Introducing McMean’s EM Pinball Repair Service

90% of the enjoyment of this hobby for me is the repair… I really have next to no interest in owning and selling EMs. So I’m starting a service. Hopefully this will give me the best of all worlds – I get to fix EMs, play them, and I don’t have to buy them and sell them.

$100 plus parts, flat rate for either a "This-aint-working-at-all" or a "It-turns-on-and-mostly-plays-but-a-couple-features-don’t-work" pin. I used to have 2 prices, but after doing a few jobs at both price points, I've found that I'm putting the exact same amount of time into both types of fixes, so 2 price points wasn't an accurate reflection of my time or the service you're getting.

What do you get for your money? Well, a working, clean, pin. I clean and adjust every switch in the machine, clean all steppers, score reels, seal your BG (unless it's winter time, I can't do it indoors), and strip the PF and scrub it. I remove the switch bank entirely and put it on sawhorses so I can clean and adjust properly. If scans are available, I can reproduce plastics, $15 per. I don’t do art touchups. Even a service on a mostly working machine will take me 3 or 4 hours.

SB will be my free delivery/pickup spot. Otherwise, you can bring it to me in Ptbo, or pay me to get it, 50 cents a km.

What kind of parts money are we talking? Could be $25, could be $225. Depends on what it needs. You’ll likely need a rubber kit, ball(s), flipper rebuilds, and lamps. If it’s a totally busted machine, I’ll be buying schematics as well. After that, I’ll clear it with you before we proceed.

What kind of turnaround can you expect? I’m looking at a One-Starburst-Auction-Turnaround. So far, after a few jobs, I've been averaging 3-4 weeks.

The only thing I won’t take are pins that are missing parts. I don’t want to hold on to your pin for a year waiting for ebay to yield a rare missing stepper. Sorry, don’t have the space.

$75 deposit, we’ll settle up the rest when the job is done.
PM me if interested.
Daniel

My Resume so far: (all from various states of Dead to Sort-of-Dead)
Abra Ca Dabra
Buccaneer
Captain Fantastic x 2
Crossword
Drop A Card
Fairway
Flip Flop!
Freedom
Hang Glider
High Hand
Jungle Princess
Pioneer
Raw Hide
Royal Flush
Sky Jump
Snow Queen
Solar City (x2)
Sound Stage
Sure Shot
Surf Champ

(Bally, Gottlieb, Stern, Williams, Chicago Coin)

Nice work, Daniel. Good luck with your new endeavor.

Corey

How many pins can you take back with you from SB?

Daniel has supplied me with some clean and fully working  refurbished EM 's .
Can not say enough about how fair and easy  he is to deal with!!!


Good Luck on the new venture

I can cart 3 pins at a time.
Daniel

Quoted from OTTOgd

How many pins can you take back with you from SB?

Best of luck
I am thinking of the ame endevour, but for SS only! Seeing that theres nobody around here to repair. I can also do house calls.
More later, off to GAmercamp thingy...

Good luck! Advertise outside of Maaca too, at this rate you compete with other pro service repair!

Something myself I think I prefer more to fix a machine than  playing them. Restoring is an other part I want to explore, maybe not like some wizard here but just make an ugly pin nicer

Very good price rate,sounds fair and reasonable.
I wish you the best of luck!

GEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZeeee !!!!!!! I wish you were in Quebec city ...  

pssst.  he also did great work on my em Sound stage.  oh my god.  i finally remeber that bloody machines name....

Advertise off MAACA, you will be surprised how much interest you will get.

When are you fixing games built in the last 20 years?  

So are we going to see a 3-way cage match between McMean, Briguy and Sparky?

I dunno, Since i got my TMNT from McMean,a nd it is getting a touch up from Sparky, I would lean that way, but then again, i have chatted Briguy up at auctions and GJD's

I Guess these guys are seeing the massive piles of EZ-MONEY that Sparky is raking in!!!!

See now you just gotta get Briguy to play it so that its been used by all three... seems fitting

Quoted from axe

So are we going to see a 3-way cage match between McMean, Briguy and Sparky?

I dunno, Since i got my TMNT from McMean,a nd it is getting a touch up from Sparky, I would lean that way, but then again, i have chatted Briguy up at auctions and GJD's

I Guess these guys are seeing the massive piles of EZ-MONEY that Sparky is raking in!!!!

Some guys like to play the game , some guys like to fix it . I ' m the first kind and there ' s not enough of the second kind in my neck of the wood ...  

Quoted from axe

So are we going to see a 3-way cage match between McMean, Briguy and Sparky?

I dunno, Since i got my TMNT from McMean,a nd it is getting a touch up from Sparky, I would lean that way, but then again, i have chatted Briguy up at auctions and GJD's

I Guess these guys are seeing the massive piles of EZ-MONEY that Sparky is raking in!!!!

Wouldn't we be fighting in different cages altogether?  Not much of a cage match, IMHO.

I'm not doing this for money, as you can tell by my prices.  I'm doing it for entirely selfish reasons...  I don't want to own more pins.  I just want to fix them, play them a dozen times, and move on without worrying about selling them.   Already have 2 confirmed, and 2 more potential.   What a great set-up.

There's not a lot of pin fixin guys anywhere it seems. I get requests to go do repairs everywhere from Windsor to Goderich to pretty much Peterburough.

Quoted from McMean

Wouldn't we be fighting in different cages altogether?  Not much of a cage match, IMHO.

