New VUK tube
I finally got my new VUK tube (if that’s what you call it) back from the painters today.
The original was not only rusted and had broken tabs (a common problem with these VUKs) but also had the ball dent in the curve, where the ball slams into the metal when it is shot upwards:
Back of the VUK tube clearly showing the ball dent (and broken tab)
I managed to get a new one from a forum member, which he had made himself. He cleverly made it more rugged with thicker metal, but unfortunately this meant it wouldn’t fit into the assembly under the playfield as it was too big. So I had to file down the outside of the tubing to try to get it to fit into the assembly. This wasn’t easy (as I had to do it manually), took some time and gave me blisters, but at least I got it done!
I then took it to a bicycle paint shop to get it powder coated and this is how it turned out:
New VUK tube showing the filed down base, the thicker metal and powder coating.
But I’m going to have to wait until the whole machine is back together again to see if this actually delivers the ball as expected.