Bell Fruit "Flowers Brewery" slot machine

[coppinpr]

Thanks to our market page and the response to my ad there from one of our regulars I am now the owner of this unusual and interesting slot machine in just the condition I like em! ready to raise from the (almost) dead.
Chrome is great but the glass will be an interesting challenge , a chance to try the new glass paint spray I mentioned in another post perhaps.
One of the switches is broken and the lower lights are missing but this is easy to fix, the mech seems to just need a good clean and service and it will be fine.
I've never had a Bell fruit mech before and I'm not sure how much of this one is original but I suspect most of it, It has the full number of vertical fingers but only one horizontal finger as that is all this conversion needs, the jackpot slide works the switch that fires the jackpot slide and there is one other slide to pay 2 coins.
The very chunky clock is interesting, much more substantial than a mills or Jennings clock.
The reel strips are of course the the most outstanding feature and they are in near perfect condition, I believe only the"Mackason" and "forest brown", brand names survives and perhaps even the latter of the two is gone now.
All the locks are there but no keys and my new lock picking skills were needed to gain access to the top box (odd that this had its own lock?)
As i said this is my first Bell fruit slot and I was wondering if they all came with the high class enamelled badge on the front? A very nice feature I very much look forward to restoring.
Anyway Ill post progress reports and I'm keen to hear from anyone who knows more about these machines, thanks again to the market page and to the seller for giving me the chance to work on this machine at a very fair price,

flowerbadge.jpg (36.83 KiB) Viewed 3373 times

[coppinpr]

Almost finished restoring this lovely enamel badge from the "flowers" machine, I wonder who designed it, love the arm pulling a machine handle in the middle and the two lions who appear to be playing wall mounted slots.
Did they run out of symbols for the shield? there is a bell,cherry,orange and plum plus what looks like a clover but is red so perhaps another cherry? then there is the motto " play, good luck,win". At a time when machines were not being made to the standards of previous decades someone decided to add this top quality piece to their machines.
Like the other metal furniture on this machine it was made by Pattorini & Sons ,35 Barr St, Birmingham

[widget2k4]

That is a cracking looking machine mate , never seen one like it before but it's nice
Will keep an eye on this resto

[pennymachines]

I have a soft spot for these early Bell Fruits, because they're British, quirky and chromey. The Flowers brewery symbols are a very nice touch too.

Like the other metal furniture on this machine it was made by Pattorini & Sons ,35 Barr St, Birmingham

Actually, it's Fattorini & Sons (Bradford Works, 35 Barr St., Birmingham).

In 1881 John Fattorini of Manningham, Yorkshire near Bradford was a goldsmith employing 12 men and 2 boys. At that time he had several sons who later joined him to become Fattorini & Sons. Fattorini and Sons started off in Bradford before moving to Birminhgam. They are first listed in the Birmingham trade directories in 1917. They produced a wide range of badges over the years and were acquired by their namesake Thomas Fattorini in 1983. They also had offices in London and Glasgow, with the Glasgow mark occasionally featuring on the badges.

The Badger, November 2001 (newsletter of the Badge Collectors Circle)
Fattorini Company History

[coppinpr]

I could not have said it was an F and not a P on any of the pieces unless I was told it was, then I can see it.

[treefrog]

Always fancied one of these as I quite like the look of them and the stylised handle. They even did a matching stand for them, but the size and graphic quality has always put me off. Still looks like you're making a good job of it. Will be be good to see the final result.

[badpenny]

I'm really pleased to see the popularity of this machine rise.

I've had a couple over the years and tried to sell them for money or near offer.
I ended up swapping one for an old telephone and fear that I may still own the other one, somewhere.

One of them was purely mechanical and the other had a really strange electrical payout system. Instead of fingers three panels of pins (one for each reel) entered the face of the symbols at the back of the mechanism.
As a consequence, looking at the winning line you could clearly see patterns of holes in all of the reels which corresponded to what was going on at the back.

BP

[coppinpr]

Having now finished the glass work on this machine (see the tips and tricks forum section) I today cleaned the chrome - don't let anyone say Bell Fruit chrome is poor, this one is best part of 50 years old and not a mark on it once I'd cleaned it.

[highfield]

What a great job you've made of this. Keep photo's coming
John

[coppinpr]

Finished and rebuilt, a few electric problems to do (I'll be asking questions soon).