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Hello! I recently aquired a Buckley Bones 5 cent slot machine!!! After pulling off the back of the cabinet and sliding the machine out a couple of inches I noticed a small spring in the corner by the payout slot. Was wondering if I posted multiple pictures of the machine and the spring if anybody could tell me where the spring goes? The machine did not work when I joined this site (love it by the way) but later that night got it working! (with the small spring still out). everything seems to work fine except the payouts. When it is supposed to pay out 8 it only pays 7 but they all dropped out fine and when it's supposed to payout 2 (amount was correct) they do not drop by themselves I have to push in the slide from the front and then they will drop. Is there a simple way to fix this? The nickles that were in the payout tube seemed to be coated in oil. Was pretty neat to see the old coins come out thought, Found a couple of Buffalo head nickles 1920 and 1936. What is the best way to remove the old oil and what oil should I use to oil it back up! The dice inside also have a coating of oil on them, is it supposed to be on them so they slide or should this be removed? Would greatly appreciate any help. Thanks, Trav

It sounds like the springs attached to the 2 coin payout slide is either weak or not connected. The slides might also be gummy and you just need to take them and clean them (do NOT use oil on them).

Regarding paying out short by one coin on the 8 coin payout.

This is not unusual. Coins were a bit thinner back in the 1930s, modern coins are thicker and sometimes on the larger payouts the machine will short the payout. Nothing you can really do and nothing to worry about.

Dave

Congratulations on your dice. The slides should not be oiled at all. This is true for ALL slots. They should be cleaned of all oil. Use lacquer thinner, acetone or something which doesn't leave a film like paint thinner. The slides are designed to operate dry. Oil on them creates a suction and they will not slide. This is probably your main problem. They have to be taken out to get the oil from between them. However, make sure you take pictures or look carefully how they fit as they are a little tricky to get back in. And no, the dice were not oiled. They were originally white and dry. I would guess that yours look somewhat yellow. Unless you are going to restore the machine, I would just wipe the oil off the dice.

Watlingboy

Thank you Dave and Watlingboy! I will gladly take 7 nickles on a working machine. I will clean off all the oil and if that doesn't do the trick then I will attempt taking apart the slides. The dice are yellow and and have a residue on them (some even have a pretty heavy crunchy orange coating of oil on them). Is it ok to use a chemical cleaner on the dice....Say windex, or will that harm them or the ink in the dice holes? I will take some pictures tonight and post them tomorrow! I still have about a thousand questions to ask about this machine and my other one (25 cent Columbia Gold Award). Thank you! Trav

I have a Bally Reliance, and it is my appreciation that the mechanisms are on the Reliance and the Bones are similar, except for the payout (2-4 on the Reliance). The "Bones" is the rarer of the two, and brings more on the market because of that. See Buschel, An Illustrated Guide to the 100 most collectible slot machines.

The old grease and oil can be cleaned with lacquer thinner. Contrary to what most people think, it is not good to drown a slot mechanism with oil and greese. Certainly, the coin slot does not need oil in it under any circumstances, nor do the nickels, nor do the dice. If you are using brand new nickels, they are slightly thicker than the older nickels and that could be your problem on the larger payout.

Rest assured that the spring has some purpose. It may be part of your problem with the smaller payout. See Loose Change - April 1978 for an article on the Bally Reliance with some pictures of the mechanism. This may indicate to you where the spring should be attached.

The expert on these machines is Jeff Frahm (Two - Bit Restorations), 4750 W. Mint Creek Rd., Prescott, AZ 86305. He is listed in the C.O.C.A. directory and advertises in the C.O.C.A. Times. He did a magnificent restoration job on my mechanism at a reasonable price. You have a very valuable machine, and it would be a good investment to have it placed in top notch condition.

I hope that this information is of some assistance to you.

Peppi Bruneau (cebruneau@cs.com)

Your information is very helpful! I will read the article loose change and look for the book by bushel. I did cleaned the payout slide on the machine and now it pays eight when it should and everything else seems to be working fine. So far I have left the spring where I placed it according to the photo I posted as I can't see anywhere else that it could go. I have not seen a bally machine, I will look for that as well. I wrote down the information you posted about (two bit) I have to wait till after christmas though...."5 kids"! Thanks for you help....Trav