Shefras Crackerjack

[Englishman11]

Hi Guys - As the self proclaimed "master" on the German machines I am now seeking help with a Crackerjack Allwin. I bought this from a Dutch Collector and was "working" when bought - you know the story! - It is missing the whole selector mech from the centre rear, will work but only pays out the 2d , no 4d or 6d payout.. I had a similar Crackerjack which had a sort of rotor with numbers and a gear and pawl arrangement - in the boss of the gear wheel was a series of holes into which went the rod from the right ( correct me if I'm wrong) - these lined up with the rod when in a win position. there was a similar machine sold on ebay a month or so ago, anyone know about it as I would like pics so I could make the necessary parts unless someone has one I could copy ? - As they say "I've started so I'll finish " so I would like to get this sorted pretty quickly - Please someone help this 74 yrs old frustrated engineer .. Take care - Harold E.

[slotalot]

Hi Harold ,
I don't know much about the Crackerjack allwin but this photo might be of help
good luck Stuart.

[Englishman11]

Hi Stuart - That's my boy ! Clearer now, just mystified how the levers operate under the drum - I could make the parts but sometimes you are on the wrong track, wish I just had one to copy BUT at least I have a good idea . My other one years ago was a Crackerjack De Luxe and it had a large vertical disc with numbers whereas this has the horizontal drum which I have never seen before ... spending too much time on my lovely German machines I guess ?? - Many thanks for your trouble - Harold

[pennymachines]

Hi Harold,

The only one I can lay my hands on at the moment is similar I think to the "De Luxe" you mentioned, and therefore probably of no help. But here it is anyway. I'm sure someone reading this must have the standard version.

[jimmycowman]

have you finished that machine yet harold??

[JC]

Copied from One we made earlier - Site Admin.

Robert Rowland wrote a very interesting and informative piece for issue 53, in which he discussed the two different versions of Extrawin and Crackerjack, both machines by Amusement Machine Mart.
Here are the pictures:

[polaris]

Topic moved, copied & split - Site Admin.

Hi,
Help once again much appreciated. Never had an interest before in wall machines, always been more bandits, but decided to dip my toes in this collectable minefield. Anyway, after a 500 mile round trip I arrived home with these two pieces which I am delighted with. Both work well but, as is evident, the top flash is missing from Crackerjack and am not 100% sure about the knob on left. My question is, where would I begin to search for the top window or is it possible to make one? If so, what does it look like?
Thanks again in advance for any advice.

Smithy topic split & copied here - Site Admin.

[badpenny]

If you access the "Search" facility at the top of this page and look for crackerjack you'll come up with a few previous threads that include your machine there are comments on the case furniture used and a video also.

BP

[pennymachines]

I've put a cleaned-up scan of the Crackejack in Resources. These fragile screen printed glasses are often missing. The print is on the reverse of the glass which is cut to fit into a recess. They're designed to be back lit if desired (but rarely are).

[polaris]

Regarding Crackerjack, how do I go about turning image in resources into print for machine

[pennymachines]

"In the old days" I would have reproduced this by hand tracing and cutting sticky plastic stencils and spray painting the colours on the back of the glass. A couple of computer aided techniques (applying a plastic film to the glass) are discussed here and here.

[polaris]

Thanks for info so far. Although I said initially they worked fine, there does now seem to be some payout issues with Crackerjack. There are some numbers missing from the barrel but I have sort of deduced where the four and six are, even so, when it pays on these you only ever receive two pennies. The mech won't turn again, even though the "turn win knob" is still showing in the window. I would imagine an easy fix - just not for me.

There also appears to be a lever doing nothing. Anybody know what's its purpose?

[slotalot]

If you mean the lever with the spring attached, that lever should be sat below the ratchet wheel and engaged into the wheel's teeth, so the ratchet wheel will only turn in one direction,
Hope this helps.

[pennymachines]

Just a thought, prompted by Slotalot's remark about the ratchet wheel - are you turning the payout knob clockwise? Without that lever in place, you could crank it anticlockwise, but the payout mechanism won't work properly if you do.

[polaris]

I have now looked at this several times and tried placing the lever into the cog but to no avail. Part of the problem is I have no idea what I am looking for It would appear that either the cog is the wrong way 'round or the lever upside down, as when in place it locks up when paying out. I did at one point PM turn anticlockwise until I spotted it clearly says turn knob to right on backflash Does anyone have pics of same machine they can post?

[slotalot]

The ratchet gear should look something like this when set up correctly

[pennymachines]

You can see the ratchet gear in place on this Extrawin (sister machine to Crackerjack).

[JC]

It would appear that either the cog is the wrong way 'round or the lever upside down

Polaris, the ratchet wheel is the right way round; it's the ratchet (what you call the lever that's not doing anything) that's on the wrong side of the wheel. Just unscrew it and reposition so that it engages with the wheel, as per Slotalot's drawing.

[polaris]

Good evening,
Firstly may I say thank you to all the kind people who have chipped in to help me out. I have, I hope, resolved the payout issues simply by replacing a worn spring. Only took three days to figure it out. The problem with the ratchet appears to stem from the payout knob (I think the wrong one) not being attached to the door properly, as there is a lot of movement. I think when I resolve this, hopefully by acquiring the correct knob, a couple of stickers on the payout wheel and a new top glass, I will have a decent useable machine.

[polaris]

oh and the ball sometimes sticks which drives me nuts