Topic: Handle dimensions and rod holes

[Squishy]

I'm building a table and I'm making the handles and drilling out rods from my local steel supply. Does anyone know the depth of the hole of a standard wooden Tornado handle? What is the distance from the edge of the rod to the pin hole for the handle? When the rod is fully pushed in, how much rod is exposed between the end of the handle and the outside of the table? I'm modeling my table off of Tornado tables so only Tornado measurements please. Thank you in advance!

[ShopTeacher]

I'm building a table and I'm making the handles and drilling out rods from my local steel supply. Im interested how this turns out, what type of stock are you using for the rods? Do you plan to use Tornado foosmen? If you are interested I have a full set of Fireball rods/men/handles/bumpers that I may be willing to sell. 

Does anyone know the depth of the hole of a standard wooden Tornado handle? I do not have wooden handles, these (dial caliper) measurements are from the new style plastic handles that Tornado sells installed on new tables, all measurements will be for that style handle. Depth of hole is 3.790". The inside edge of the handle to the center of roll pin hole is 2.500

What is the distance from the edge of the rod to the pin hole for the handle? I did not pull the handle off (I have a spare that I used for hole dimensions) but I have measured this before and is 1 inch +/- 1/16" from rod end to center of hole.

When the rod is fully pushed in, how much rod is exposed between the end of the handle and the outside of the table? From inside edge of handle to the table exterior wall is 1.165"

I'm modeling my table off of Tornado tables so only Tornado measurements please. Thank you in advance! Taken from a T3000 manufactured in 2018




Here are a few other dimensions, I had noted in a previous post that may help you:


T3000 Home Model Dimensions:

Play field: 47-1/8 x 26-7/8
Goal: 8 x 3-1/8 filleted top corners
Rod diameter: 0.622-0.625 - varied depending on rod/location of measurement (dial caliper)
Rod center to bottom of foot: 2.870 (dial caliper)
Rod center to play field: 3.020 (dial caliper)
Rod Spacing: 5.875 OC between rods, 3.000 Rod center to goal wall
Bearing Hole: 3 holes on a horizontal plane - Center Hole Diameter 1.357 THRU, two outside holes (to prevent bearing from rotating) Diameter 0.182, Depth 0.2, 1.742 from center of small hole to center of small hole (so 0.871 from large center hole to small outside hole)
Wall Thickness: 1.592

I have built a table a few years ago but used cheap rods from a CL tableI highly recommend buying Tornado bearings and bumpers for your build but I understand if you dont want to buy the rods and men due to cost or having the desire to fabricate them yourself. You might want to look for an old lower model tornado to pull the rods and guys for your build. If you need more dims just post here and ill get them for you. I also have a set of fireball rods/men/handles/bumpers and may consider selling (pinned men, not bolted).

[Squishy]

Hi ShopTeacher! Thank you for your dimensions. I realized that I haven't been considering the tolerance between the arcs of the players. I have been drawing up and tinkering with measurements I have found online in Inventor to find what I like. Most of my measurements have come from this webpage: http://www.thefoosballshop.com/foosball-table.htm.

I'm building this with one of my University friends and we want to spend as little as possible while maintaining the best quality that we can produce with our level of craftsmanship. We have found replacement parts for everything but the men and the ball so we were only going to buy those official items. I was going to buy this https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tornado-Foosball-Men-Set-of-26-with-roll-pins-tool-and-support-block/274224000435?epid=1131847206&hash=item3fd9062db3:g:SdYAAOSw6DxeKzVD. If the Fireball men are on par with Tornado men then I'd be willing to buy them off of you considering their dimensions, how used they are, etc. Although I'm really drawn to this Ebay listing because they include the pins and the pin tool.

I don't remember what exact type of metal the steel supply shop sells but it think they said around $3-$4 a foot (rod has an ID of 5/16 so its a good thickness) which is incredibly cheap compared to buying official rods. From what I understand, the bearings are just smooth pieces of plastic that the rod slide through with the help of oil so I was going to inset a drilled out PVC pipe with an ID of 21/32 (or 43/64 depending on the tolerance of the rod I buy) for the 5/8 rod to slide through. For the bumpers. I found some pure rubber hose with an OD of 1.5 that I can stretch over the rod and I think this will work fantastically for the bumpers.

I don't really understand your dimensions for the bearings because I can't really picture what it looks like. Could you measure the ID of the hole that the rod makes contact with? How I have my bearing planned, the rod will contact the bearing for the thickness of the wall.

I mocked up the measurements you provided and I am liking the tolerances that the players have in relation to each other and the surface of the table. The distance between two horizontal players that have been turned towards each other is 0.175. Does this match your table?

[ShopTeacher]

I will email you at the email address you used to sign up for this site. Im busy for the next couple days but will help you with this project. I've done it before and learned a lot. I would say not to buy the steel rod/tube stock just yet.... btw is the stock stainless steel or are you planning to chrome them or some other type of finish, and do you have access to a milling machine with an endmill tool to drill the holes for the pins? I think a drill press and normal twist bit would be very difficult to get right.