DID YOU MISPLACE YOUR COIN DOOR FOR YOUR GOTTLIEB WOODRAIL?

HOW TO MAKE A NEW ONE

by Alan Lewis

Maddening, huh? Misplacing anything on your pinball is a pain. But there is a way out. This coin door doesn’t use a hinge and is for a 1947 Gottlieb early flipper game Lady Robin Hood. The door just drops out when you unlock it. You know, the door that you dropped on your foot the first time you took it out.

Many of the hinged doors of the 1950’s Gottlieb’s were just like this one except they had a hinge. The construction is identical but the size may differ and the hinge end doesn’t have a rabbet.

THE MISSION: PLUG THIS HOLE

If you are not experienced with woodworking I don’t recommend doing this project yourself. You could get injured, woodworking machinery can be dangerous. I’ve known more than a few people with 9 fingers after woodworking. Find a friend who can do woodworking safely or take the project to a carpenter or cabinet shop.

	A sketch of the door opening and the door. I had an identical door from a 1948 Jack N Jill to measure. Essentially this is just a rectangular door with three sides rabbetted from the rear and one side rabbetted from the front. The lumber should be hardwood. I wouldn’t use softwood because the features won’t cut as sharply and the door won’t stand up to abuse. I used 1 X 6 poplar bought at Lowes. The actual size is ¾ X 5 ½. Perfect. Start by cutting the door to the overall length and width. Don’t assume my dimensions will work perfectly for your cabinet, do your own measurements. I undersized the door 1/32” on the length and width.
	Use either a router table or a table saw and dado head to cut the rabbets. Remember to keep the front and rear of the door identified so everything goes on the correct side. The left side rabbet is cut from the front face and the other three from the rear face. I used a ½” router bit. Remember, measure three times and cut once. Measuring twice never worked for me.
	The coin slide hole is cut with a 2” holesaw. Clamp the board to the drill press so the saw doesn’t catch the wood when breaking through and spin around. Most of us learn this by example. Insert your coin slide and transfer and drill through the mounting hole locations.
	The lock counterbore can be anything you want. Size it to be slightly larger than the lock head diameter. The depth will be dependent on how long your lock is. So this one is up to you. Use a forstner bit for the best quality hole.
	Drill a ¾” diameter hole through for the lock. Again use a forstner bit for best results. I decided not to relieve the backside of the door around the lock because it is rather involved. If your lock is long enough you can work around it. But technically the area around the lock on the rear of the door is supposed to be relieved for the lock arm to freely swing through.
	Locate and cut the two reliefs for the hold down bar wing nuts. These are tricky to cut because they are only half holes (eyebrows). You must clamp the wood securely onto the drill press. Use a 1 ¼” forstner bit for this one.
	The door fits perfectly. Warning: it will still drop on your foot!

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