Topic: cherry sided coin-op

[maddmartigan]

First let me say, greetings and salutations. I have been reading on here for a couple of weeks and the info has been great.
Well,this being my first post, I wanted to thank tuna first off for the info on the coin-ops. I have been wanting to get back into the sport for years, and looked off and on for a table. Well christmas eve my wife made my dreams come true with a lightly used cherry sided table.
You all may have seen it pondered about on here, it was on Craigslist St. Louis, and we were able to get it for 3 bills. had a few extra men and 9 ball's.Though the scoring chits were gone I can't complain,and there were no keys for side or coin box (I plan on trying to order them if possible.)
Though I am greatly pleased with the table. (got to love the sound of a well placed goal)I do have an issue, weather me or the table.
I seem to be haveing a problem with table slickness. (e.g. to slick)while trying to set up a pinch or a TS style rollover(or in now day terms a front or back pin) unless the ball is in a very spefic spot.now I have not played competivly since the late 80's with the old aluminum side trim. where there was no banking, or very hard to do. this never seemed to be an issue, weather it was with the old stlye orange chipping ball or the red ball. now the balls I have look and feel similar to the latter ball still wants to slide out.Is there a way to "rough" up the surface or do I need to get good at finding that sweet spot. Or maybe ya have a few old orange "chippers"laying around for me. any advice would be great.
Once agian thanks to everyone here for great info and reading, and apologies for the length of this post, but it is off for some more practice. Oh yea while thinking of it anyone know of someplace to play in the St Louis area?? Thanks agian
Tom aka Madd

[bbtuna]

Madd,

don't do anything to the surface, there are too many other things it could be

first - Prep/clean the surface
wash the surface with hot water only, scrub powered by armstrong only
do the same with a 50/50 (at least) water to alcohol mix
make sure you don't leave any moisture on the table or Killa will be after us

second - check/clean the men
since the table is well used, the men may be well used as well...look closley at the foot and you see it has ribs/cross-hatch...if these are worn down, which happens after a lot of use (I have done it before) then the ball will become very hard to control
also, make sure the men are 100% clean using the mixture above because junk can build up...easier to see on the yellow men as a black build up - make the men like new

third and forth - you and the ball
there is a VERY good chance your skills have eroded enough to impact your ability to keep the ball pinned...Tornado is harder to pin than TS but with a little work you can have all the control that was possible on TS

the balls are used and who knows what material they are made of, what kind of condition...this is more than likely THE BIGGEST factor...get some new balls so we can get you on the right track

can you take close up pics of the men's feet, the table surface, and the balls...then I can tell you for sure if it is more you than them

[wildcard]

Hey neighbor!

Check your inbox, I sent you a pm with some locales and my number.

Rick

[Old Meister]

To be fair, what Maddmartigan noticed is what any TS player would notice, Tornado is WAY more critical on pin position. I think Bbtuna's advice is good about cleaning and such but I also think that by playing on another Tornado table would show that the play is just that way.

[bbtuna]

yes OM, it is harder which is why I said,

"Tornado is harder to pin than TS but with a little work you can have all the control that was possible on TS"

silly

[bbtuna]

if wildcard can hook up with you, he can make all the evaluations and recommendations needed, he is a long time vet and knows what he is doing...you will be lucky to have a foos bud like that so early on in your trip back

[wildcard]

Thanks, tuna, and to be honest your archives are a treasure trove. There's no way I could take your place since I refer to much of the info that you post, lol. But yeah, if he hooks up with me and I can actually see/play on his table I will help him any way I can, and will probably consult with you more than once in the process.

[maddmartigan]

Guy's thanks for the quick responces, and letya know as things progress. Wildcard I sent ya a PM with my contact info.
now I'm gonna try and atatch a few photo's, if for some reason they don't work, and I could get your email I'll gladly send them to you.

