I'm trying to restore a 1947 (or possibly 1946, I've heard they exist) 10-cent Mills Jewel Hi-Top. I can get it to play consistently with a screwdriver when out of the case. I can often get it to play one (and only one) time when it is in the case, but then the next coin will not fall down the chute.
Today I took apart the escalator, and I think I've discovered the problem; I just don't know what to do about it, and I'm hoping you guys can help.
I'm attaching two close-up pictures of the escalator. In both of them, you can see a metal part attached slightly above and to the left of the coin detecting pin, with a spring connecting it to a little hook on the escalator.
In the first picture, you can see that the extra part is positioned so it is higher up and not in the way of the coin advancing bar, which is able to slide all the way to the left:
In the second picture, you can see that the extra part has slipped down so it is in the way of the coin advancing bar, which is not able to slide all the way to the left, and is blocking the chute so more dimes can't come through:
I can't find any documentation that explains what this part is for or how it is supposed to be positioned. I can't find any pictures of escalators that even have this part on them. Any ideas?
Let me know if more pictures are needed, or I'm about 20 miles north of Seattle, if you think you need to see it in person.
Thanks for any insight you can provide!
-Betsey