Gluten for punishment - New Columbia

[Walter Newton]

I must be a gluten for punishment. I just purchased my second Columbia slot machine (my first one took me a few months to get working correctly.)

I believe this is called the "club model," it's the slightly taller one with the "straight drop" coin head (well, it's not quite a straight drop, but there is not upper coin escalator.)

I know for a fact it worked before it was shipped. It was double-boxed, form padded in both boxes, machine itself was bubble wrapped, but it arrive with one problem.

The handle will only go about half way down before it stops.

The only self inflicted damage I did to the mech myself was I broke the little loop on the main ratchet, which was attached to the main ratchet spring. This keeps the handle from springing back until a player pulls the handle full stroke. But this has nothing to do directly with my problem.

Nothing attached to the main cross cam (A-212) is seized or locked. The reel kicker, the reel stop levers, the clock, the cross side arm (which shoves the payout finger away from the reels), all of these pieces can be pushed by my fingers or moved when I pop a ratchet.

I have NO idea as to what is impeding the forward motions of the handle (and no, it's nothing on the coin head).

There is no info on this model that I can find. No parts manual, operation manual, and very few advertising brochures. I'm not even sure if I am using the right name for the machine.

Here are some pictures. The pic with the circles outline a part that I have no idea what it is for, except for the fact that the rod with the yellow circle, goes up to the coin head. Like it's some kind of adjustable lockout, but the part itself is not even directly connected to the main cross cam.

It's a really c lean machine, nice looking, no obvious problems I can find. I even put my other Columbia mech side by side on my work bench to see if I could discover some difference that would explain the problem. Aside from the coin handling mechanisms at the top of these two machines, they are almost identical ( a few different-sizes springs is about it).

Any Columbia experts want to weigh in?

[marsonion]

What you've got is a Columbia Chrome that's been painted-over. From the pitted condition of the lever, I'm guessing the metal of the once-shiny cabinet isn't in the best of shape, and a previous owner decided to cover it... and stripped all the color off the Columbia badge in the process (you can search up my remedy for that on this forum). I have a Chrome that runs beautifully, and I think the variable coin acceptor (which automatically adapts to receive any coin diameter, 10c to 25c) in the window is marvelous.

I'm not clairvoyant so I can't be sure what's causing your specific malfunction, but if it were me, the first thing I'd watch is that funny, floating bronze conrod that communicates between the handle half-gear and the kicker. I've seen that item skew and jam in various ways before, and when it does, the handle gets stuck in just the way you describe. I don't remember what messes it up, though... maybe it gets cockeyed scraping the side of the frame, or skews with the kicker in some way. That conrod is half-floating in there, and it seems like it could wander and ram into any number of possible obstacles or derailments. See if that thing is behaving as it should-- good luck!

[Walter Newton]

It looks to be where it should be, but, I will give it a closer look tomorrow.

The owner who sold it to me didn't know how to empty the machine of all the coins, therefore, I know that the post office did not handle the package with care.

There were about 60 nickels floating around in the case.

Even though I paid extra for special handling, fragile and only one side up.

So, it could have gotten jostled enough to offset that joint.

At least that's a new place to check.

[Walter Newton]

I checked, that ball/joint sort of transmission is fine.

Handle stops before that payout finger cross arm pusher really comes into play.

I've compared sprint to spring, ratchet to ratchet, lever to lever on both machines, I can't seem to find what's stopping it.

[marsonion]

I checked, that ball/joint sort of transmission is fine.

Handle stops before that payout finger cross arm pusher really comes into play.

I've compared sprint to spring, ratchet to ratchet, lever to lever on both machines, I can't seem to find what's stopping it.

Maybe you're responding to someone else's PM or something, but the ball-joint to the payout plunger return arm isn't the part I was talking about. Look for the bronze rod attached to the kicker, that goes back diagonally to engage a notch in the handle gear. What I see in one of your pictures is a lot of ruts and grooves on the inside of the frame where that bronze conrod & kicker assembly has been reaming out the metal as it scrapes against it over and over; I think just a few more burrs in the way could kill its function cold. I recall also that the little screws which hold the kicker front-stop plate to the frame can thread in so far as to project to the inside of the frame and hit the conrod/kicker as it swings forward, also stopping the handle cold: the four screws are of slightly different lengths, and having one in the wrong location can interfere with the kicker.

