Mills Diamond Front Locked Up

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Mills Diamond Front Locked Up

Postby WoodrailFanatic » Sat Nov 28, 2020 9:43 am

I just acquired a 25 cent Mills Chrome Diamond Front.

It is very tightly locked up mid-cycle and I can't seem to get it to budge. I have never encountered one in this state so I have several questions. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I have attached a few photos that I hope will allow some analysis but I can provide more if needed.

1) The slot is obviously missing some parts but I know that several parts are non-essential to home operation. The coin tube loading arm is gone. I know from removing it from another machine at one time that it does help hold in position another part or two that is spring loaded but as you can see from the photos those are gone as well. Are these essential parts? Could their lack cause the lock up?

2) The 2nd from bottom payout slide is somewhat protruding from home position. Could the be the cause of the lockup?

3) Assuming the lockup is not because of frozen parts do you have any suggestions or hints on how to free it up?

4) If it is frozen parts due to old grease or rust any hints on what a likely areas or parts to hit with sprays in an attempt to free it up?

5) Can I still try to disassemble things with it being in mid-cycle or will that condition potentially prevent disassemble at some point?

Thanks very much for any help or advice you can provide.
Attachments
DSC01077.JPG
DSC01078.JPG
DSC01079.JPG
DSC01080.JPG
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Re: Mills Diamond Front Locked Up

Postby radiorich123 » Sat Nov 28, 2020 10:37 am

Looks like your handle trip bar is not set correct. Its the last photo. Back off in it and try that.
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Re: Mills Diamond Front Locked Up

Postby WoodrailFanatic » Sat Nov 28, 2020 3:01 pm

Your were right on the money!

I backed off the chisel and was then able to exert enough pressure to get the machine to complete its cycle.

I can now cycle it out of the case using the screw driver method but the reels stop very, very quickly.

Could this still be an issue where the chisel needs to be adjusted back in the other direction a bit....what I am wondering here is the mech not getting fully wound up?

Thanks so much for your help.
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Re: Mills Diamond Front Locked Up

Postby mazzeosa17 » Sat Nov 28, 2020 6:36 pm

You might need to adjust the 'chisel' (the operating fork lift pin) back a little. On the Mead and Geddes Owners Pictorial Guide for the Mills Bell Slot Machine, on page 128, under machine adjustments, they describe the adjustment: "The protrusion of this pin determines how much the mechanism is to wind up before it starts the reels spinning and begins its unwind cycle. The more that this pin is extended from the fork, the larger the wind-up cycle, consequently the greater the spin. If this pin is too short, the wind-up cycle will not be great enough to either kick the reels or reset the machine timing. The pin should be adjusted to provide just enough wind-up necessary to set the reels into motion and reset the timing since any additional wind-up will cause undue wear and stress on the discs and other working parts and should be avoided."

If that doesn't do it, then you also can adjust the circular tension spring on the back of the mechanism (attached on one side by the backstrap that also holds the three reel brakes, and on the other side by the operating fork) to reduce the amount of reel spin. Hope this helps.
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Re: Mills Diamond Front Locked Up

Postby WoodrailFanatic » Tue Dec 01, 2020 9:21 pm

I have adjusted the chisel several times...just a bit at a time....and it has not changed the behavior.

I have a Mills Black Cherry that I can use to compare various things to. I noticed today that there is a significant difference in the bottom portion of the reel stop levers....I am talking about the portion that impacts the reel timing lever assembly.

The first photo below shows one of the reel stop levers from my Black Cherry. Note the "ski jump ramp" configuration at the end of the lever pointed to by the red arrow.

The second photo shows one of the reel stop levers from my Chrome Diamond Front. Notice the "ski jump ramp" is simply not there.

All three reel stop levers on each machine are consist in configuration with their brothers.

Is this a change in design at some point or could the lack of a "ski jump ramp" on the Chrome Front be the cause of my reels stopping so quickly?

Thanks for your help.
Attachments
Black Cherry Reel Stop Lever.jpg
Chrome Front Reel Stop Lever.jpg
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Re: Mills Diamond Front Locked Up

Postby radiorich123 » Wed Dec 02, 2020 6:42 am

Yea that should be at an angle looks like its almost straight.
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Re: Mills Diamond Front Locked Up

Postby oldslotman » Wed Dec 02, 2020 1:47 pm

That is your problem. Replace that first reel spot lever and you should be good.
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Re: Mills Diamond Front Locked Up

Postby WoodrailFanatic » Wed Dec 02, 2020 7:35 pm

Thanks guys....I appreciate it.

It astounds me that somebody would do this to a machine but I suppose it is not the worst that has happened!
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