Topic: 30th anniversary coin op upgrades

[Mikey V]

Hello Fellow Fooser’s
Great forum and a wealth of good information.
I recently purchased a silver marble 30th anniversary coin op table. I don’t know much about these table but have been reading about them but I’m a little confused on upgrades. Assuming my table is stock, what upgrades should I be budgeting for and why? Also, I need to replace one of the two bars so how can you tell the rods are Merkel heat-treated and are the replacement rods an adequate equal?
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Mikey V

[papafoos]

If you're not a tournament player, I wouldn't bother.  The table is fine the way it is.  If you later become a tournament player, you'll know when it starts reflecting in your game.  The thinner bearings aid you in catching/defending tight wall passes.  The side strips improve banks slightly.  The newer men have slightly more bounce to them.  I personally prefer the new handles to the old wood one.  The rest of the changes only serve to reduce the number of excuses you can have when you lose.

And most of us tournament players can help you with the excuses because we have so much experience at making them up.

[kgstewar]

Changing to the new clear sidestrips is an inexpensive upgrade that really makes a difference. Bank shots are essentially impossible with the white strips and easy with the clear.

[new guy]

A quick, cheap option instead of the side strips is to buy white electrical tape and cut it (while it's on the roll) to the width of the current side strips.  Then apply 2 layers of the tape along the sides.  This is just enough to keep the ball from "sticking" to the wall, but not enough to interfere with your bankshots.  About a $2 fix instead of $25 after you factor in 2 stips + shipping...

[Mikey V]

Wow that was a quick response. I use to be a tournament player in the 80’s and would like to reenter the sport, everyone should have goals.
No one talked about the rods. that must mean there is no clear way to tell if my rods are Merkel heat-treated. From what I read in the 2003 30th anniversary table it was hit and miss if they installed them. Does anyone know if there has been any issues with the replacement rods? It may be a silly question because buying the replacement may be the only option.
Are two man and three man banks even used much anymore, or are they low percentage shot? My old table was a million dallier table and it looks like  the game has changed a bit. I can’t hit a bank shot on this table to save my life. The ball seems to want to get hung up on the wall. I guess I will start off by replacing the side strips.
I paid $450 for the table and the only issues I see with it is the bent rod and the corners have some chips in the laminate.
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly 

[xmanicmattx]

Howdy!

Took me a second to find again, but I knew I'd seen something about identifying the Merkel rods. Page two on this link. If you remove the handle, theres a dot 3/4" from pin hole whereas others are 1/2 in or nonexistent. But yeah, page two of this link has pictures. Good luck and congrats on your new table. I just got Me first tornado coin op a month or two ago and will have my first fireball coin op within a week.

http://www.foosball.com/forum/index.php?topic=2704.0