Top Tips for Newcomers

[badpenny]

Careful with the Grease and Oil

It occurs to me that the questions we get asked by newcomers to our hobby/forum are likely to be predictable and essential.

We're always being complimented on our helpfulness and friendly approach to helping so .......
I suggest we start a thread pooling the various lessons learnt, in order to capture the knowledge base and pass it on.

I'll start with ........

Do Not use grease, light oil should be used but never where coins travel or sit within the mechanism.

Who's next then ?

Badpenny

[slotalot]

Save your Nuts & Bolts

Here is a good tip for anyone starting out in our hobby : Don’t Ever Throw away old used or left over nuts bolts & screws. Put them in a tin or jar and, one day you will be glad you did, when you come across a machine with screws missing. Can save yourself a lot of shoe leather by not tramping round the shops looking for one.
PS. You are looking at a jar that I started to fill over 40 years ago, and I am always adding or removing things as I work on my many projects. Maybe that makes me the biggest nut of all? ...................... But you probably knew that already

NEXT TIP PLEASE

[badpenny]

Take Loads of Photos

I've got another one that was learnt the hard way .........

Before you start to dismantle any part of a machine take simply gallons of photos for referring back to later. We've had quite a few pictures posted by guys about to tear their hair out, and there sitting quietly in the middle has been an unassuming little widget securely attached upside down, back to front and inside out.

[raj]

Curb Your Enthusiasm

To avoid disappointment in the rush to buy your next project, treat every advert with suspicion. The number of old slots 'found in grandad's shed', 'don't know much about these things', 'selling for a friend', 'just needs a part', 'easy to find on ebay', etc., etc. is amazing.
At auction, treat every locked or jammed machine as an empty cabinet, or missing vital parts, because that is what it probably is. By the time you have drilled the lock back at the den, it is too late to do anything about it.

Auction house fees are at least 20% after VAT etc. - more if online bidding, except of course, our November Coventry sale, which is a very good deal.
Buying parts from the US is very expensive: VAT over £15, Customs duty and VAT over £135, plus Royal Mail's £8 handling charge and postage fees.

New Tools

Use a good set of screwdrivers and be prepared to drill out snapped screws, which will not be readily available from B&Q, I promise. You will turn into a car boot/ autojumble fiend, tracking down odd sized nuts & bolts, locks, spanners etc.

Oil Versus WD40

WD40 is not an oil substitute & will rapidly wear off moving parts, but is good as a rust preventer and freeing agent.

Chrome Versus Industrial Paint

Chroming is very expensive & rarely stops onto Ali for long before the dreaded white corrosion gets under it.
Cheap spray paint gives a cheap finish & won't last, use industrial paint to give a hard finish.

Had enough now, it's raining & my freshly painted Aristo won't dry

[badpenny]

Ebay Questions

Asking us on here if eBay item number blah blah blah is a good deal or not often happens.
Just remember you may well get a response from somebody else who is interested in it, or is actually the vendor

Better questions to ask here might be....
"Are there known issues with these makes and models?" .... "I'm looking for something as a starter or my first machine - do others recommend...?"
Even better, ask the vendor straight questions like "Does it play/ Did it ever play. If they chuck in the No idea mate, I don't know nowt about them ..., then if you're not confident and they're not, why on earth would you want to risk it?

When you go to collect your purchase ......

Take a copy of the description and if they said it was complete or works and it doesn't then you're in a strong position to either renegotiate or walk away.
Upon leaving with it, the first thing you should do is place any keys and loose parts in your pocket.
Before now I've had to have keys posted on.

[pennymachines]

Don't Drill the Lock

By the time you have drilled the lock back at the den, it is too late to do anything about it.

Brings to mind this tip:
Don't drill the lock - nor take a crowbar to the door. Be patient. A professional locksmith (or burglar) can pick it and cut new keys for the price of a new lock, or less. The original lock is saved and the task of finding a substitute (which probably doesn't quite fit) avoided.

[badpenny]

No Shocks

When choosing a machine with an electric cable attached it might only use electrickery for lights or coin acceptor or payout ..... however regardless of that many machines up until the early sixties rejoice in having 240 volts AC trundling around inside.

If that's the case and you are in the habit of problem solving with the juice on, then there's every opportunity for you to arrive in the opposite corner of the room with half a melted screwdriver tightly gripped in your smoldering fingers.

[jimmy55]

If that's the case and you are in the habit of problem solving with the juice on, then there's every opportunity for you to arrive in the opposite corner of the room with half a melted screwdriver tightly gripped in your smoldering fingers.

I remember that lesson when I was a teenager messing with valve radios ...melting a hole in the chassis of one while I was flung back in my bedroom! I panicked a bit last week while I was testing the pinball and the cat dissappeared under the playfield through the coin door

[badpenny]

Coin Jam

If a bandit jams or locks up when pulling the handle, remove the mechanism and look for a wayward coin that has escaped and fallen down between moving parts.

If a bandit refuses to pay out on a winning line, remove the mechanism and if the relevant payout slides haven't gone back, grab them with your fingers and try to pull them towards you.
Should they feel stiff or unrelenting the chances are you have coins inside that have upended.
To remove them first you must take off the coin tube that feeds them in order to gain access.
A pair of long nosed pliers may be needed, they will be well jammed in.

[john t peterson]

The Golden Rule

Treat all fellow collectors with courtesy and respect. Share information that you acquire with those coming behind you. The friendships you make are as important as the games you acquire. Those two: games and friends, will intersect far more often than you anticipate when you start in this fabulous hobby.