James’ Blog

DRIVE PLATEEEEE!!!

Posted on September 4th, 2006 by James.
Categories: Pinball.

My Drive Plate Has Arrived!!! 🙂

Woo! Finally!!! I can’t even remember how long ago I ordered this thing! It feels like it’s taken months to get here! Rachel phoned me as I was leaving the office and said I had a parcel at the post office and I should collect it on my way home.. It didn’t even occur to me that it might be my drive plate! But check it out, it’s really here! [gets teary eyed]

It’s arrived just in the nic of time too! My plastic one was starting to get a bit worn down. The square hole where the cannon locks in, was getting a bit worn and making the cannon not quite line up correctly with the rails. It was still working fine, but I don’t think it was a permanent solution. If I was going to do a proper one I would advise you make it out of stronger plastic, or metal obviously, if you’ve got the tools!

For a while now I’ve been looking for 7/32 size machine screws for my right cannon. The cannon gear box is screwed to it’s bracked with four 7/32 size screws, but my cannon only had three in it. The drive plate needs two screws in it. One through the square hole and another to fix on the actuator arm. To fit my plastic drive plate I borrowed screw from the gear box for the square hole, and used a wood screw to fix the actuator.. but with this proper drive plate I needed a proper screw for the actuator arm.

I took the 7/32 screw round B&Q and Robert Dyas and the best solution I found was this. I found some nice long 3mm bolts/nuts, which fit all the way through and I’ve bolted the gear box on with them 🙂 They’re not as strong as I’d like (I managed to shear one by tightening it a little too hard), but it’ll do fine until I find someone that stocks imperial size machine screws.

Here it is in all it’s glory! 🙂 The 7/32 size screw from the cannon gear box was a little too long for the actuator arm hole, so I used a couple of my big washers and put the wooden ring I made for my plastic drive plate between them to make a huge thick washer, with the added bonus, that because it’s got wood in the middle I can tighten it up tons and compresses slightly keeping perfect tightness 🙂

My cannon is now perfectly aligned with my rails and moves a lot smoother. High score number one, here I come!! 😉

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