First Mills Machine HELP

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pauljt71
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First Mills Machine HELP

Post by pauljt71 »

Today I have collected my first one arm bandit. Having a small collection of Allwin I have taken the plunge with a Mills.

I have lots of questions. I want to restore as best as I can myself. Can someone tell me that this machine is called please? model and possible date. It seems to run well on old 1d but I would like to find some instructions etc about setting it up and cleaning/servicing. Can anyone recommend where to start please.

Thanks

Paul
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treefrog
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by treefrog »

Well done on your first one. The machine in question is based on the Jewel model and looks to have original paint and logos on the sides. The machine in its history for British use has had an earlier mechanism put in it, from a 1930s machine, so a 10 stop on 1D. They also moved the coin entry to the right to allow it to drop straight into the mechanism.

I guess the question is what you want to do with it, so a light clean and service or full resto....
pauljt71
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by pauljt71 »

Hi Treefrog,

I want to learn everything there is about these machines. I have rescued this one along with three others. They all look original. Unfortunately I have no clue how these machines work. I could do with starting with a general clean. Is there a resource somewhere that tells you how they work, how to set the reels, service etc?

I’d like to lightly restore the cabinet retaining as much of the original features as possible.
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coppinpr
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by coppinpr »

There are lots of tips for this machine on the forum including clock cleaning, removing the reel bundle and so on. If you really want to to know ALL about how it works and how to dismantle and re build, then you MUST have The Owner's Pictorial Guide to the Mills Bell Slot Machine. Problem is this is expensive these days, BUT not as expensive as it was a few years ago as the publisher re issued it last year. Even so, it's going to hurt unless you can find a cheap second hand copy (not likley) or you buy the pdf file copy (not easy to work from). The cheapest you will get it is this link on ebay direct from the publisher. The key is to know someone in the USA and have it sent to them and sent on to you to save on the massive postal costs. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mills-Slot-Mac ... xy4eJTLl7s

Other than that, simply ask us. We will help you through any problem. At first glance, as Tom says, the model is the very first Hi-top (Jewel, 2947) but might be made up of several different machine parts. It has had its escalator removed in the UK conversion and has a ten stop mech. In case you haven't realised it, the reels will never stop on 10 of the symbols (unless that particular mech is the rarer one that alternates between each set of ten symbols). Let's have more photos of the mech to be sure. This model was almost always blue and red. As Tom asks, what are your plans for it?
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pauljt71
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by pauljt71 »

Thanks coppinpr

My intention is to clean and restore the machine as much as possible and to use it. I have several others in the pipeline that I have recently acquired. I wish to learn how to fix the machines because I think this is a really important part of ownership. For me it’s also satisfying to be able to return a machine that could’ve been lost, back to use for future generations to enjoy.

I feel a little scared to start taking it apart to clean. Lots of pictures in advance though.

Have attached more photos. All comments welcome. Regarding the paintwork - is the crazed effect an original paint effect or is it aging?
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pennymachines
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by pennymachines »

The wrinkle finish is correct.
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by pauljt71 »

Thanks. I have been giving it a scrub and the dirt is coming out of the grain in the paint now. If I can preserve the original finish with a satin lacquer I think it would look quite nice. There are bump and dings but I don’t want it looking like a brand new machine.
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badpenny
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by badpenny »

pennymachines wrote: Sun Dec 29, 2019 5:57 pm The wrinkle finish is correct.
It's good to know my appearance is accurate!

I suspect the OP's machine is a bit of a mongrel.
The case, we can see is a new home for an earlier 10 stop mech. It's hard to see but I suspect I can see a glimpse of a Shefras roll down escalator which serves no purpose for that mech. If my eyes are wrong I'd expect the window to be blanked.
Most photos I've seen of 1947 Mills Jewel bandits show a dagger handle not a club handle.
I'm not detailing any of the above to its detriment nor to criticise, merely to answer OP's enquiry and try to balance the options against its originality or non originality.
There's not much chance of putting in a JP bank nor escalator, otherwise get fettling!

