Coin Slot Magazine - #039 - 1978 - April[International Arcade Museum]
work in the machine itself. Everything fell into place for me then.
It was a true clock-actually a fairly precise regulator of other wheels.
In this instant, I had seen the proverbial "time is money" saying put
into actuality. It was also at this moment that I was keenly attracted
to one of the most durable, complicated, and fascinating mechanisms
I had ever worked on.
A mechanism that was at once cumbersome
yet delicate, one that combined levers and fulcrums with wheels and
gears, one which stored huge power of massive springs and released it
in four to five seconds, smoothly and quietly.
I was hypnotized by the mechanical beauty, but fell in love with
the cvp?tp pnd sometimes plain castings on the front of the machines.
These cast alun "lum fronts ranged from the severly plain Mills Jewel
to the elaborate mining and die casting of the strikingly beautiful
Watling Roll-A-Top.
The Mills War Eag.e was another example of the die maker's anti
que and patriotic art, with its detailed casting of a fierce ^or^ad eagle,
feathers and all, and a glass belly ful! of coins reaHv *o
.-:---x down
at the eagles whim
What a pity that these samples of engra'ing and die m.AKyj skills,
these mechanical wonders, were frequently hammered into junk by
a zealous sheriff!
These memories make the slot collector wince and
groan with despair and loss.
The craft, beauty, and function of clocks and watches are topics of
interest for a large yroup o* cot'eotota. Their history, js well as their
place m history, is a subject of many learned as well as light publica
tions. The mechanisms of clocks and watches are indeed a fascina
tion. However, when you peer into the back of a slot machine a new
machanical fascination grips you.
What magic there is in the gaily colored spinning wheels, clicking
Massive levers charge enormous springs with power
to drive the huge, complicated mechanism. The machine, after feel
ing for slugs, washers, or bent coins, accepts your coin with a slight
click. A pull of the handle then sends the machine into a violent,
and humming?!
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loa of d spinning,
rcad clicking, and whirring.
spasmodic surge
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When h
the
violent impulse is complete, a quieter,
operation is heard and seen.
the slot machine.
smoother
It is the real heart and intelligence of
It is the decision-making apparatus that determines
© The International Arcade Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/