Topic: Swapping parts on different Tornado tables

[indecks]

Hello everyone, I'm new here and pretty new to the game. I've only been playing for about a year.  I thought foosball was 'stupid' and looked 'lame', but then of course I actually PLAYED a couple of games with some friends. Needless to say I was wrong, AND HOOKED.  A year later, I finally got my very own Tornado Whirlwind table (not a Whirlwind II, just a Whirlwind) and I'm wondering about swapping some parts out.  I know the foosmen (which are not counterweighted by default) can be swapped out with balanced foosmen, but I'm wondering if bearings can be swapped out as well.

If you notice on some of the higher end tables like the Cyclone II, and even the Storm II the bearings have that octagonal piece on them.  My table does not have these bearings and I was wondering if they are swappable, say if I were to buy 8 sets of Cyclone II type bearings.

Can anyone tell me for sure?

Thanks for the help!

[snake eyes]

Only way to do that is to drill it out....and it must be perfect for replacement parts to fit correctly..

Snake

[JimWaterman]

Drilling out the hole won't help either..... the Hex bearing nut & 2 bearing halves setup on the Cyclone II and Coin ops also needs a 1.5" sidewall.
http://foosdirect-store.stores.yahoo.net/fts-110-047.html

With your 1" sidewall on the Twister..... they won't work.   You'll need to stick with the "snap in bushing/bearing".
http://foosdirect-store.stores.yahoo.net/fts-110-040.html

Upgrading the bushings/bearings typically does "WONDERS" for speeding up the rod action on an old table.... getting a nice new smooth shiny surface on the bushing instead of the worn/scratched/gouged surface of old bushings is the key.

[indecks]

Darn, that's what I was afraid of.  I noticed that the sidewall was thinner on the Whirlwind tables as opposed to the Cyc and T2000s tables.  Oh well, non-competition bearings for ol' johnny.

I guess I can live with it, lol.  At least my table is still a Tornado! =)  Thanks for the help gentlemen.

[schmelim]

Also a newbie here. Quick question though. I just bought an older coin-op Tornado. It has the 1.5 inch walls but still has the snap bearings. Was hoping to replace them with the split bushings. As long as I drill out the hole true there should not be any issues correct? I imagine people have done this already? Any pointers? Thanks!