February 13, 2015

Real pinball cabinets have a metal bar across the top of the front of the pinball cabinet, where players rest their hands. It is also the keystone piece — to open the cabinet, the coin door is opened to release the lockdown bar, which then allows the removal of the glass, and opening the play field:

A regular lockdown bar wouldn't fit my cabinet, since it is smaller than a standard pinball cabinet. I didn't have access to metalworking tools, so I made my own lockdown bar out of some oak boards.

I took one board, and used a router to make slots where the glass and side rails would be:

I then glued some scrap plywood pieces to match the inside corners of the cabinet:

Finally, I glued some oak strips to the side of the board to make it seem twice as thick, and then sanded down the edges to round them:

It fits really nice and tight to the cabinet. I had intended to have magnets hold it in place, but I don't feel that I need to now.