[maddmartigan]

bbtuna, I was unable to figure outhow to add pics so I emailed a few to ya, if ya need any more or diffent anglesor what everletme know. Thanks agian

[bbtuna]

got the pictures...can't see enough detail on the feet to tell if the grooves are compromised but given the rest of it I doubt it...just clean the surface real well so you know there isn't any residue or foreign substance on the table surface...the balls aren't new but they are Tornado balls...brand new ones will have a little more control than those but those should allow you to do anything

soooo, bottom line conclusion, and Wildcard will be able to confirm this when you all connect up, but bottom line is the issue is, I am sorry to say, YOU!

no big deal, just get back at it and you will start gettin your skilz back

I shoot a backpin as my primary shot and I can tell you it does not require that you are in a narrow sweet spot --- dead center middle gives you the largest room for movement like running down the middle of a lane in your car but I can move the ball forward of center quite a bit and it is possible to have wide rocks with the man on the ball without losing it

not ask sticky as TS but as I said in the beginning, it has all you need, you just need to improve your game

there is a thread on here about PRACTICE if you want some tips on what to do

http://www.foosball.com/forum/index.php?topic=1543.0

keep us up today on your journey and come back and ask questions as often as you want...this board will always answer your questions and never make you feel bad about it

WELCOME BACK

[wildcard]

Guy's thanks for the quick responces, and letya know as things progress. Wildcard I sent ya a PM with my contact info.
now I'm gonna try and atatch a few photo's, if for some reason they don't work, and I could get your email I'll gladly send them to you.

There's nothing in my pm box here from you, I'll send a message to your email in your profile

[frt2599]

Hi MADDMARTINGAN

Just so happens that I bought one of the Cherry Tornado Tables from the same guy. He had three for sale on Craigslist (two used and one like new) and lives in North St. Louis County off Limberg Blvd. I purchased the like new one for 450 (still a bargin). The men and surface are in perfect condition. No chips at all around the goal, etc. As far as the slickness of the table top... As BB said in his overview of the Tornado Tables, the Cherry's are very fast tables but I have not noticed a big difference between it and the other Tornado tables. I'm sure Tornado has changed the table surfaces from time to time. As far a balls, I also got some of the used balls (tornado balls) from the guy and they were pretty worn. I went ahead and purchased nine new ones (RED BALLS) and you can really tell the difference. Probably worth you wild to purchase new ones also. You can get all the replacement parts you want from this guy.. http://tornadofoosb.powweb.com/store/page8.html  Anyway enjoy your table... Be glad you got a coin-op instead of the home models. Can't go wrong with a coin-op...

[bbtuna]

the Cherry is the hardest table (all things being equal) for ball control but that is a relative thing and I own a cherry and I have gotten used to it

like new cherry coin-op for $450 is an outright steal, good job

both your tables with a little ongoing TLC, and I mean bare min maintenance, will last at least 20 more years...most changes if you want to keep up with them are retro fit so you can continue with the same table if you want to keep up with cutting edge changes

all around, you both did really well...you are in a good area for foos, find some foos buds and get hooked up...good crew in Columbia too and if you ever want to make a trip to KC, I will make sure you get in a good day/night of foosball and Chartreuse...cause thats how we roll in KC

[wildcard]

Charles, if I get to visit him at his house I will take along a warrior ball, or if he meets me somewhere I will pass one along, that might help him with his transition. After he gets some confidence with that, he will probably be closer to mastering the tornado ball. We'll see.


frt2599:

You GOTTA pm me with that guys name and number if possible that sold y'all the tables! That was the area I grew up in and my old stomping grounds until about 10 years ago. If he grew up there then he either went to Hazelwood West, Hazelwood Central, or McCluer North. If he played at all in the local bars, I should know him. Please pm me with that info, I'd like to give him a call and see if he was one of my old buds. I'll bet I can get him back into the game, even if just for "King of the Table" like we used to do in the bars.

[Old Meister]

I still have that on my bucket list, KC foos and Chartreuse,,,