Bajazzo Clown wall machines

[fredslilja]

I assume the handle to get the ball rolling from the top is going to turn quite easily.
Could this be the pump that is not working as it should?

Thought I´d ask before I do something stupid (again I have to say )
(click image to enlarge)
fredslilja

[arrgee]

Fredslilja, sorry to hear about the broken coin slot. I guess there will be a replacement out there somewhere.

With regard to the handle that lifts the ball to the top, this should turn without any undue force being applied. If it is hard to turn a little grease on the curved guide should help. It could be the 'pump' that is making it stick, I think this is a 'damper' to stop the ball lift mechanism from slamming down if the turn knob is suddenly released, try to disconnect it and turn the handle again to see if it has any effect.

Good luck

[fredslilja]

Thanks Arrgee
I have disconnected the damper and unfortunately it is the same. The damper has hardly any resistance at all. I think the gasket is too worn. Maybe if I get the damper working, the spring that forces the arm down and the damper would compensate each other. That way the handle would turn smoothly?

Am I on the right track?

Any ideas where I could get some new gaskets for the damper?

[fredslilja]

I add a picture...

[badpenny]

I add a picture...

I just splayed the end of mine out, but would have made another out of a circle of thick leather if needed.

[pennymachines]

If the gasket has dried out you might try rehydrating it. I once fixed the dried-up air-valve in a Bryans Hidden Treasure simply by following the instructions inside the machine - lubricate with glycerol (also known as glycerine or glycerin). Otherwise you could try reforming a new one from soft leather by disassembling the original and copying it.

If the handle is still hard to turn when the damper is disconnected it would suggest the far end of the ball-sweeper is not running smoothly against the curved flat plate. If that plate is no longer perfectly flat or polished it will cause friction and jamming where the end of the sweeper arm pinches against it.

I wouldn't worry too much about breaking the coin slot - sounds like it had already deteriorated beyond being useful or attractive (a bit like me really). Those pot metal slots always seem to crack up - maybe some French collector has recast them in brass?

[arrgee]

Fredslilja, I looked at my Clown mechanism last night and tested the ball sweeper arm, I could lift this up very easy with my little finger so, as Pennymachines has said, you need to carefully check the alignment of the arm against the curved plate and also check the plate to see that it is perfectly flat.

Hope you can resolve it.

[arrgee]

Fredslilja, slightly off-topic, but how do you add the wording and arrows to the photos, it's very good and makes explaining the problem very much easier to understand, is this done in MS Word ?

[fredslilja]

Thanks BP for your advice. Sometimes I think too complicated "can't see the forest for all the trees" (or is it the other way around)? You know what I mean.

I just cleaned it, stretched out the leader a bit and put some silicon cream on them. Now the damper works perfectly and I have adjusted it with the screw on the bottom .

It is still hard to turn the handle .

And thanks mr Pennymachine. Well I don´t lay sleepless at night crying about my broken coinslot. I put my hope to you guys in this forum. Maybe somebody has a coinslot in the drawer just collecting dust and will be kind enough to sell it to me .

About the sweeper arm, look at the word document and I try to explain.

Arrgee. Yes the text and the arrows are done in MS Word. It is quite easy to do in Word. It suites me perfect because I (as a foreigner) sometimes don't know the right words to explain.

I have added some word-documents now as well.

It doesn't look like a picture right away when I have sent it (but later on) maybe mr PennyMachine does something with his magic stick……You have to fill in there mr PennyMachine.

I thought my magic stick was a secret between the two of us! Fredslilja composes and posts a Word document then I take a screen grab of it and repost as a jpeg so everyone can see it even if they don't have Microsoft Word etc. PM.

[gameswat]

The Clown #103 B is the serial of this machine only, so this is an early example of this model Clown. The reason they showed the number under the glass was so that only winning tokens from this actual machine (the tokens were numbered to match each machine) could be cashed in at that establishment. Obviously the operator would lose money if he cashed in tokens that had been won from other locations. I have a small number of serialed Clown tokens and my dream has always to find a matching token to one of the three machines I own/owned. So far I've gotten as close as one number off!!!!

[myford]

Hi all,
I have a 10_ number machine (too cold tonight to go out to the workshop & find exact number). It does have some original tokens with the matching number,
My machine clearly was built with the same tokens on show slide as the featured machine, but has been changed to the simpler one rolls down at a time type. I wonder if arrgee's machine is the same as I think I can see a hole in the top Brass of the slide/chute about a quarter of the way up from the left were the token retainer/latch was fitted, or maybe not.
myford

[fredslilja]

Thanks gameswat

Are you really sure about the number 103B should be a serial number and a unique number for my machine?
Mr Pennymachine had a guess that it would be a model number and in this case a machine that have an improvement compared to the clown 103.