[Walter Newton]

No, I was responding to you, but probably I wasn't clear as to what part you were talking about.

I'll check that.

[Walter Newton]

I checked, that ball/joint sort of transmission is fine.

Handle stops before that payout finger cross arm pusher really comes into play.

I've compared sprint to spring, ratchet to ratchet, lever to lever on both machines, I can't seem to find what's stopping it.

[ ... ] Look for the bronze rod attached to the kicker, that goes back diagonally to engage a notch in the handle gear. What I see in one of your pictures is a lot of ruts and grooves on the inside of the frame where that bronze conrod & kicker assembly has been reaming out the metal as it scrapes against it over and over; I think just a few more burrs in the way could kill its function cold. I recall also that the little screws which hold the kicker front-stop plate to the frame can thread in so far as to project to the inside of the frame and hit the conrod/kicker as it swings forward, also stopping the handle cold: the four screws are of slightly different lengths, and having one in the wrong location can interfere with the kicker.

1) Bronze rod and kicker assembly move freely. No obstructions, no burrs, metal is not really reamed out, those are just some "grease trails."

2) I even disengaged the A-23 Reel Spinner Arm Push Rod (bronze conrod), off the notch on the outside of the arm, handle goes full stroke to the bottom bumper, so, it's not something on the handle side of the mech.

3) Reel stops fingers move freely. I'm able to pull them back with my fingers, about an inch. Further than that, I'm up against the A-212 Main Cross Cam, which of course, is not completing it's stroke.

4) Linkage on the right side of the A-121 Main Cross Cam is also free to move (as far as Cross Cam will let them), no obvious choke points, levers and rods going up to coin head are not seized in any way.

5) At this point, you would think that some of that linkage above the left side of the A-212 Main Cross Cam (picture one below) is preventing the full cycle, but the A-204 Cam on Part A-212, A-92 Lift Dog, A-88 Trip Arm Bracket and the lever (spring loaded), that pushes up the A-79 Dog Lift Stem (going to the carousel), all this linkages move like the should, springs are correct.

I still cant see what's keeping the A-212 Main Cross Cam from completing it's stroke.

[Walter Newton]

P.S. "... little screws which hold the kicker front-stop plate to the frame can thread in so far as to project to the inside of the frame ..."

Nope, those screws are precisely flush in the frame, none are extending beyond the tap holes.

[marsonion]

2) I even disengaged the A-23 Reel Spinner Arm Push Rod (bronze conrod), off the notch on the outside of the arm, handle goes full stroke to the bottom bumper, so, it's not something on the handle side of the mech.

I don't think you can jump to this conclusion: it is a non sequitur. Disengaging the conrod and getting full travel on the handle implies that the conrod (or other handle-side hardware) certainly could be the problem, not that it (and/or other conrod-connected hardware) definitely isn't the problem. If you meant "it's not something on the handle side of the frame," then I think you'd be correct. In any event, since you've investigated the screws I alluded to, I have no more to offer by way of suggestions. Maybe someone else here has a better idea what could be going wrong with your machine. My general approach to these things is to bring the cycle to the "trouble spot" and tap and flick around the various engaged hardware to find the parts that are the most seized-up under tension, and try to find a way to liberate them and keep them that way. Jammed parts have a sort-of distinct "sound" when you tap on them with a screwdriver or whatever; I guess you kind of have to "be there" to know what I'm talking about... BTW the word is "glutton," meaning someone who deliberately or compulsively overeats; "gluten" is a protein found in grain which some claim irritates their bowels... so maybe someone with celiac disease could use "gluten for punishment"?

[padlangan]

Haha. Sat here in The Netherlands (no need to correct my English) expecting to enjoy an evening of knowledge concerning slot. However : seems to have turned into a grammer lesson.

In The Netherlands we call people who correct language mistakes "Vinger pee-ers".