Topic: Restoring a Tornado brown marble coin-op

[AaronHartwell]

Last night I picked up a brown marble coin-op that was in need of some TLC and I am in the process of restoring it.  Don't ask me how much I paid for it, it was a little too much given the condition.  

Anyway, I'm considering replacing all the laminate on the outside.  Does anyone know if Tornado sells replacement laminate that matches the older tables?  If not, I can always just recover the whole thing.  If I do, I'll probably go with something unique to make it one of a kind.  

One of the rods is bent and a couple of the others have rust spots.  Has anyone ever seen used rods for sale?  Maybe someone wants to upgrade to new Merkel rods and wants to sell their old ones.  Does it happen?

Thanks,

Aaron

[AaronHartwell]

I made a ton of progress this weekend.  Still would love to know about rods and the laminate if anyone knows anything. 

Thanks

Aaron

[bbtuna]

merkel rods haven't been available for quite some time now so finding people with left over pre-merkel would be somewhat like winning the lottery...you would just have to accidentally find someone who still had rods left from a year or two ago

on changing the laminate, probably could get some from Tornado but you would pay a lot i am sure...if you are chaning it, might as well change to a custom finish you can control

the national expert, and only person I know of that really knows about replacement is Mark Murrell and he has done it many times on brown marbles...you can contact him at this email

mmurrell@cox.net

[wildcard]

Changing the outer laminate is tough for just one job because there are few options for the individual consumer to order only the amount they need. If you know of anybody in the commercial cabinetry business they may be amenable to ordering you a few sheets of the kind of laminate you want when they next order for themselves. OR they may have some extra laying around the shop leftover from a previous job that they over-ordered for, and if you like the look they'd probably give it to you for a cheap price. Normally you'd want at least two different colors--one jet black for the top and back rail surfaces and maybe the legs, and the other color for the main cabinet.

[snake eyes]

Aaron- I bought a used Brown marble Coin-op just like you did that had some chipped laminate. I ripped it ALL down to the MDF, I found some descent thickness rolled aluminum and me and a buddy replaced everything. I used aluminum corner bead to trim with stainless screws. It looks freakin' awesome. Alot like the new T3000. Caution this was not easy to bond the aluminum to the MDF board. After several tries we used liquid nails specifically made to bond metal to wood. It worked great. If you want me to post pictures just say the word....

Snake

[bbtuna]

"the word"

[jinhopark]

Very interested in seeing DIY laminate jobs.

[AaronHartwell]

Thanks for the info guys.  So it sounds like finding used rods won't be easy.  Guess I'll have to buy new.  I can buy them a couple at a time and stretch it out.  Some are worse than others.  After some steel wool and chrome polish they're not bad enough to impact play in any way.  I just don't like the places the chrome is worn away. 

I replaced a piece of the black laminate on the top.  Looks good as new.  And I repaired a couple of chips in the sides using some wood filler and dark brown paint that matched.  Looks pretty good.  I'll still probably laminate the whole thing some day and if I do, I'll do something unique I think.  One thing interesting about the laminate, the black stuff I used this weekend was Formica brand.  It's noticably thinner than what comes on the table.  Whatever it is that Tornado uses it's thicker.  I'll probably call them just to find out.

I like the idea of the aluminum wrap.  Like others, I'd love to see any and all pictures of custom laminate work!

Aaron

[jinhopark]

Aaron:

If you are going to buy a few rods at a time, then I would start off by buying the 2 man Merkel rods.  I know that Charles does not have any Merkel rods in stock, but as luck would have it I believe Jim may have 2 or 3.  I would definitely gobble 2 of those up right now, because I think once they are gone they are gone.  Good luck on finding Merkel rods, new or gently used, for the goalie, 5 man and 3 man...

[MobileFoos]

I have 2 three-man rods and 1 five-man left from a brown marble table. All 3 are in good shape. $20.00 each plus shipping. I also have a lot of other parts for that table.
Jay
MobileFoos.com

[AaronHartwell]

Thanks for the response Mobile.  The 2-man rods are the worst, ones slightly bent, and the other has some rust on the end that will eventually drive me crazy so I think I'll start with those.  Because Christmas is right around the corner the santa wifey frowns at me when I buy stuff right before the big day so I'll probalby wait until after the new year to pull the trigger.  I'll check back with you and Jim.

Thanks guys!

Aaron