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Hi all,
Another winter project that I am working on. The new machine will be called The Gold Mine. Been doing bits on this over the last couple of months. Even though it's made out of bits of cardboard and plastic I have found it to be a really great game. The aim of the game is to roll the penny down and get it into one of the three slots. The coin hits a micro switch. This triggers off a solenoid which will give you one old penny which we hope to have gold plated. If they don't want to keep the coin we will exchange it for ten old pennies. The playfield is on pins so if the penny does not reach the target the playfield tips and goes into the cash box.

I hope to have the machine looking like an old gold mine, with a rock face. I may try and get some movement inside. I have already made a mould for the interior. The electrics will be run on 12 volt. There will be a bit of movement on the roll down chute so the player can decide where to send the coin down. The coin hopper will be attached to the door. Let's hope we have a mild winter so I can get on with it.
Pete.

Can't wait to see the finished thing. Good Luck!

Hi all,
Second picture is the mock up of the playfield. I have also made the hopper with a micro switch in. I have made the table out of thin metal, managed to get the balance right. Coins that land on it will slip off into the cash box. Everything seems to work OK. Been busy this week, made the cabinet and a new playfield and a new roll down chute and started to make the payout coin hopper.
Pete.

Hi all,
A bit more work on the cabinet. Got the back wall done, used some poly filler to make a rock face & started to put some studding up for the side walls. Have built a coin hopper and linked it to solenoid, works really well. I am sure it will frighten the kids to death with the noise, like somebody hitting a drum. I think it will less noisy when the inside is finished and the door is on.

Hi All,
A bit more work done on the Gold Mine, I tried using poly filler but it didn't come out right. I tend to make everything too square, more like brick work, so I decided to use resin plaster and a rubber mould. A bit of a nightmare going round the bends - I had to fill the mould up, waited until it started to settle then drained all the surface water off and get the cabinet in such a position that I could press the mould onto the ply wood then place some heavy weights on. I used a sack of pennies - they seemed to do the trick. After an hour you could remove the mould. Towards the front of the cabinet I had to start cutting down the mould to get the bits to fit in. Very pleased with the outcome. It's started to come together well. I am looking for a pay out cup and surround. It needn't be mint as it will be painted. If anybody has got one can you let me know. Haven't decided the colour of the interior as this can wait a bit, give the plaster time to dry out.

Hi all, A bit more work done, managed to pick the right colour for the walls. The colour was Beach Sand, also started the wiring that works fine and painted the roll down chute. Haven't done much in the last fortnight as I have had a bad cold. A good few days after Christmas should have it all singing and dancing. Merry Christmas to all our members, Pete.

Is this based on an existing machine or something of your own making?

Hi,
The Gold Mine is something I designed myself. I don't think there are any machines like it.
Pete.

A bit more done. Very easy to win on, I think it will be great for the kids.

Is the lower slot for aiming?

Hi all,
The bottom slot is for moving the coin slide to position the coin, ready to roll down. I found it very easy to win on. The missed coins land on the table and slide off into the coin tray underneath. I found that a lot of the missed coins hit the back plate and chipped a lot of the paint off. The next one I make will be out of plastic with paint on the reverse side. I am amazed at how fast the pennies roll down the chute. I intend to put a few different colours on the walls just to tone it down a bit.
Pete.

Hi All,
Bit more done. Decorated the table, made and painted the back plate where the coins go down. Also made the coin chute. I made this out of a bit of plastic, as the coins seem to slide better on this. It is definitely going to be a gold mine on my arcade. It is very addictive. It seems like the more you lose the more you want to put in. There is no skill in winning - just put your coin in and let it roll down. A bit of paint on the walls and the lock and it will be ready for Utube.

Are you going to put some lights in there?

Hi, I don't think so. It looks dark in the picture but on a bright day it is crystal clear.
Pete.

Hi all, just a few problems... Got all the wiring nice and neat, used one of the press on terminal blocks - bad mistake - it melted. This lead to the solenoid being burnt out. Got it all back together again and let the grand kiddies have a go. I gave them about 100 coins each, they had great fun. Then another mistake, the coins built up heavily around the switch. I tried altering the coin tray to get the coins to roll to the front of the cabinet. I tried using an angle fillet. This helped with low play but if you were using 100s of coins they still jammed up. The last resort - I had to cut a hole in the bottom of the cabinet and one in the coin tray so the coins pass straight through into a container underneath. Won't be long before it goes on Utube.
Pete.

Hi all. Finally got the Gold Mine on the arcade, great fun to play. We had to film it without the glass as the sun was reflecting off of it.
Pete

Yay well done Pete!
BP