Topic: Picked up a Brown Marble coin-op

[tspade]

I'm new to the forum and haven't played foosball since the early 80's. I caught the bug again recently and started my search on craigslist. I just picked up a brown marble coin-op for $150! I had to drive nearly four hours to get there but it was worth the drive. It is in very good condition, one of the bearing caps is broken and duct taped on and one of the white side strips is coming loose at one end. I plan on replacing the bearings but what should I do about the side strips? Should I replace the side strips with the newer ones?

I have to say that this forum is largely responsible for my recent purchase and I cannot thank you all enough! Thanks for the fantastic source of information.

[PatRyan]

The side strips are available from our gracious forum host...FOOSBALL.COM !!!  They are $13.00 per strip, either the white ones, or the new clear ones.   I have replaced them on 2 tables so far (old white ones replaced by new clear ones).  The ones I took off were still good, but wanted the new ones to help keep the tables current.  That is not always necessary for everyone.  The table will play just fine with the white ones. 
The hardest (and most time consuming) part of replacing the side strips is removing the old adhesive.  The whole process took me about 30 minutes (but I had everything I needed on hand, and knew what the process was ahead of time).  I removed the adhesive (essentially) by hand, or fingers more precisely.  Just rubbing and pulling and picking until it was all removed.  I would NOT recommend using a razor blade or some other kind of scraper, as this could (and probably would, trust me on this one) scar the table surface.

Then clean the surface and inner table sides with rubbing alcohol. It removes all the grime, tiny bits of residual adhesive, and evaporates leaving no film on the surface.  I used a lint free towel with the rubbing alcohol, but a paper towel should do fine. Then the new ones go down without a hitch! 

Just decide whether you want to spend 13 bucks for one white strip, 26 bucks for 2 clear strips, try to re-glue the existing one down.  I can't help with the re-gluing part, but maybe someone else on the forum has done this before.

Good luck!

Pat

[tspade]

Great, thanks for the info Pat. I think I will try to reattach the existing strip for now. The bearings are in pretty badly worn and will make a much bigger impact on play if I replace them first.

I searched for serial number info on here but didn't find an answer. Is there anyway to tell what year the table was made by serial number?

Also a huge thank you to bbtuna for leading me down the "which table do I buy?" path, excellent info that saved me a ton of $$

Thanks again,

Terry

[PatRyan]

If you post the serial number, someone MIGHT be able to help.  A picture would help alot also!

Also, where are you? as in what area do you currently reside?  We can try to hook you up with some local players, and places to play (outside of home, of course).

Pat

[tspade]

The serial is 200980, its not that important really, just curious. I have a couple terrible pictures from my phone but having issues logging into yahoo to post them. I live near Breezewood, PA and am not aware of any tables nearby, kinda in the middle of nowhere. Thanks again for all the info.

Terry

[PatRyan]

Breezewood, PA...if you ever get the itch to play others, and don't mind driving a couple of hours...we play 3 saturdays nights(2nd 3rd and 4th Saturdays of the month) per month in Jessup, MD.  should be about 120 miles or so from you.  Let me know if you are interested!  you can check out the MD goings on at mdfoosball.com . 

Pat

[tspade]

Great, thanks for the invite! It might be awhile, I can whip my 10 year old but I'm pretty terrible 

[bbtuna]

glad it helped