Two pieces of advice. Some greedy operator has at some point altered the pay out odds by adding (at least one) blank to the pay out disc for reel number one. By blocking off that hole the vertical finger can't enter and then pay out. That particular one will relate to a cherry. It needs pulling out ( H shaped piece of metal) and then look for a stick-on symbol on the first reel which will probably be a lemon with a cherry underneath it.

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It may not be the only one, and others may be attached to the other pay out discs (three in total because there are three reels) Remove them all and their corresponding false symbols. It will greatly improve the gameplay.

The other thing is, I agree about the benefit of a manual. You could pay more than a hundred dollars if you go via Amazon, however if you go to this website http://rwatts.cdyn.com/Machines/download_area.html you'll find a lot of cool, free downloads. Included you'll see one for Mills Hi-top. Remember your mech is likely to be an earlier mechanism but the idea is the same, in fact it'll probably be less complicated. That will give you names and exploded views. Additionally if you follow this link https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... slot+works ..... you'll find YouTube has a mass of free videos made by enthusiasts stripping down and rebuilding mechs.

Good luck .... now get on with it!

BP !THUMBS!
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by bryans fan »

pauljt71 wrote: Sun Dec 29, 2019 7:31 pm Thanks. I have been giving it a scrub and the dirt is coming out of the grain in the paint now. If I can preserve the original finish with a satin lacquer I think it would look quite nice. There are bump and dings but I don’t want it looking like a brand new machine.

!!THUMBSX2!! CoNgRaTs
pauljt71
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by pauljt71 »

Many thanks BP.

Yes I did wonder what the metal tag was. I am a total novice with these machines so this is a good start to my learning. There are several stick on fruits on each of the reels. I have not worked out how it pays out yet. I will follow your advise and remove the tag. Also I will see if there are more!
I will let you know progress 😀

I am collecting 3 more mills machines tomorrow along with a number of reel sets still in old bags. No idea what is there so I will be calling on your expertises again very shortly 👍
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treefrog
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by treefrog »

Looking at the mechanism, it just needs a good clean and lube. For a novice probably a few hours work, I do them these days in about 40 mins.....

So many people use different things like tank degreasers through to specialist products. I just use cheap old white spirit, wire wool, lots of cheap workshop tissue and light oil for lubrication. I would remove the reel bundle for easy access to key parts like kicker and clock. The clock should removed and taken apart (very easy) and cleaned and lubed... Check if running smoothly and not too worn on spindles or cogs... clean the rest of what you can see, wipe down and rebuild. I would take the kicker off and clean/lube. Also slides, give a good clean and not lube......about it really.

I wonder if Firmans may have had something to do with this, as I think the reel strips look by them, unless the mech came from a Firmans machine...
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by pauljt71 »

badpenny wrote: Sun Dec 29, 2019 8:31 pm Some greedy operator has at some point altered the pay out odds by adding (at least one) blank to the pay out disc for reel number one. By blocking off that hole the vertical finger can't enter and then pay out. That particular one will relate to a cherry. It needs pulling out (H shaped piece of metal) and then look for a stick-on symbol on the first reel which will probably be a lemon with a cherry underneath it.
Exactly right!
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coppinpr
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by coppinpr »

Fully agree with Tom: clock, slides, kicker and reel bundle and clean everything else you can get at while the reel bundle is out. I also always remove the two main operating bar clamps at the back (one each side), clean the clamps and ease the shaft forward and clean all round it and lightly oil (sewing machine oil only, no grease and no oil on any part that comes in contact with a coin).
There is a good walk through for removing the reel bundle (you need to part load the cycle to remove it with ease) and a good walk through for dismantling the clock (cleaning yours will I think improve the running dramatically).
My advice would be remove the reel bundle, and remove and clean the slides as your first job. This will teach you how the machine pays out and is very easy to do (remember to keep the slides in the correct order and not to oil them).

Just a question: how many "bar" symbols are there on the first reel?
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by pauljt71 »

Only two.
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coppinpr
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Re: First Mills Machine HELP

Post by coppinpr »

I thought there might be two (usually only one), as it's a ten stop mech it means one of them can never come up (the one in your photo of the lemon being changed), but the player thinks it can. :lol:
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