Sega Bell Reels

[gameswat]

The other combinations haven't come up yet so I'm not sure how they are.

I guess you haven't figured out how to force a payout then. You just need to stop the clock fan early into the cycle (very delicately!) I find something like a thin wooden school ruler works well. Once the reels stop you can manipulate them into any configuration you want, hold them in place gently with your fingers and allow the clock to restart and you have never ending payouts.

[vince55]

Wow - that will make life much easier. I'm afraid my knowledge of all this is pretty poor. Thanks for the tip.

[vince55]

Thanks guys for all your input I have removed all the 1p coins pre 1987 so now it is all steel 1p.
This doe's seem to have some effect on the payout which is now:

3 bar pay 10
3 orange pays 9
2 orange & bar pays 9
2 cherry pays 4
1 cherry pays 2
3 bell pays 2
3 plum pays 2
2 bell & bar pay 2
2 plum & bar pay 2

What is the easiest way to remove the pay slides here is a side on view.

[treefrog]

I still have a suspicion the original strips may have been correct given you had not checked the wins then, but given you are getting a 10 coin payout, it is possible some of the below slides are sticking, so removing slides is easy. Take coin tube out, screw is on right side (coins will fall everywhere when you remove, get ready to catch). Take four top cover screws off and in clip each of the slides springs at the back. They will lift out.....given they are the same order less of an issue except the bottom slide.

In terms of 1np, the correct ones are not the later steel ones but the earlier copper ones, not that this is necessarily the issue

[vince55]

Well I've taken the slides out and have cleaned them up they were covered in oil.
But now I can see that the holes are much larger than the 1np coin, the diameter is approximately 24mm thats about 4mm larger than the 1np. Does anyone know what size coin this might be for?
Here's the photo.

[coppinpr]

If it's an English coin then it has to be the old shilling (5 p) which is 23mm. What's the score at the other end... the coin entry (not the hole going in, but the mech that accepts the coin) and how about the coin tube - what size is that? What you need to know is are you using the wrong coins for that machine or the wrong slides for that machine.

I still believe someone fixed up this machine with what was available to make it complete so he could sell it. The reel strips hint at this. If so, then the slides may also have been a last moment addition (along with the oil).

[brigham]

I'd say those are shilling payout slides. If you look at the first picture, the actual coin entry looks large enough to take a shilling, too.
It could be on shilling throughout; best thing to do is try it, you might be lucky.

[vince55]

The payment hole in the top looks to fit the 1np well but the interior mechanism looks a little large to me. The payment tube also looks right for the 1np.

[coppinpr]

It's a job to see unless you actually have the parts in hand, but it looks to me like it's had an insert added to the coin entry to fit a 1p, but the run the coin then follows looks like an old 1d! Is that an imprint of a former coin I can see in photo 2? You will need to look inside the the mech part in photo 3 to be sure. but I think you will find it's a 1np conversion of an older mech. There will be a pin added inside stopping the 1p from dropping straight through. They then added a narrower tube and some shilling slides that will kind of do the job. If the mech could handle a shilling and if you replace the tube to take shillings and if you can remove the entry insert, I'd be inclined to switch to shillings. The other, perhaps easier, option would be to change the slides to 1p slides. Take a look in the coin mech and let us know/see a photo.

[vince55]

Ah yes you are right there has been an insert put in to the coin entry, and the imprint on the coin run is 31mm, the size of an old 1d. The coin entry without the insert is also 31mm. The coin overflow tube is also 1d size. So it looks like I need to change the coin stack tube, the payout slides and the slide retainer plate. Sounds expensive - does anyone know where I might be able to get these?

[treefrog]

The original problem was not paying correctly, maybe we need to get back to this as an oversized coin tube I doubt is causing the current issues.

The payouts mentioned above do not relate to coin size, eg bells and plums. It is worth observing the vertical side fingers to see if they are pushing all the coin slides correctly, so does the bells push the lower four slides cleanly. One issue if this is not related to the reel tins is the slides not sliding back properly caused by obstruction, poor springs or as I had recently an over tightened top plate that sits on top of the slides. This should never be screwed down hard and in fact can be fairly loose. I was doing up a mechanism the other day and exactly this happened.

[vince55]

As an aside I have just collected the casting of my High Top from a company in Windsor called MicroBlast Services. They bead blasted off all the old paint and powder coated outside and inside in under 24 hrs. and for only £70. A realy nice job.

[coppinpr]

If the coin mech will handle a shilling then the easiest way to get it working correctly as far as coinage would be to switch to shillings by just changing the tube (easy) and the insert, not that hard. As tom says, you need to know if the machine is working correctly as far as the slides working fully when empty. Once you're sure the slides are all moving as they should with no coins in then we can set up the correct coin. The wrong coin in the wrong slide and tube will cause regular jams of the payout.

That comment about the top plate over the slides is so true and yet rarely mentioned. It doesn't feel right to leave it loose but it works better that way. I now add a very thin washer under each bolt hole of the top plate. That allows you to tighten it but still leave a small extra space between the plate and the slides.

[vince55]

Just thought you might like to see how the High Top's coming along. I'm pretty happy with the look.

[widget2k4]

Looks good mate
but the problem with powder coating for me is you cannot fix any defects in the casting or fill in any holes etc., like the 4 in the top casting. It's personal preference obviously but I would have the 1p badge black or red not white.

But well done - another one saved.

[brigham]

That's the strangest set of awards I've ever seen. The finish of the case is lovely, but personally I would find the payout schedule, and the play being on New Penny, difficult to live with.

[treefrog]

Interested to see the results of powder coating, which always seemed an obvious way in dealing with the castings. I assume one could have filled and prepared before hand to deal with holes and imperfections. It looks good though and seems a good price.

The cabinet looks new - did you make this yourself or is this one of the pre-made kits from the states, assuming it is a replacement? The edges are sharp and front corners not rounded, which is why I ask.

In terms of new coin or old coin, of all the machines I have sold direct to people and not at auctions, most have wanted new coin, so they can use as a piggy bank and not bother buying old coins. For a collector I guess it is mostly the opposite.

[aristomatic]

Cabinet base looks original? Maybe just a generous rubbing down?
You can always change the badge. Have you got 'round to which coin?

[vince55]

I didn't really mean to have it powder coated, I was just going to have it bead blasted for £30 and then spray it, but when he said the powder coat would only cost £40 I thought I would go with that. They baked it first to get air bubbles out of the casting then coated it before baking on the finish. Had I intended to powder coat I would have filled any pits and the holes around the 1p plaque.
The sides of the cabinet were pretty bad so I did them with an oak veneer and a light stain then four coats of satin varnish.
The payouts are correct to what it is currently paying, but I need to change the coin slides and tube to make it as it should be. That's for another day.

[widget2k4]

Be interesting to learn how to fill holes etc. before powder coating?
It would have to be with some metal filler of some sort I presume for the electric current to allow the powder to stick?
Car filler would not work I don't think as the heat from the ovens would make it crack possibly?