I don´t say that you are wrong but it would be logical to put the letter "B" after the number to prove that the machine has been improved.
Do you know anything about the other numbers and letters on the side of the cabinet L.M.O 103
SAMC660

fredslilja

[john t peterson]

I hate to miss the Bajazzo fun so for what it's worth, here is my two cents.

I do not believe in coincidence. The LMO 103 must be tied directly to the 103 serial number discussion above. Most countries collected taxes on the operation of these games. It was necessary for the authorities to be able to identify individual machines for verification that the appropriate tax had been paid. Hence, the stamping of individual numbers. The French used those metal badges often seen still on the playfield of their games.

SAMC is most likely reference to Samson Novelty Company of London. They would have been the importers of this German game. I'm guessing that they were required to identify each game they imported so as to verify that the import tax had properly been paid. It's logical to assume that they stamped sequential numbers to their games. Under that theory, your Bajazzo attests to the popularity (and significant number) of these games imported by Samson.

[pennymachines]

Sounds very plausible to me. Good sleuthing John!

Where does this misconception that early twentieth century German engineering was so superior than ours come from? After all, WE invented engineering!

As a British engineer Jerry, is your opinion on this matter entirely impartial?
I was recounting the old-timer's thinking as he told it but I've often wondered why German engineering was held in such high esteem in Britain. I think you'll agree he was expressing a widely held conviction. I can understand that when German industry was rebuilt, it had the leap-frog advantage of modern factories and technology against the worn-down, antiquated British post war scene. German engineering and manufacturing rapidly became world beating at that time. I've mentioned before how Jim Bryan contemplating the German Duomat mechanism said "they were so far ahead of us". W.E. Bryan served his apprenticeship with Rolls Royce, no less, and his inventive genius and engineering prowess is undeniable, but it's interesting to compare his (admittedly mostly pre-war) mechanisms like the Clock with the Duomat. The Clock is incredibly solid, reliable and robust but it is all hand machined and fabricated out of tin-plate and steel. The Duomat, although for pragmatic and economic reasons made of mazak and ply, is a model of engineering sophistication, elegance and efficiency, consisting mostly of beautifully designed lightweight castings. It would have been much cheaper to mass produce. Compare the rattle and clank of the Clock with the purr and whir of the Duomat.

The British genius for invention has remained unsurpassed since the industrial revolution but the legend of German engineering superiority pre-dates both World Wars. With their strong clock making industry they were ahead of the game when it came to manufacturing precision mechanisms, novelties and toys:

Southern Germany was the home of the first great toy producers of Europe at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. The majority were centred around Bavaria, famous for its clock-making, with Nüremburg becoming the centre of the toy industry.
The first factory for the production of tin toys can be traced back to the firm of Hess in 1826, with Marklin following in 1859, Bing in 1865, Guntherman in 1877, Lehmann in 1881 and Carette in 1886.

www.galerianavarro.com

Rösle - best garlic press in the world (German designed and manufactured).

If the British were behind the patent of this machine idea and the Germans were the first with the clown figure, what did the first machines under the British patent look like?

Here's JG Pessers' original Pickwick as it appeared in Patent 23431 of 1900. This was famously adjudged "a game of skill" by Judge Scrutton in 1912. Considerable numbers were manufactured by Pessers, Moody and Co., Pessers & Moody Ltd., Pessers, Moody, Wraith & Gurr Ltd. together with variants by many other companies, notably the Cresset Automatic Machine Co. (see Catchers) in the early decades of the 20th century. The Clown with its compactness, simplified player controls, slick ball lift and graphic appeal made these ancient stalwarts look instantly "old hat".

[JC]

Pennymachines, sorry for the patriotic Union Flag waving, but I still believe the superior German thing is more a myth than a reality. I was considering a long response, but have opted for the short option:
If German allwins and Clowns were so superior to ours, why is it that we still can't tell the difference?
I'm sure even Pennymachines will concede that a considerable number of 1920s and 30s allwins which are considered 'Saxony' machines, were actually built here.

(I couldn't find a smily waving a Union Flag)!

P.S. Was the picture of the garlic press posted tongue in cheek? I really can't believe the superior German legend rests on a garlic crusher!

[slotalot]

(I couldn't find a smily waving a Union Flag)!

Have one on me JC, Long live British Engineering :thumbs: I bet thats put a spanner in the works!!!!

[pennymachines]

I really can't believe the superior German legend rests on a garlic crusher!

Damn! I thought that would clinch it.

[badpenny]

Actually I'm very fond of the German machines .......... I like the large cast bulgy bits and the fact they were able to come up with so many variations of the same thing yet differently to the way the Yanks designed them ...... it's such a pity they made them out of monkey metal ........ there's no way a garlic press will last long made of that stuff.

[john t peterson]

Are you sure that's for garlic? Looks more like a sauerkraut squeezer to me.

[JC]

Who knows?........this is a nation who feel no shame in wearing leather shorts in public.