Star Tech Journal

Journal
July 1996
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STAR*TEcH
CD
REPLACE BROKEN FLIPPER LINKS
WITHOUT SWEARING
Ed Voychuk
American Amusement
Aiken, South Carolina
MR NATURAL SEz:
One of the most pain in the butt
jobs we techs have to do is re-
place broken flipper links. Up
until now I've used vice grips,
pliers, rollpin punches and a
hammer (and a lot of foul lan-
guage) to remove the roll pins
from the plunger to get an old
link out and a new one in. BUT,
I've seen the light, I've found
another way, A better way, An
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II I
easier
way ....
THE RIGHT TOOL ...
FER THE RIGHT joB
In an obscure comer of your lo-
cal K-Mart (probably Wal-Mart
also), in the bicycle section you'll
find a "chain rivet tool" (it's re-
ally a chain breaker) for about 4
bucks. This small tool is used to
push out the chain rollers to make
custom size chains. It's got a hard-
ened steel pin on the end of a
threaded handle that is the exact
size of the roll pin in the plunger.
You'll have to modify it a little
using a grinder. Just grind away
the MIDDLE TWO supports
that the chain would sit on. Be
careful not to grind away too
much into the body of the tool as
it would weaken it. And there
you have it! A miniature press
that will push out the roll pin far
enough for you to remove the
broken link. You can also use it
to push the link back in, but it
will expand the edge of the pin a
little, due to the pin's rounded
end. WOW!! All this time and ag-
gravation saved for 4 bucks and
10 minutes of modification time.
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