Pinball Machine inclination angle

[Marty Machine]

Hi All,

Just wondering what's the correct way to position a pinball machine (and don't say "on it's 4 legs" hehehe).

What i mean is, should the bottom of the cabinet be exactly horizontal (parallel) to the floor, causing the natural playfield angle be "the norm" ????.
I notice some machines are on such a steep angle that the front legs may almost fold under if not careful.

I assume that most users tilt their machine forward for faster playfield action? and it's all a matter of personal preference?

Also, are all 4 legs the same? or are there front/rear pairs?
I've noticed the front legs on my Time Machine are practically straight, whereas i'm used to seeing pins with legs that rake out from around the bottom-most part of the cabinet.

Maybe i put the legs on backwards? 
MM.

[Strangeways]

Hi All,

Just wondering what's the correct way to position a pinball machine (and don't say "on it's 4 legs" hehehe).

What i mean is, should the bottom of the cabinet be exactly horizontal (parallel) to the floor, causing the natural playfield angle be "the norm" ????.
I notice some machines are on such a steep angle that the front legs may almost fold under if not careful.

I assume that most users tilt their machine forward for faster playfield action? and it's all a matter of personal preference?

Also, are all 4 legs the same? or are there front/rear pairs?
I've noticed the front legs on my Time Machine are practically straight, whereas i'm used to seeing pins with legs that rake out from around the bottom-most part of the cabinet.

Maybe i put the legs on backwards? 
MM.

Depends on the game - Gottlieb used 27 inch on most of their games - 2 inch leveller in the front and a 3 inch in the back. Bally used 28 1/2 inch.

All my games have levellers. Front ones are screwed in all the way.
Rear legs are screwed in to allow a nut size worth of thread above the tightened nut.

Games are levelled off using a spirit level..

[Marty Machine]

Games are levelled off using a spirit level..

So, do i hold the spirit-level on the underside of the cabinet making the pin sit parallel to the floor? (0 degree offset), or do you lay it on the playfield and set it for "xx degrees" ??

MM.

[Retropin]

Ooooh,

Interesting question and believe it or not there is no definative answer.
With the latter day machines, i just put the spirit level across the PF and level off that way - do it top and bottom. As for angle - thats entirely up to you, floaty balls are a pain but so are super whizz down the gullet balls - the balance is up to you.

With some of the older 50's 60's games you balance the machine to game play, depending on the design there may be a preference for all the points and game play to one side, or a drain on one side. Slightly off angle balances this out. Some of the rollover shots can be tricky especially if you are using the correct size balls for these as the gap is tight. You dont want the ball floating around these, but you also dont want it smashing through them.

With the woodrails, i always balance off with the spirit level then fine adjust to game play after that

[Marty Machine]

Aaaah, ok, that's clears things up a bit.

I'll stick to "level" as the sideways level of playfiled, and "angle" as cabinet/playfield tilting forward 

Some machines just look silly when the backbox is leaning forward at maybe 80degrees or less 

MM.

[Ballywannabe]

I am with Retropin on this one - try different slopes and see how the game plays.  When you find an angle you like, tighten the lock nuts and away you go   Changing the inclination can completely change the character of a game, so give it a try.

Side to side use a spirit level as suggested.

cheers
Ian

[Strangeways]

Another point of interest is that if for example, you own 4 Ballys KISS, Paragon, Fathom and Medusa... Line them all up. Now they are the same cabinet design, so, they have to all be set the same so that the heads are level ! Thankfully, Paragon is a fast widebody !

[ktm450]

All later WMS/Bally machines should be set between 6-6.5 degrees, use a inclinometer as the "TRU-PITCH" level on the playfield is not always accurate.