Rock-Ola 1478 - That Darn Pinbank

[juke46]

We've had a problem (I think everyone does) with the pinbank on these Rock-Olas.  When I restored it I looked at the pinbank and thought I hope never to open that up.  It's not so easy like a good ole Seeburg (except for the first time I ever did a Seeburg pinbank years ago).  I used steel wool to get all those things really clean.  That dumb stunt made funny things happen.  Sometimes, if the machine was powered up it would just go off on its own and scan.  This of course was caused by the steel wool being an electrical conductor.  I had to redo it and blow all the fragments of steel wool out I had foolishly left behind.  I don't let steel wool near much of anything these days!  DUH!


As we tested the Rock-Ola we found that many selections would not play because the pin for that selection would not move out into a selected position.  I had carefully cleaned the keyboard switches as I have for many Seeburgs.  With help from people on this forum I modified the power supply so there would be more electrical energy to attract the pins and move them out.  That helped but did not resolve the problem.  I noticed many of the pins seemed to stick in the non-select position.  They definitely had slight mechanical resistance to moving when I manually move them.  Once they "move, "a tiny bit" then they slide into position very easily.  After that they will select properly but if they are unused for a few days they again stick.


I pulled the pinbank and took it apart and wished I could change it into a Seeburg pinbank.  I gave it a very good cleaning, washed all the jillion tiny parts in fresh solvent etc.  I did not spray any silicones or such on anything.  After about 3 days of getting everything lined up it finally went together and I reinstalled it.  Good for awhile but now the pins are back at it again and have a tendency to stick.  I have the monster back apart and I think the friction surfaces that the tiny square washers on each pin slide on perhaps should be polished with crocus cloth.  I'll wash the pins and other metal moving parts with acetone and then solvent.  I don't feel or see any wear on the moving parts but a polishing would seem to do some good.  I'll make sure it is super clean too.

Suggestions appreciated!  Thank You All!

[jukeboxmarty]

Every Rock-ola selector unit I have ever worked on has benefited from applying graphite after cleaning. The graphite make the pins slide much easier. Just finished up a drum last week. Believe it or not, they go together pretty easy once you get the hang of it!

[juke46]

Marty,

Thank You! I kind of thought the black color over the pin area was or might be graphite of some sort. It can be washed off with some effort. I actually have a spare pinbank (Thank You Bill Butterfield) and it too has the black substance on it. I suppose some of the "dry" spray graphite would be best. I'll see what I can find. I have started reassembly of the individual pin segments so we'll see how it goes together. Perhaps now would be the time to use the graphite on those friction areas before complete assembly. My wife really likes this particular Rock-Ola so I have to get it working or I'll probably get a lump on the head. Thanks Much!

I looked at your really great web site. You have completed some really nice machines and they look absolutely great. It is a really good thing that there are people who can repair the machines for owners. If we want people to have an interest in these amazing machines there must be a means for them to be maintained and repaired. I've given a Nephew a couple I restored a few years ago. I was hoping he would learn to take care of them but I don't think that is going to happen. Fortunately so far, I've only performed the lubrication every couple of years and kept them shiny and clean.

[Ron Rich]

Dry, spray can graphite, is what I use on Seeburgs--BUT-- you need to be 200% certain you only get in on the "contact areas" > NOT < in between, I also use a green "Scotch Brite" pad/ammonia to wash those areas first as it will act just like your "steel wool" did--but you won't be able to "shake it out" !! Ron Rich

[juke46]

Finally! The pin bank is altogether and returned to service. It is super clean now. It is working very well, wife is happy, Elvis is singing again and I am still hoping to never, ever see the insides of another of those. I cleaned all the old graphite from every part. I had left it (probably foolishly) in my previous cleaning effort. Solvent does little to remove it but a 50/50 mix of 409 and ammonia makes it easy. Watch out for those STRONG, dangerous ammonia fumes! Getting all the sections of the pins in proper position so the top and bottom plates of the pin bank would mate properly over the tabs on the top and bottom of each section of pins is a chore.

There are metal tabs along the outer edges and also on the inner edges of each section of the pins. These tabs fit into slots, on the top/bottom sides of the pin bank plates that hold each pin section tightly. The outer tabs have slots for spring clips. The difficulty is the inner tabs are not visible or accessible. One would believe if the visible outer tabs are all in place it would go together properly. Not necessarily. There was less than a quarter of an inch preventing the top plate from dropping fully into place. I had all the bottom tabs already secured with their spring clips. It had to be the top inner tabs were not going into their respective slots. After hours of trying, the top plate would not drop down into the proper position so I could put all of the spring clips around the edges (into the tabs) to secure everything. I finally came up with the idea of using a soft rubber mallet to gently tap around the sides, of the top plate. That was in hopes of getting the inside tabs and slots to align. That almost instantly worked very well and completing assembly and reinstallation was easy.

After assembly I used my old analog meter to be sure the fingers on each clapper coil assembly had zero resistance when the coil was energized.  I also verified that I had not bent any of the fragile contact fingers during reassembly.  Very important to have those contacts clean and with good contact.  It won't pull the pin no matter how clean the pin bank is if you have poor conductivity between those contacts when a record selection is made.