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Hi,

I inherited a 1910 Mills slot machine. The reels only move 2 spaces (exactly) with each lever pull. When I stop the fly wheel from spinning, I can manually spin the reels and they move well. Everything else about the machine seems to work. It pays out appropriately, etc.

It seems like the reel kicker might not be spinning the gears well. I have an older style kicker (as pictured- this one isn’t mine, just an example).

Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks

The tip of your reel kicker might be worn out or yours is the wrong one .

That kicker would not be on a 1910 slot machine. Your machine is most likely not a 1910 machine. Post a picture of you machine and then we can go on from there.

oldslotman wrote:That kicker would not be on a 1910 slot machine. Your machine is most likely not a 1910 machine. Post a picture of you machine and then we can go on from there.

I agree with Oldslotman's opinion: when trying to determine a year of manufacture, I think many new owners of vintage slots simply look in the reel window (after all, it's right in front of their faces) and see that the fine print above the Bell-Fruit-Gum jackpot bars clearly says "COPYRIGHT 1910" and the research STOPS right there...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdlBbjREtvI

Here is a photo. Clearly I have a lot to learn about this machine.

Mills hi-top circa 1948. Also, good one Patrick(Marsonion).

Here is the reel kicker. Looks to me like it’s got 3 deep grooves where it contacts the three gears. Seems like this might be the problem?

That should be replaced !

jmisatu wrote:Mills hi-top circa 1948. Also, good one Patrick(Marsonion).

Thanks, Jim-- and certainly, this is a Jewel Bell, one of the earliest Hi-Tops (debuted February 1947, according to Bueschel) and it appears to be in its original navy blue and maroon color scheme...
BTW I didn't mean to be snarky nor to embarrass our new member Sigmund35 (Welcome!); he's after information on what he's got, and this ought to be the right place. I wish I could assure him that researching vintage slots is straightforward and easy, but it ain't: part numbers, serial numbers, production dates... it's all clear as mud, and it doesn't help that there's also so much (presumably inadvertent) misinformation circulating "out there."

Sigmund35: Yup, that looks like a pretty worn-out kicker!

Thanks for your thoughts and the encouragement in the last post. Appreciate the help. Looking forward to seeing it in action with a new reel kicker.