Topic: Great site... and got a Gray Marble

[foosdude]

Discovered this site last week and I love it.  I was in the market for a table and learned quite a bit of info on this site.  Based on what I read, I decided to get a coin op and found a reasonably priced Gray Marble 30th in the area and brought it home today.  I think the rods maybe Merkel but I'm not sure. 

Here's a link with a couple photos.  Can you tell based on the photos?

http://picasaweb.google.com/rhoeting/FoosRods?authkey=Gv1sRgCLnLntjJ7IDp3AE&feat=directlink

[bbtuna]

congratulations, great buy...how much did you pay?  on the rods, i have the information on how to tell but it is at home and i won't be back until Tues but i will get it to you later in the week

bbt

[foosdude]

We ended up at $500.  I saw an earlier post where it was mentioned the the end of Merkel rods had "ground" edges rather than abruptly cut off.  This was the photo that was referenced:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24345876@N05/4120673022/

The rods are definitely ground, slightly beveled around the edges.  Again, I'm new to all this, so it might not mean anything.

[bbtuna]

$500 for a 30th is a super good deal...$200 under what it probably should have sold for...congratulations

[foosdude]

Thanks... but it was this site that helped have a clue as to what I was doing

It's not a mint table.  There are a couple very small chips on one of the corners, but its in otherwise very good shape..  I took a bit of a risk with the coin mech.  It was partially dissembled when I bought it, but this morning I was able to assemble all the pieces and get it working just fine.  You know, I didn't think I'd be a fan of the coin-mech, but I find the feel of the push shoot and the sound of the ball trap soothing.  I work with computers all day, and to work with something so non-digital is a refreshing change of pace.

I do have a question.  I don't seem to have any type of slugs to enable free play.  From what I've read, that's what I would need, correct?  If so, where would I find those?  I saw a post about using zip ties, but I couldn't figure out to make that work.

My favorite part of the table, is the interest in the game I'm seeing from my 10-year old daughter.   She's already spending time down there working on drills by herself.  How about that?

[jinhopark]

We ended up at $500.

Wow that was truly a great price, especially on a 30th Anniversary table.  Why did the seller sell it?

Also, how many games were registered on the counter?

[foosdude]

I think I remember seeing 2200-ish on the counter.  It was in a club for a year before he put it in his house for the last 5 years.  It was probably not getting used and figured liquidating it for cash was the way to go.  It was a huge house, so I don't think money was much of a concern, so neither was getting top dollar.  Also, It was a local pickup, which lowers the hassle factor. 

[bbtuna]

super great deal despite a few nicks, still $200 less than it should sell for...you can buy slugs from here, just contact Jim Waterman - someone on here can tell you about putting it on free play - if someone hasn't responded by end of week i will post again after i get with my buddie who has done it without the slugs

congratulations and thats exciting about your daughter...there is stuff online youtube that could give her/you ideas on how to practaice and what to shoot...do you know of these?  if not, i will give you a few of the better links

[Will17]

The easiest way to set your table to free play is simple. Just open the table and lift up the support brace. Then take out the tray which the balls normally sit in once you have put in money. You will be able to reach through the hole and catch balls on there way by before they roll into the spinning metal ball thing. If you plug the hole that the balls would roll into the balls will just sit there in an easy place for you to reach to. Just grab them on there way by. This should take only about 15 - 20 seconds to set up and will never stop working...

The hard way is to get the slugs. There is gold, silver, and black inserts to go into the coin mech. You need black ones for each of your coin mech slots. Once you have taken the coin mech apart you just take out all the inserts that have room for a coin and put in the black one in there spot. Of course Tornado has used at least 3-4 different coin mechs with tables. I know how most of them work but you might run into a few problems. If thats the route you want to go and run into problems I can try to post more detailed instructions.

At my house I leave my table on free play by doing it the "easy way" but at a friends house we have it just set to free play the "hard way" so both work great, just preference i guess.

