I just recently purchased a 50c Castle Front and I'm in the process of getting it to work right. I'm putting myself out to the group, but my main hope is to find someone near me in San Diego that would be willing to work WITH me to resolve some of the issues I've identified.
#1) The Main Operating Arm will often get stuck in the "down" position. There are no coins stuck in the mech. It just looks like there is something not 100% tight that is causing the operating arm dog to lock up. I can release it by working my screwdriver behind the Main Operating Arm spring to release it, like Dave Burritt shows in his video #2 on Youtube for unjamming a Mills mech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZirU6dA25hQ, but it's not obvious what I'm moving when I have my screwdriver in there, since it looks like there is a slightly different Main Operating Arm than what Dave shows in his video. See the main operating arm spring and what little is visible behind it:
See where it sometimes gets stuck
#2) The obvious issue I'm having is that the mech needs a good cleaning. The reels are spinning fairly slow, not to mention that the check detector and coin detector levers are somewhat unresponsive. I'm not saying that they don't move, its just that when I press them in, they take about 2 seconds to return to their original location. I did want to mention that it looks like it's paying out correctly, so that's a good thing in my book.
#3) The escalator looks to be operating correctly. The coins are moving across the escalator and are not binding. There is one thing I can't figure out. This lever that is in the rectangular slot at the top part of the escalator is "sometimes" preventing coins from traveling down to the bottom of the escalator to allow the coin to be detected. It's called the Coin Holding Lever Assembly (MLB-3171-CSP) Is the issue related to the "gunk" on the escalator detection levers (check and coin) noted in #2 above? I see on a lot of machines in Youtube videos that this part is not there. The Geddes book says most "home use" machines have this part removed because it can cause playing issues. I guess I just have a more complete machine. I'd prefer to keep my machine "stock" if possible, but do want to have it operate reliably. Hopefully a good cleaning will resolve the issue. When I was able to play the machine a few times before it locked up, a coin did fall into the jackpot, so that was cool.
#4) This brings me to my next "what is going on here" question. See the image to understand what I'm talking about. What is that "wire" doing in that hole? I also see quite a few spring connection points that don't seem to have a spring attached to them. Am I missing something here that might be the cause of my cycling problems? Close-up:
#5) The payout disc closest to the reels seems to be loose. It also looks like the gap between the discs is not consistent, which makes me wonder whether there are more loose things that I can't see. Will this affect the operation of the mech? If/when the mech is disassembled, I would imagine that this problem can be addressed.
#6) This question is more a curiosity question... The wingnuts on the brake wires are brass/bronze. I've seen only one other machine with wingnuts that were not steel and that was I think a "Diamond Front" that Dave showed in one of his Youtube videos. He described it as completely "untouched". Is this something a repair person used or did some machines come from Mills with the brass wingnuts?
As I said at the beginning of this post, I'd really like to work WITH someone to help me understand my machine so that I can perform maintenance on it myself. I have purchased Marshall Fey's Complete Service Manual for Mills Slot Machines (I also had a short conversation with Marshall and he was just the nicest, most pleasant individual) and I also have the Geddes/Mead Owner's Pictorial Guide for Mills Bell Slot Machines, but there is something about watching (and working with) someone perform the work that you can't get from a book. I am also more than willing to pay for that privilege of watching and even participating in the process.
Thank you all for an awesome forum. I've been lurking for quite some time, but now that I have a machine, I feel like I'm really part of the group now.
I look forward to hearing from some of the more learned members.
Take care.
Kevin