Topic: New Tornado Men... extremely snug fit... need hammer?

[johnwallan]

I just bought a player-figure upgrade kit for my refurbish tornado coin op project...

the replacement player men are extremely tight to place on the bar.  So much so they seem to need to be hammered on and are impossible to adjust and slide?   


What am I doing wrong?
are they intended to be an extremely snug fit?
will silicone or super lube allow the figure to work?
is it a size mismatch that will damage the figure?
do i need a hammer / special tool to get the men on the bar?

background info:
the bars are more less unlubricated (wiped down)... I think they are merkels all but one...
brown marble coin table
counter balanced new men from this site

[TSR_Brad]

...will silicone or super lube allow the figure to work?

^^ This ^^

[DenverFoosManiac]

Not sure if you have this already, but from what I understand it's necessary to replace the men/handles:

http://www.amazon.com/Tornado-Foosball-Roll-Pin-Punch/dp/B001024X2S

[johnwallan]

I have the 10 man kit and the super punch from this site...

http://shop.foosball.com/superpindriver.html

http://shop.foosball.com/to10mantuupk.html

My question is: are the men supposed to be EXTREMELY SNUG or should they be quite loose on the bar when they are new???

I can lubricate and tap with a hammer... but I want to know if there is a trick, tool, or method to doing this.  I don't want to fracture the plastic.

Thx All.

[kgstewar]

They should be snug, but not so snug that even after lubricating, you still have to pound, pound, pound with a hammer. Light tapping with a hammer is ok but you really shouldn't have to use a hammer at all. There is no trick. And just to be sure, you are not inserting the roll pin at all before you try to slide the man on, right? What do your bars look like? Smooth and shiny? Rusty and pitted? Somewhere in between?

[come back trail]

Read a thread once regarding the same issue. Poster used a cloth wrapped around a drill bit and buffed the inside of each of the new men to make them slide on much easier. AGAIN he DID NOT drill or remove any of the material from the inside of the man he simply wrapped a cloth around a fat drill bit and used it buff/smooth the inside of the man. I'll see if I can find the thread.

[xmanicmattx]

I actually just had the same problem upon upgrading our Blonde Coin Op a few weeks ago. I decided against any use of a hammer because it seems way to likely to end up breaking something. Obviously used it for the pins, lol, just not to get the men on. I had cleaned all my rods thinking it'd be the best time to get them thoroughly clean, only to not be able to get the men on past their initial width. After much frustration, I found that silicone, plus adding men from opposite sides, twisting both and using the opposing ends to torque, made it much easier, though still more of a pain than expected. For the ones that didn't want to move (one side always seems to move more freely than the other) I put a pin punch through the handle hole (or whichever convenient) and covered with a beer cozy (glove, mousepad, anything to pad it) and used that as something to hold and torque.

Good luck and I hope it gets easier. Its frustrating when thing are more hassle than planned, especially something you're looking forward to such as this. Let us know how it goes.

[bmwardo]

Same thing happened to me a couple of weeks back... Silicone and light taps of the hammer is all that seemed to work for me. The interesting thing was the old men easily came on/off, the diameter on the new men must be ever so slightly smaller? Maybe they expand slightly over time?

Best of luck!

[new guy]

Yep, same problem here a few months back on my grey marble T-2000.  I replaced both 5 bars and it was a struggle!  I put the end of the rod on carpeted cement and basically used all of my 200lbs to get those things to slide.  Never considered using lube but that would have been a great option at the time!  Eventually I got them on and into place using similar methods to manicmatt's. I just tried to get them all onto the middle of the rod so I could get it into the table, then once bearings and handle were re-installed it made it a lot easier b/c there was something to hold onto and torque could be used. Good luck!

[johnwallan]

Ok, I got them on safely.... here's the steps I used to get the super snug men on a brown marble coin op:

-clean and polish the exposed rod surfaces with fine steel wool and lubricant, file/polish down any noticible rust spots or textures
-remove old men pins with super pin punch and hammer, protect rod and bearings by using good support or a rod block
-lubricate rod uniformly / especially around the exiting man in the direction of travel
-twist off the outside man (if necessary, place one end of the rod on the floor,apply some gentle weight/force on the leg, rubber hammer his head lightly till he moves)
-notice how a tornado man still smiles when he is seriously abused
-to prevent damage to following men, debur each pin hole with a small 8" fine tooth flat file - hole needs to be smooth on both sides or it will tear up the following men
-repeat until all men are off the rod

-apply lubricant liberally around the inside of new men and the end of rod
-using the handle pin hole as reference, orient the first man correctly
-gently tap him on with a rubber hammer until the man is flush with end
-using an old man tap the new man on few inches
-repeat until the bar is loaded
-blow / clean out the target pin hole on the rod
-lubricate the rod uniformly
-apply some force on his leg and gently tap his head until his is near positioned
-repeat until all the men are near their position
-using the handle or another man, align one man perfectly, pass a pin punch to test alignment, place pins releif gap toward the head, then tap it in
-repeat, knowing each following man becomes easier as you have more to grasp and twist
-remember the bar needs to be loaded, leave some pin punching until the end

things I noticed / notes:
-leaving an old one on one end can help with loading new ones...
-apply lubricant liberally, if the figure stalls on a dry spot you may regret it
-if necessary to hammer, do your best to use a wide firm rubber hammer and hit the shoulder square. (my steel hammer was doing some damage due to localized impact on the shoulders)
-the old men enjoy being beat well past retirement, use and abuse them if you are hung up
-I used super lube found on this site and the 10 man upgrade kit... to do a whole table used half a tube
-wear latex or similar gloves


*** I am new at this... any suggestions???  I will edit if the pros want to chime in?  ***

[Shumazoom]

Just went through the same.   I did what the majority here was saying.   But added a 4 ft. Piece of PVC pipe that fits over the bar.  I used this to hammer on.  I felt it gave an equal circular pressure on the men.   Used a rubber mallet to strike the PVC.  Worked like a charm.

[Vivian Diana]

The inside of each new person is polished to make it easier for them to glide