I'm not doing this for money, as you can tell by my prices.  I'm doing it for entirely selfish reasons...  I don't want to own more pins.  I just want to fix them, play them a dozen times, and move on without worrying about selling them.   Already have 2 confirmed, and 2 more potential.   What a great set-up.

Just like grand parents ! They get the kids , enjoy the day and spoil them , Then , bring them back home at the end of the day ...

Quoted from Grauwulf

There's not a lot of pin fixin guys anywhere it seems. I get requests to go do repairs everywhere from Windsor to Goderich to pretty much Peterburough.

True. Similar story here. I have fixed quite a few machines from people quite afar (Kingston, Montebello, etc.).
Also did quite a few housecalls, and still doing a few when nearby when I have a bit of spare time.
It is Fun !   But the money is certainly not there.

It seems many people in the general public expect you to go to their place, troubleshoot
and repair, shop and clean for less than $50 (or for a beer!) and in less than one hour...
Many tire kickers out there, with unrealistic expectations in my experience.
I do not have any time to do those.
First, it is more difficult to perform in-house repairs, due to the limited amount of tools and parts
you can bring. Second, it is often dark in people's basement, and usually no schematics.
A good trouble light is a must.
EMs and some SS are OK to perform simple repairs without schematics, but others require
more time and efforts. For this reason, I am trying to have people bring the machines to me
as opposed to me going to their place, whenever possible. Easier also with my work/family schedule.


In any case, I sincerely wish you good luck, McMean!  It really is fun to revive machines
and see the huge smile on people's faces!

Cheers,
- Sylvain.

I have purchased machines from Daniel as well as played many of the projects he has done and his work is fantastic! He gets machines playing like new,or even stronger than new by using the yellow dot flipper coils!He is also a fair and great guy to deal with and he will certainly have my support!

Quoted from English4830

Daniel has supplied me with some clean and fully working  refurbished EM 's .
Can not say enough about how fair and easy  he is to deal with!!!

Quoted from hockey fight videos

I have purchased machines from Daniel as well as played many of the projects he has done and his work is fantastic! He gets machines playing like new,or even stronger than new by using the yellow dot flipper coils!He is also a fair and great guy to deal with and he will certainly have my support!

PM to Sparky - Izzit possible to check if the IP addresses of these 'new members' and if they're coming from Daniel's house?        

jk. I do have a very sad Aladdin's Castle that could use some lovin' especially after losing its backglass.  

Quoted from McMean

I can cart 3 pins at a time.
Daniel

And I can help bring more!

Hi Daniel:

Best of luck on your new endeavour! I have been doing EM repairs for a little while, mostly through word of mouth and an ad on the local Kijiji site. Like you I love to fix them but the buying and selling can be a pain. Not that it has kept me from buying them of course. My family room and basement are both at capacity. I am getting to the point that I can usually fix a Gottieb without the schematics, by using the closest match from my library, but I can't say the same for Bally or Williams games. If it is seriously messed up the schematics help a lot. I just finished a Bally Odds and Evens for a guy in London. Someone had ripped all the wires off one of the relays on the "motor trip relay bank" which they used instead of a solenoid trip relay bank on some machines. The adjacent relay was missing the set-up armature so it would never reset, so I had to modify one from a Gtb reset bank to fit. It can be hard to tell if they are missing parts until you get right into it and the owner rarely knows the inside of his machine. This guy had been playing this game, partly working, for years. Anyways, I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I do, if you ever want to compare notes, send me an email. I don't think we will be competing for customers as I am off the beaten track up here in Owen Sound.

Chris

Wouldn't that be funny!  However, Stephen and Todd are real people who I've sold machines to.  So IN YOUR FACE, OttoGD,  

Quoted from OTTOgd

PM to Sparky - Izzit possible to check if the IP addresses of these 'new members' and if they're coming from Daniel's house?        

jk. I do have a very sad Aladdin's Castle that could use some lovin' especially after losing its backglass.  

Quoted from McMean

Wouldn't we be fighting in different cages altogether?  Not much of a cage match, IMHO.

I'm not doing this for money, as you can tell by my prices.  I'm doing it for entirely selfish reasons...  I don't want to own more pins.  I just want to fix them, play them a dozen times, and move on without worrying about selling them.   Already have 2 confirmed, and 2 more potential.   What a great set-up.

Oh i hear ya,   I was joking about the "E-Z MONEY"" of course, with Sparky's latest run of bad luck, it seems like an odd time to think "Thats what I want to do!!!"  I commend you on your ethic, and may have to send Mars trek over to your place for a checkup!

Geez Dan it took me a month to figure out how to get my 1st machine working. (no regrets on my part) ....but if my wife knew the prices you are asking she would have sent the money, the machine and my a** off to your place for some upgradin'
I'm gonna get into my sure shot up to the armpits once I get the games room done. I can't imagine it breaking me but if it does I'll be giving you a call.

Best of luck to you
TFC

Hi all,
I've made an adjustment to the service and my charges. I've now finished 5 jobs, and I've found that my price points weren't accurate. So now I have a flat fee - $100. The $50 service pins that I've done, I end up taking out the bank, going through the whole machine, etc - just like I was with the $100 service. I didn't want to fix one thing, only to find another problem the next week. So if you give me your pin to fix, I'll go through the entire machine, cleaning and adjusting everything - that way I'm confident you're getting a solid machine back.

Thanks,
Daniel