Salvaging The Skill Shot Ramp
Sadly, another common site on Stargate machines! This ramp is actually
in the best condition that I've seen in person that wasn't NOS. I
really place the blame on the powerful auto-launcher rather than
players shooting the ball at full plunger strength. Even though a
wireform ramp bolts onto the end of this plastic and covers the inside
with a metal plate, there is enough flex in it for the plastic to crack
where it is riveted to the stainless mounting plate. You can also see
it cracking at the end where the metal plate mounts in front.
Someone had previously gone after the side of the plastic with some
glue that obviously didn't hold. I really didn't want to stick a piece
of metal in here as it would block your view of the sarcophagus shot
and there are many times you need to know what's going on. As long as I
could join the sides of the crack together and try and keep the end
from completely falling apart, I figured this ramp could be made to
last a long time.
So, I cut a piece of 1/16" Lexan that would overlap the crack and
glued it to the side of the plastic. I broke up a couple paint stirrers
and used a couple 2" C clamps (one on either side of the crack) and
clamped it all down with some epoxy. I also took some epoxy and filled
in the area around the metal rivets to try and get a good bond between
that mounting plate and what was left in the surrounding area.
While that was going on, I also measured the end of the plastic and
cut another piece of Lexan that would fit on the end and line up with
the mounting holes for the wireform ramp.
And here's what it looked like when it was done. The lexan patch on
the side is thin enough that you can still get to the mounting holes
when this ramp is placed back into the machine. You can also see the
small piece I added at the end. My thinking is that by sandwiching the
ramp plastic between the wireform ramp mounting plate and the lexan, it
will cut down on flexing and distribute the stress that was
concentrated around the bolts over a wider area.
If the epoxy can't hold up, you could carefully drill holes through
the lexan patch and bolt or rivet it to the ramp, but it should be a
very nice bond. The best part about these patches is that they are
completely invisible when the ramp is installed in the machine. My ramp
felt rock solid after I added the lexan and I think it has a much
better chance of surviving!