now my question is can you still buy the same timbers or are the choices now limited to new growth stuff only like I have seen in other industries. It doesn't matter whether your tech/workmanship side remains the same, crap raw materials is crap raw materials.
So does Stern have a choice or are they purely cost cutting? Are we as HUO customers too fussy (I know this is not an excuse as Stern obviously have targeted this market and must adjust for it)?
Dimpling hasn't concerned me because I guess I'm getting older and I once strived for perfection but have come to the conclusion it is impossible to achieve. There is a lot of disappointments out there when you know things can be done better (with only a little care and effort) that is out of your control.
I'm like you Rob, perfection is for others, and dimples and pinball go hand in hand.
But what bothers me is that while it appears to me that softer wood is the primary culprit (and potentially the thinner clear as well), why this is not embraced by Stern as the answer confuses me. if the best wood around is softer these days, then that's that.
But if they are buying the cheapest, then the propaganda is out of line.
My IPB replacement FH playfield of ten years with massive play numbers has some dimples - *some*. The BBB made by them (and presumably using the same playfield supplier) has *some* dimples since 2005. My HUO but well played Stern 2008 Spider Man has *some* dimples and has plenty of the air balls Stern seeks to blame. My AFM Mirco original run playfield (ie real artwork, not the weird printed version I'm told is used now) which must be 8 years old has *some* dimples - and if you want an airball game, there's one for you.
Yet every later model Stern I have seen has the apparently immediate everywhere dimple problem. But it is not their wood or clearcoat.
Go figure.
