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Jennings Club Chief

PostPosted: Mon Dec 11, 2017 10:02 am
by RMicken
I have a circa 1948 or 49 Jennings club chief TicTacToe dime machine, and today it started acting up. Unfortunately I don't know anything about repairing the machine so I'm wondering if anyone can recommend somebody that could give me some advice. The reels only spin intermittently and sometimes only the right two real's will spin and the left one will stay stationary. Other times it seems to work normally. I can't find any rhyme or reason as to when it works, when it partially works, or when it doesn't work at all. I opened it up and watched it operate and couldn't see anything that was obviously wrong. The only thing I found were two small springs that were in the front left part of the machine. One had come completely loose and was just laying there, the other is connected on one end but not to anything on the other end. I don't know if that could cause the problem . Can anyone recommend somebody that could tell me if this is a common problem or an easy fix? Also can you tell me if there any websites or resources where I could get good clear pictures of the inner workings so I can figure out where the springs are supposed to go? I have a reproduction of the original manual but the clarity of the pictures is not good enough to figure out anything about the springs. I found a video that this organization produced on and un-jamming a machine that is very similar to mine but again I couldn't see the area where the springs are well enough to determine where they were supposed to go. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Re: Jennings Club Chief

PostPosted: Mon Dec 11, 2017 12:07 pm
by marsonion
RMicken wrote:I have a circa 1948 or 49 Jennings club chief TicTacToe dime machine, and today it started acting up. Unfortunately I don't know anything about repairing the machine so I'm wondering if anyone can recommend somebody that could give me some advice. The reels only spin intermittently and sometimes only the right two real's will spin and the left one will stay stationary. Other times it seems to work normally. I can't find any rhyme or reason as to when it works, when it partially works, or when it doesn't work at all. I opened it up and watched it operate and couldn't see anything that was obviously wrong. The only thing I found were two small springs that were in the front left part of the machine. One had come completely loose and was just laying there, the other is connected on one end but not to anything on the other end. I don't know if that could cause the problem . Can anyone recommend somebody that could tell me if this is a common problem or an easy fix? Also can you tell me if there any websites or resources where I could get good clear pictures of the inner workings so I can figure out where the springs are supposed to go? I have a reproduction of the original manual but the clarity of the pictures is not good enough to figure out anything about the springs. I found a video that this organization produced on and un-jamming a machine that is very similar to mine but again I couldn't see the area where the springs are well enough to determine where they were supposed to go. Any help would be greatly appreciated!



I have exactly the same model and denomination, and your story calls back a memory of when I first got the machine out of packing: the damn thing didn't work! Then I noticed a loose spring rolling around the bottom of the cabinet... I thought, "oh great, they sent me an extra spring!" #-o

Turns out the problem was a spring retainer that had broken off so cleanly it was hard to see that there was anything wrong with the part that the loose spring used to be attached to. I ground-out a washer into a hook as a quick-and-dirty fix, and got the guy who sold me the machine to send me a proper replacement part. (Oops-- I realize now that I never really got around to installing that :oops: but the Chief has been running fine in this condition for years.)

I'd like to help you but my machine is over 500 miles away from me right now. I'm posting the only pictures I have handy, just in case they're useful to you. With regard to the situation you describe, however, if it were me the first place I'd look is the reel kicker, to determine whether your loose springs have anything to do with that function.

Re: Jennings Club Chief

PostPosted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 9:18 pm
by oldslotman
RMicken wrote:I have a circa 1948 or 49 Jennings club chief TicTacToe dime machine, and today it started acting up. Unfortunately I don't know anything about repairing the machine so I'm wondering if anyone can recommend somebody that could give me some advice. The reels only spin intermittently and sometimes only the right two real's will spin and the left one will stay stationary. Other times it seems to work normally. I can't find any rhyme or reason as to when it works, when it partially works, or when it doesn't work at all. I opened it up and watched it operate and couldn't see anything that was obviously wrong. The only thing I found were two small springs that were in the front left part of the machine. One had come completely loose and was just laying there, the other is connected on one end but not to anything on the other end. I don't know if that could cause the problem . Can anyone recommend somebody that could tell me if this is a common problem or an easy fix? Also can you tell me if there any websites or resources where I could get good clear pictures of the inner workings so I can figure out where the springs are supposed to go? I have a reproduction of the original manual but the clarity of the pictures is not good enough to figure out anything about the springs. I found a video that this organization produced on and un-jamming a machine that is very similar to mine but again I couldn't see the area where the springs are well enough to determine where they were supposed to go. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Where you located? Maybe someone in your area can help.