Restoring a Mills Black Beauty

[RameGoom]

A neighbor brought me two machines to help get operable, a Mills Black Beauty and a Mills War Eagle. They've been sitting for many years, as his father bought the Black Beauty brand new. So upon further inspection, the grease has turned to tar and oil is non-existent, which I would expect. But, the mech has remarkably low wear, and as I understand it, the machine was purchased for home use. He also had a stack of related paperwork, of which I made copies.

So I'll start by removing the reels and spraying the mech down with naphtha, then oil everything. Oddly, there are two bugs on the reels. Wondering why you'd have bugs on a home-use machine, I discovered the receipt for the "percent regulators".

The War Eagle was previously painted blue, sides and all, and I suggested a restoration, but seems he wants to keep it as is. Looks terrible, yet it's all there. Big job to strip and detail though.

The Black Beauty has a jackpot fill lock on the front, but it seems the jackpot also fills from the coin chute. Maybe it's only the reserve that gets filled manually? Any ideas?

[Dave]

I don't think hand load jackpots had reserves or automatic load feature.

I thought one of the purposes of handholds was so the owner/operator knew exactly how much was in the jackpot.

Dave

[JHSS-1944]

I agree with Dave on this.
many operators hated having some one run over count the coins out then , hand pay the rest, since the J.P. never filled to the needed amount (specially at 2 a.m.). hand loads were refilled on the spot soon as it hit a J.P.
I don't recall any slot having both features , as the Operators bought / ordered them in 1 form or the other, straight from the factory. I don't recall right now IF, the black beauty was offered with the hand load option , Most weren't. goggle images of Mills high tops & you will see far fewer with the hand load lock on them.

regardless , nice machines & you should have them humming in no time for your friend.

jeff H.

[JHSS-1944]

the Document states 6 bugs were bought......... for home use........ don't think so. plus 2 bugs in one machine ! not heard that before, one is usually enough to "cheat the customers".
interesting document in itself.
poor "blue bird"......
jeff H.

[RameGoom]

Once I get everything moving, I'll look to see what location the bugs were installed. They have me really wondering now.

And I'll take a good look at the jackpot to see if the coin path fills it. Does seem odd, that lock on the front. There is very little wear internally as far as I can see, so it didn't get much use. The original owner had four machines, two went to each son, and hopefully I'll find out about the other two, maybe get a shot at making them work properly. Mechanisms are virtually identical between the two machines so far.

The original keys are there, and the War Eagle has an additional number stamped on it, indicating that it was on a route or at a casino. I wish these machines could talk...

[Swami]

All Black Beauty's were Front Hand Load Jackpot's. While you didn't post a picture of the inside of the machine, I'm guessing you are referring to the Chute that is connected to the top left side of the Jackpot. That is there to channel the Coin Tube overflow coins to the cash box. If you look closely, you will see there is No Way for those coins to enter the Jackpot. They simply run down the back side to the cash box.

The Blue War Eagle looks great. I wouldn't repaint it either. Nice original machines.

[RameGoom]

Thanks for clarifying that about the jackpot. I have removed the jackpot to lube and clean it, and will look closely.

On another note, the machine is lined with steel plates inside. On one side, the plate paint flaked off and is rusty, the rest of the plates are fairly OK with gray paint. Is there any downside to permanently removing that steel sheathing inside the machine? It is no doubt for security purposes so people can't easily break into the machine. I'm thinking removing the steel would decrease the weight of the otherwise really heavy machine - home use you wouldn't need to worry about break-ins.

But will removing the steel reduce the value in any real way?

[JHSS-1944]

You're the 2nd guy to ask that in the same day !!!! ultimately, yes the value might drop.... "it's not original / factory...."
the color is fairly easy to match , a basic flat light gray primer.
As I stated to that owner.... I did remove a set from 1 on my machines, no real reason why but, I did. now I wish they were still in it. I still have them , no problem. And NO REDUCTION IN ANY WEIGHT .

And "Swami" is correct , these were all hand loads (pulled my sales ads , since I couldn't recall).
released January 1949.... " Mills black beauty; this is a handload type bell ideal for club locations. big jackpot display that kicks automatically on 3 bars. colors: Turquoise blue, burgundy and roman gold, heavy decorations, polished aluminum ornamentations. New, black background reel strips with the fruit symbols beautifully colored and outlined in white, can be seen at a great distance. Black reward card to match. Finish is of famous Hammerloid paint , hard, durable and lustrous. Use Black Beauty for top spots ! "

sorry , I don't recall the original price tag (per 25 machines).
jeff H.

[RameGoom]

Thought I'd share some images. These items stayed with the slot since day one. Interesting pricing on those machines back then.

[JHSS-1944]

Thank you for sharing these with us.
don't have the one... (do now). nice these stayed with one of the machines.

for the prices.... one you would think the prices since the late 1940's, would be much higher today .... being 60+ years later.
I happy they aren't, hence my nice collection.
jeff H.