literally hours of my life watching him sand a cabinet

Your work/attention to detail is really starting to remind me of the work he does

Highendpins.com

 

[Happypin]

In one word

mint!

 

[Ant-H]

These look great, can I ask are you just using rattle cans? Or do you have a compressor set up?

These particular cabinets were done with a rattle can with a fan style spray nozzle so you get a nice even finish.

However I do have a compressor set up now for future projects as even though the cost of the spray cans is relatively cheap, the cost does start to add up. So I decided to buy a 100 litre air compressor. That way I can use it for painting but also for other air tools as well.