See Ya Later, Ya Big Palooka

I had a small issue with my Palooka pinball machine on Saturday night. I fixed that, and I cleaned a step up unit with the new brush I ordered for my Dremel.

 I took some pictures of the machine since I had it out of the lineup.

And then I sold it. 

I suppose you could call it a whim, but I've been thinking about putting Palooka on Craigslist for awhile. I had it working as well as it ever had, and I felt the time had come to let the machine go. 

I bought Palooka from a guy in Mason City who bought it from a guy in Wisconsin. The guy in Mason City made the pinball machine work again. I cleaned off the rust and added a power switch. I installed new legs, new bumper caps, a new start button, and new coin door bolts. The backglass was terrible, but I replaced it with a translite that was custom made in California. The decal on the door is meant for a jukebox, and it conveniently covers a rust stain.

I roughly figured out how much money I spent on this project and set the price accordingly. I either made or lost 25 bucks in the end. After two years and two weeks of playing Palooka, I got my money's worth. I didn't get into this hobby to make money. Breaking about even feels pretty good.

The new owner is a local guy who already has more machines than me. I am confident he'll take good care of it. After 54 years, Palooka is still trading hands. I'm happy to be part of this game's history. (I may or may not have written my name somewhere inside it.)