Question about player rods

[doanuts]

I purchased an older Chexx machine a couple of months ago. I noticed when I extend the "white" player rods out from the game that they are covered in black. I can scrape or clean alot of the black off but they are not completely white anymore. I was wondering if this was a sign that I should change the 'Bearings" for the rods?

Of if not how would I know when these need changing?

Thanks in advance

[skater74]

Hi doanuts

I've got an old chexx table myself (1983 USA vs. Russia) and coincidentally cleaned it's rods yesterday. Mine were virtually "black" before cleaning and are now reasonably "white" again. I wonder if you can clean them up to mint condition if you have a really old game as the dirt seems to get into the surface of the rod material. I doubt that you'll be able to make them 100 % again. But I managed to get a fairly good result by using scouring milk (and a lot of effort).

I don't know what's actually responsible for this blackening. I try to keep the interior of the game as clean as possible. Personally speaking I wouldn't replace anything because I believe that the blackening happens over quite a long period of time and thousands of games played. It's only a question of visual appearance anyway.

[sjvogt]

I think the "blackening" is likely from a previous owner using graphite or something similar to "lube" the rods. When I bought mine everything on the inside was coated with this same black stuff. What a mess.

Anyone happen to know what the rods are made of? My guess is fiberglass rather than plastic, but not positive. I have essentially removed and replace just about every part on my machine except the rods and tracks. My game is a 1983 and the rods seem pretty "bendy" for lack of a better term. Even when everything is tightened, they still have quite a bit of wiggle room inside the rod bearings. I have always wondered if they have gotten more "bendy" over time or if they are that way right from new. Anyone know or can test on a new machine?

I have thought about sourcing raw fiberglass rods on my own (Grainger etc) and cutting to length. Then I got to thinking: what about replacing the fiberglass rods with aluminum? What is everyone's thoughts? Would this work? What would be the downside? Slightly heavier, yes, but I don't think it would affect functionality.