Getting a 1947 Mills Jewel Bell working again.

[keith23464]

Hello all,

I have recently come into possession of what I believe to be a Mills 1947 Jewel Bell quarter slot machine. The person who I got if from had experienced a jam and decided to start dissembling the machine and then decided he didn’t want it any more and wanted it tossed in the dumpster. The slot mechanism is mostly intact but a few of the levers look to have been removed and one looks bent. I might be missing a lever or two and or some screws and springs.

I'd like to get it working if possible. I am wondering if there is a schematic for the Mill slot “guts”? Any advice on what I could do to get this operational? I am pretty handy at working on things and am not afraid of giving it a shot.

Also any suggestions on where I might get parts if I need them? I can upload pictures of the unit and the parts that are no longer attached if anyone is interested in assisting. Thanks for any help!

[doc]

Hi Keith,

I just got my first Mills Black Gold slot machine. I have found a couple of excellent references. The first is the "Owner's Pictorial Guide for the Care and Understanding of the Mills Bell Slot Machine." It lists all the assemblies and parts. It has tons of pictures and instructions and explanations. It costs around $50, and you can get it at this webpage: http://www.meadpublishinglasvegas.com/s ... repair.htm

There is also the "Slot Machines of Yesterday: Mills of the Forties Operator's Companion."It reproduces some of the Mills schematics, though the print is very small in places. It costs $7 (a bargain!) and you get it at this webpage: http://www.meadpublishinglasvegas.com/slot_machines.htm

I will defer to the many experts on this forum about getting your missing parts.

Steven

[TheFatman]

If you will post pictures of the loose levers and parts and the mech as well, we can look to see about helping you.
Dave F

[SLOT DYNASTY]

Hi Keith, and welcome to the Forum.
There are several of us here, that specialize in different types of coin-op, and some for specific mfrs.
Photo's will help, but the best thing for you to do at this time, is to go back into your profile, and list
where you are from, so that someone in your area might be able to assist you directly, if need be.
Also, there are a few different sources that we can toss your way, for obtaining Mills parts you may
be in need of.
Bill

[keith23464]

Thanks all of you for the information. I am in Virginia Beach. I will take a number of pictures tonight and get them posted tomorrow.

I think I will get the pictorial guide to Mills slots as recommended and perhaps the $7.00 guide as well. I also ran across this company, www.mrslot1.com who seems to sell a lot of Mills parts. He also has two guides that he sells: a generic manual for $5.00 and a higher end service manual for $45.00. I don't want to over purchase reference books but I would like to get the one that would be most logical for troubleshooting , tweaking, etc. Not sure how his differ from the other ones.

[keith23464]

I have some photos today and I found the serial number on the back of the unit. It is 542920. I was also able to get the slot mechanism working outside of the chassis after fixing a bent lever and a disconnected level that lies flat at the bottom of the mechanism. The payouts seem to be working correctly and there was even money in the unit It looks like my issue might be isolated to the escalator. I also ordered the books recommended above.



Here is the left of the escalator where the detached piece above it appears to have come from. I am missing the screw for it as well as quite a few springs for some of the arms on the escalator. The arm that is sticking up is one that I reinstalled but it is missing a spring as well (I think)


Full view of the escalator. The topmost of the two long parallel arms is missing it's spring and the spring on the lower arm looks to be pretty weak.


Inside bottom of the chassis. Is the unit in the front center what I have seen referred to as the bonus payout device? I also removed the lever plunger as it wasn't doing anything. Looks like I need a new gasket in it.


Counter on slot mechanism.


The left most lever was bent pretty badly. I disconnected it and hammered it flat and now the slot mechanism works again.

[oldslotman]

Looks like you are getting things fixed. Those jewel bells are great playing machines when they are working. Very reliable machines. Good luck. Welcome to the forum.

[doc]

Keith, here are references to two excellent youtube videos on unjamming a Mills slot machine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g11qBe3qdY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZirU6dA25hQ

I believe those were done by the moderator of this forum, who is an excellent resource.

I'm also going to suggest you consider the "Loose Change Magazine - digital edition," which is available here for about $45:
http://www.meadpublishinglasvegas.com/l ... gazine.htm

You get 177 issues (1977-1998) of a magazine dedicated to coin-op devices. It has a great number of articles on antique slot machines. It's in PDF format, which you should be to view on any computer.

Steven

[keith23464]

Steven,

Thanks for the information. I actually found those two videos the other night and they are most helpful. That was how I learned to get the mechanism working outside of the chassis. In fact right now it will only work outside of the chassis. As soon as I put it back it, the handle is locked up. I assume is it because of teh issues that I have with the escalator so I will worry about that once I get the missing parts reinstalled.

I did have a question about two other items that are in some of the pictures about that I am unsure about:

!. This is a blowup of the floor from the first picture in my post. This small aluminum bracket was in the box of parts that I got with the slot. Is it part of the slot machine and if so do you know where it goes?


2. In this picture, I have circled a small box that attaches to the side of the slot chassis. Does anyone know the purpose of this box?


Thanks again for any input or suggestions. I am having a blast playing with the slot.

[oldslotman]

The one on the floor is a cover for the horizontal payout springs. The box on the side of the cabinet is a slug box for rejected coins