One thing I would recommend is that you find some new foosballs because I'm guessing the ones that came with the table are really old and will make the table harder to play. If you find your local tournament and talk with those guys they can probably hook you up with some balls or at least tell you where to get good ones.

[foosdude]

congratulations and thats exciting about your daughter...there is stuff online youtube that could give her/you ideas on how to practaice and what to shoot...do you know of these?  if not, i will give you a few of the better links

I did find a couple good youtube videos.  Some are quite humbling.  There was a particular good video on "the snake"... is that a hard shot to master?  Looks impossible, but impossible to defend as well.

[foosdude]

Will, thanks for the tips... I'm still in the honeymoon stage where I like the sound of the push chute.  I'll probably go the easy way when I work on drills.

The easiest way to set your table to free play is simple. Just open the table and lift up the support brace. Then take out the tray which the balls normally sit in once you have put in money. You will be able to reach through the hole and catch balls on there way by before they roll into the spinning metal ball thing. If you plug the hole that the balls would roll into the balls will just sit there in an easy place for you to reach to. Just grab them on there way by. This should take only about 15 - 20 seconds to set up and will never stop working...

The hard way is to get the slugs. There is gold, silver, and black inserts to go into the coin mech. You need black ones for each of your coin mech slots. Once you have taken the coin mech apart you just take out all the inserts that have room for a coin and put in the black one in there spot. Of course Tornado has used at least 3-4 different coin mechs with tables. I know how most of them work but you might run into a few problems. If thats the route you want to go and run into problems I can try to post more detailed instructions.

At my house I leave my table on free play by doing it the "easy way" but at a friends house we have it just set to free play the "hard way" so both work great, just preference i guess.

One thing I would recommend is that you find some new foosballs because I'm guessing the ones that came with the table are really old and will make the table harder to play. If you find your local tournament and talk with those guys they can probably hook you up with some balls or at least tell you where to get good ones.

[wildcard]

The easiest way to block that hole is to put a golf ball on the rail, it works great for me.

[snake eyes]

Foosdude, The Snake, Rollover, Monkey, all names for the same shot. Mastering this shot depends on the player, I have seen some guys pick this shot up and shoot it in tourney play within months of learning. If learning it is what your after I suggest picking up loose balls from all angles of the table and practicing setting the pitch on the pin of the ball. It is critical in execution and follow thru of scoring consistently with the snake. When pinned in the forward position the toe of the man needs to be about half of the ball (ie:) to keep from loosing behind or in front of your man. Practice using your 32 man very slightly kicking the ball up in toe position. If it were me I would start out shooting straights with the goalies up to give you the feel of recoil (also imperitive in executing this shot) Start out using a grip on the handle or you will have rash on your wrists, I put the handle (where it tapers to the front end) on the part where your wrist meets your hand. Some players have different spots on the handles they like better, play with it and find what feels best. Great Snake shooters can kill both push and pull side with ease off the wiggle or the walk. Start out shooting dominant to one side Pull or Push. Once you have the toss correct then kill both sides. Shorts, Longs, Straights. don't give up on the shot it's devastating on defence. Good examples of great snake shots, Tony Spredeman (do not try to copy his grip it is impossible), Billy Pappas, Ryan Moore, Stayce Fowler has a good rollover. Watch some video's i suggest Inside Foos, I learned a TON from just picking up suttle passes faints, and tells.

Good Luck Hope this helps.

Snake

[Vaggeto]

I believe there is a mark about 1 inch onto the rod that distinguishes the rod as a Merkel rod. It will be on the handle side so the handle would need to be off to see it.

Congratulation on a great deal!

I have tried mine in "Normal" free play which requires 9 balls unless you want to use the coin mech every time you score and also wears on the coin mech.
I have also used the gold ball trick where you just grab a ball out of the rack whenever you need, and I highly prefer this. Much faster and less effort involved. I bought the black blanks and set this up before realizing the golf ball method was much better.