Where do you buy your parts from?

[shutyertrap]

I'm only just beginning to hunt down parts for my Firepower, and finding the correct lane guide is proving difficult. What e-shops do you guys purchase from?

I've checked:

www.pinballlife.com
www.pbresource.com
www.marcospecialties.com
www.bayareaamusements.com
www.pinball.com
www.mad-amusements.com

...and a few others that I can't remember.

I'm looking for single sided lane guides in translucent red, part 03-7037-9 and part 03-7120-9. That first # is for the 1-1/2" hole to hole guide, and the second is the 2-1/2" one. I can find double sided with no problem, which makes me wonder if I'll eventually just need to shave off one side.

My needs aside, where do you do your shopping?

 

[pinbot-76]

Whenever possible I use Pinball Life. Terry is very helpful and has decent prices. I've purchased glass, legs, flipper rebuilds, rubber rings, plastic parts and fuses.

I've used Marco for some specialty stuff whenever PL doesn't have it in stock. Their prices tend to be a bit higher.

Occasionally I will break out into the smaller stores when I can't find the part I need, most recently for green flipper bats for my FT.

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

Multiple places as it seems theres no one stop shop so I like to get a list going to avoid paying for shipping for 1 tiny piece but you named the sights I search first.

 

[Worf]

Anything wrong with Planetary Pinball ( http://www.pinball.com/ ) - they basically bought up all the Williams/Bally stuff and have the rights to reproduce any Williams/Bally part under license of Williams.

And since Firepower's Williams...

They don't have it in stock, but they may be able to make it for you...

 

[shimoda]

Anything wrong with Planetary Pinball ( http://www.pinball.com/ ) - they basically bought up all the Williams/Bally stuff and have the rights to reproduce any Williams/Bally part under license of Williams.

And since Firepower's Williams...

They don't have it in stock, but they may be able to make it for you...

Don't know if they make something. Having the right and the factory/molds/screens are different things. Make sure you get confirmation. An order I placed slipped through a crack somewhere but they refunded shipping and got it to me as soon as I got hold of someone.

 

[shimoda]

I'm only just beginning to hunt down parts for my Firepower, and finding the correct lane guide is proving difficult. What e-shops do you guys purchase from?

I've checked:

www.pinballlife.com
www.pbresource.com
www.marcospecialties.com
www.bayareaamusements.com

...and a few others that I can't remember.

I'm looking for single sided lane guides in translucent red, part 03-7037-9 and part 03-7120-9. That first # is for the 1-1/2" hole to hole guide, and the second is the 2-1/2" one. I can find double sided with no problem, which makes me wonder if I'll eventually just need to shave off one side.

My needs aside, where do you do your shopping?

Sometimes the part number reference you'll find might be a bit different. Check lengths and yeah you might have to cut. Try mad amusements as well.

 

[shutyertrap]

Yeah, I had checked both planetary and MAD but had forgotten their names. Added them to the list at the top.

I hadn't thought of actually calling any of the places up to see if they had those items. When the time comes, I'll probably do just that.

I do have to laugh at my 'parts' lists I've come up with. I'm calling anything I need to purchase to get going on this a 'part' also. That means in addition to things like rubber and flippers and lane guides, there's also paint and sand paper and Novus, etc. All those items that can be used on ANY pinball machine, they're gonna cost me more than the actual specific parts for mine! So before I buy anything from the pinball specific shops, I'm heading over to an art supply store for this...

X-acto knife
Krylon Triple Thick
Frisket
Createx opaque airbrush paint set
Water slide decal paper

...that alone is over $65, and I still will need to get sand paper of various grits, a rubber block for sanding, and whatever lacquer I'll need for clearing. All the actual pinball stuff, I won't be ordering that yet for months

 

[Worf]

Don't know if they make something. Having the right and the factory/molds/screens are different things. Make sure you get confirmation. An order I placed slipped through a crack somewhere but they refunded shipping and got it to me as soon as I got hold of someone.

From their website:

We manufacture, sell, and distribute replacement pinball spare parts under license of Williams Electronic Games, Inc (WEG), and have warehouse and production facilities in the San Jose area.

I would think they have the original drawings, molds, etc, necessary to manufacture parts. Hell, if you need a brand new flipper, I don't think you can keep getting NOS ones - eventually you'll need one manufactured. If they have the license, I would presume their brand new ones are of equal, if not better, quality. And for Williams machines, they do have a certain feel to them.

Of course, manufacturing a specific part one off is quite difficult since the molds are meant to reproduce them by the hundreds, if not thousands and injection molding machines take time to set up. I suppose a modern option nowadays is if they need a one off, to take the original drawings and 3d-print it, if it's not going to be subject to too much ball hits (they'll fail far too quickly in that case).

Edit: From http://www.pbresource.com/rollover.htm (who seem to have the 2 1/2" one):

Hint: If we don't have a single rollover guide in the color you need, order the double sided and cut off one side to make single sided. )

 

[DanBradford]

i buy my pants from Marks & Spencers