Topic: Restoring- How do I remove these men?

[TDirgins]

Hello all. I did a curb rescue of this table and am planning on doing a restoration. I can't figure out how to remove the men--I don't see a pin in the chest. Is there some other way to get these off?  Thanks for any assistance!


IMG_1097 by mp3_aholic, on Flickr


IMG_1096 by mp3_aholic, on Flickr

[kgstewar]

Wow, nice find! That looks like an old Stella (french) table. Some of these tables have men that are molded to the bar and are not removable, and that may be the case with yours. Someone more knowledgeable than I can tell you for sure.

Kevin

[alaris]

http://www.raleighfoosball.com/antiquefoosguys.html

Check this page out for possible type of table.

[Tyler Foos]

That collection of playing figures is amazing! Literally, 'buns of steel'. LOL.

Tyler

[TDirgins]

It looks like it coul be a Monneret, based on the vintage collection. Either way, I still need to remove the men to repair the rods and refinish the table....

They got on there, so they must come off.....anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,

Tim

[kgstewar]

Can you not remove the rods from the table without removing the men? Or is there another reason why you want the men off?

[TDirgins]

I don't think I can remove the (telescoping) rods without removing the men--I tried. I'll give it another go this weekend though. A few of the rods need attention (slighlty bent) and I wanted to take them to a machine shop to see if they could straighten them a little. Harder to do with the men on there.

[jonzini]

Jeez... that collection is mine and that page is so out of date.  I put it up there so I can remember what I have when I run across a new one; pulling the page up on my phone.  I should probably update it sometime soon because the collection (addiction) is well over 100 by now.

That is correct, it's a Monneret.  Nice find!!!  Do you have the kind with a base or legs?  A friend of mine got one the same way you did a few years ago.  The table is basically a "scaled down" table that is meant for kids.  Ironically, his table has ashtrays... odd that. 

The men are attached by heating the rod/man and drawing some kind of solder/epoxy through.  Definitely not meant to be removed.  However, if you have the time and really hate yourself you can get them off the rod. 

For the rods with more than one man - hold the rod down and with one man overhanging the edge of a table while pushing down on it.  When it slightly moves you flip it over and do it again in the other direction.  Keep going and you will hear it "pop" when it breaks free - spin the man off the rod.  This will leave one man on each rod.  Put some kind of rubber material over the man, block of wood on that and hit it with a rubber mallet.  It will eventually break free - spin it off the rod.

Try to do it without removing the men!  I'll message my friend to see how he did it.

John

[jonzini]

Attached is how my friend got the rods out of the table without removing the men...

"Those men are brazed onto the rod with a silver solder brazing process.  To remove the rods with the men still on them, the inner rod must be unbolted and pushed through into the outer rod.  The handle (15mm threaded, by the way, very rare) must be taken off next.  Then the two screws that hold the black plastic bearing can be removed.  Once the black plastic bearing is carefully pulled from its socket (a butter knife used to pry it away carefully is one way), the entire rod can be tilted up at the inner rod end and removed.  If he is trying to restore the table, the men will have to be repainted on the rods.  Not as hard as it seems once they've been removed from the table by the above method."

Good luck!
John

[TDirgins]

Wow! Thanks for the info. This will definitely help me along. The table had metal pipes serving as legs--pretty sure those aren't original! I plan to replicate champion-style legs.

Now I'm more worried about the "rare" handles--2 of which are broken. 

[kgstewar]

This video shows a neat little jig for straightening the bar with the men still attached. It's in french, but the visual is sufficient. Start at about the 4:00 minute mark.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xfkozb_petiot-le-baby-foot-made-in-vendee_news#.UPDH3KGjc90

[TDirgins]

Hello all, I finally carved out some time to work on this bad boy and got everything disassembled. Repair of the playing field looks pretty straightforward---the particle board was warped and flaking away. I am going to replace with 3/4 plywood and a linoleum top.

The rods need straightening but the video posted will address that. Thanks again!

The issue seems to be with the handles, bumpers and bushings. Based on the earlier post, 15mm does indeed seem rare. I haven't been able to find any 15 mm parts at all despite extensive searching.
Also, I am attempting to track down replacement red plastic trim. No luck on this either.

Any ideas?

[Anderson]

Unbraze the men if you must remove them. You have to heat it up(a lot) to break the bond and then remove. It can be done but I do not recommend.