Tumbling-in
Great fun to play. Don't think it will be going out this year as nearly all our shows have been cancelled.
- bryans fan
- Posts: 659
- Joined: Mon Feb 03, 2003 10:15 pm
- Location: Somerset
Re: Tumbling-in
Looks a great fun machine that will attract people to play it. Watching the video there didn't appear to be many lose coins, most seemed to fall into one of the dumper truck buckets. Make sure it's a good earner before you take it out!
Well done
Thanks for sharing it with us

Well done

Re: Tumbling-in
Hi All,
Made the Tumbling-in over winter. A bit of a nightmare - had so many problems with the centre disc, especially drilling the pin holes. The first one I painted up, drilled the centre hole - this cracked the circle in half. Some of the plastic would not drill right. I even used a hot nail to start the hole off. I completed one circle with all the pins painted and it decided to warp. After 8 or 9 goes, I decided not to paint it but drill the holes first; that seemed to do the trick. A couple of the pins were loose, so I used a dab of super glue on the backs; had my dinner, went back into the garage to find that it had split in half. Finally got one complete. Didn't take long to build the cabinet. The little trays were another problem. I used gel coat and fibreglass mat, but the coins tended to make marks on the gel coat. I had to use clear resin with pigment. Fitting it all together was a bit of a nightmare, as the motor did not turn the disc completely round - that's the trouble with foreign motors. After sometime fiddling, it all seemed to go together well. The motor was 12 volt. I made the clowns' heads myself out of fibreglass, as they were too dear to be made of brass.
A very addictive game and gives good value for a pound. I was really looking forward to taking it out this year, as we had so many new shows come in January and we hadn't started to phone our regulars up yet. This was going to be our last year with the arcade, a great little business. All the broken discs have been turned into something else.
Pete
Made the Tumbling-in over winter. A bit of a nightmare - had so many problems with the centre disc, especially drilling the pin holes. The first one I painted up, drilled the centre hole - this cracked the circle in half. Some of the plastic would not drill right. I even used a hot nail to start the hole off. I completed one circle with all the pins painted and it decided to warp. After 8 or 9 goes, I decided not to paint it but drill the holes first; that seemed to do the trick. A couple of the pins were loose, so I used a dab of super glue on the backs; had my dinner, went back into the garage to find that it had split in half. Finally got one complete. Didn't take long to build the cabinet. The little trays were another problem. I used gel coat and fibreglass mat, but the coins tended to make marks on the gel coat. I had to use clear resin with pigment. Fitting it all together was a bit of a nightmare, as the motor did not turn the disc completely round - that's the trouble with foreign motors. After sometime fiddling, it all seemed to go together well. The motor was 12 volt. I made the clowns' heads myself out of fibreglass, as they were too dear to be made of brass.
A very addictive game and gives good value for a pound. I was really looking forward to taking it out this year, as we had so many new shows come in January and we hadn't started to phone our regulars up yet. This was going to be our last year with the arcade, a great little business. All the broken discs have been turned into something else.
Pete
Re: Tumbling-in
Another cracker from your stable Pete, well done mate!
BP
BP

- wembleylion
- Posts: 165
- Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:07 pm
- Location: Norfolk UK
Re: Tumbling-in
Great looking machine, well done
Quote; luckystar said.--- The first one I painted up, drilled the centre hole - this cracked the circle in half. Some of the plastic would not drill right. I even used a hot nail to start the hole off. I completed one circle with all the pins painted and it decided to warp. After 8 or 9 goes, I decided not to paint it but drill the holes first; that seemed to do the trick.
I think the problem here is that you are using clear Acrylic which is very brittle and cracks easily. Polycarbonate, trade names are Lexan, Makrolon, is a little bit more expensive and in thicker sizes bullet proof.
Lexan is softer but has a scratch resistant surface and it is possible to drill slightly under size holes and force fit pins into it and it will not shatter. When I was at work we used Lexan exclusively in a number of projects and it was possible to cut sheets with a carpenters circular table saw and drill holes in it with 2 and 3" hole saws. It is also possible to machine it on a lathe.
Hope this info will help builders with their projects.
John

Quote; luckystar said.--- The first one I painted up, drilled the centre hole - this cracked the circle in half. Some of the plastic would not drill right. I even used a hot nail to start the hole off. I completed one circle with all the pins painted and it decided to warp. After 8 or 9 goes, I decided not to paint it but drill the holes first; that seemed to do the trick.
I think the problem here is that you are using clear Acrylic which is very brittle and cracks easily. Polycarbonate, trade names are Lexan, Makrolon, is a little bit more expensive and in thicker sizes bullet proof.

Hope this info will help builders with their projects.
John
Last edited by wembleylion on Thu Apr 30, 2020 5:02 am, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Tumbling-in
Nice overall dimensions, gives a good drop time for the coin.
Re: Tumbling-in
Hi John, We tried using three different types of sheet they all went the same way.We emailed one firm for some quotes but their minimum order was £200, Pete.
Re: Tumbling-in
Hi They take to long to make & to fine tune them.If funds get tight they will all be up for sale, Pete.
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