Pinball Playfield Stand

 

 

I am sure I crossed the line from frugal to cheap here, but this playfield stand works great for my needs.  I built it from scraps of lumber, but the parts needed shouldn’t cost more than $5.

 

Materials:

2 – 50” 2x4s*

8 – 3 1/2” screws

 

(* Note that if you make the uprights 11” long you can cut one support out of an 8’ 2x4, but stud-length 2x4s may be cheaper.)

 

 

Here’s a picture of the two supports.  They slide onto the ends of the playfield.  They need to slide on far enough to be over the wood side rails.    The slots are snug enough that the supports stay in place fairly well.  I’ve used it on playfields without the wood rails; you just have to be more careful.

 

 

The bottom boards are 26” long.  The uprights are 12” long.

The dado is 1 ¾” wide x 7/8” deep.  It is 1 ½” from the top of the upright.

 

Note that the bottom board is left long so it can be adjusted for different width playfields.

Measure the width of your playfield and subtract 1 ¾” (to allow for the dados) to position the moveable upright.

 

The stand can be rotated up on edge too.  The bottom of the playfield is heavier, so it’s quite stable in that position.  If you rotate it to the edge with the overhang you get a nice angle to work at.

 

Here’s a side view of one of the supports:

 

 

I’ve used this support on Gottlieb EMs and a Williams Space Shuttle.  There may be too much stuff in the way to use it on newer DMD games.

 

Unfortunately the pictures I have don’t show the stand very well.  Here’s a picture of it supporting a Black Hole lower playfield, which does not have any side rails.

 

 

It would be pretty easy to add blocks of wood that screw in place as a clamp, but I haven’t seen a need for that yet.

 

 

 

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to contact me.

 

Kerry Imming – kcimming@pobox.com

Return to Kerry’s home page -> http://www.planetimming.com/

 

File: Pinball_playfield_stand.doc            Last modified: February 21, 2011