Coin Slot Magazine - #083 - 1982 - January [International Arcade Museum]
B*OOK
By Dave Evans
OWNER'S PICTORIAL GUIDE FOR THE CARE AND
UNDERSTANDING
OF
THE
JENNINGS
BELL
SLOT MACHINE, by Robert Geddes and Daniel Mead,
published by Mead Publishing Corp., Long Beach, CA,
155 pages, price $29.95 plus postage.
mat prolific team of Bob Geddes and
I Dan Mead have produced another real
[winner for the slot collector! Their PIC
TORIAL GUIDE on the Mills machine
[showed all collectors just how detailed a
service manual can be, and the PICTORIAL GUIDE for
the Jennings, I believe is even more thorough and in
more complete detail. In the Jennings book there are
about 500 clear distinct photos showing every facet of
the Jennings mechanism. These are not some muddy
photocopy of an old manual, but clean new pictures
that are a real credit to Dan Mead's photographic
ability. Words come easy for Bob Geddes, and he guides
you through each step in an easily understood manner.
The JENNINGS PICTORIAL GUIDE is divided into
13 chapters, plus 2 Appendices and a glossary. In the
Foreward, Bob explains that if you understand the
complete workings of a mechanism, including what
does what, you have a more efficient way of repairing
than just treating symptoms. I agree with this philos
ophy, and I surely wished that I had this book when I
built a few Jennings mechanisms out of parta I sweated
blood over several minor problems- at least they now
seem minor since the functions have been explained. I
realize that many collectors do not restore their own
machines, and would feel this book is not necessary.
However, these marvelous old devices have a way of
screwing up, and you cannot run to your nearest slot
machine repairman with every coin jam! If you are
going to collect machines, you had best learn a little
about how they work, and how you can keep them in
operation!
If a person had never seen the inside of a slot
machine, I feel that he could do a creditable job of
minor repairs by reading this book Bob claims just
that, and I agree with him. The book was written with
the assumption that you had never seen a machine
before, so they start with telling you how to get the
mech out of the cabinet Chapter 3 gives you the
theory of operation including what Bob calls the "wind-
up cycle," the "release cycle," and the "unwind cycle."
Chapter 4 covers lubrication of the mechanism, and is
.com
m
:
u
m
use a mech is
fro idea
m
d
-
very helpful for those
whose
of
restoring
e
e
d
d
to dunk the mech
solvent—
nloa in w
arca hose off — dry off and
.
w
o
forget it! D
A lot of w
mechs
w are restored this way, unfortu
:// are properly lubed, maybe they will
p
nately, but t if
they
t
h
work a little better.
1982
© January
The International
Arcade Museum
Several chapters deal with the disassembly of the
mechanism, and at each point the part is illustrated, as
well as its function completely described. It will show
you some parts that can be eliminated, and some that
we tend to discard, but should not. I found descriptions
^nd functions explained on a couple of parts that I had
wondered about for years. Chapter 10 deals with the
jackpot, and Jennings jackpots can be even more
troublesome than Mills! The section about jackpot
adjustments is very helpful. The escalator chapter is
probably worth the price of the book if you ever ran into
a maladjusted escalator. Here is probably the best
example of — "if you know the theory — you can make
it work properly!" A couple of items that Bob explains
thoroughly, I had to learn the hard way. Chapter 13
deals with final adjustments on the mechanism, and
this of course is very important to proper operation and
long life. One Appendix chapter deals with the Jennings
reel assembly, and the other on the Jennings Silver
Dollar escalator. If you are fortunate enough to own a
Jennings Silver Dollar machine, you will find this very
helpful. This is another item I had to learn the hard way.
While the price of this book might seem high, I feel
that it is a must for every collector who owns a
Jennings machine. The Jennings equipment might be
a little more complex than Mills, but when you get them
running correctly, I feel they are the finest playing slot
machine you can own. This book will guide you through
all the problems you might run into, thus making it well
worth the money.
Concurrently with the Jennings Pictorial Guide,
Geddes and Mead also did a similar book on the
Watlings. I have not dug into this one, yet, but I am sure
it will be as helpful as the Mills and Jennings booka I
will review this one, soon.
Collector Desires
To Form Club
We received a letter from Richard Kent of Sunny
vale, CA He would like to start a club in the northern
California area for people interested in antique
gambling devices. There are several clubs in exis
tence in different localities— one being in Denver.
The members feel that the exchange of ideas and
information is very worthwhile.
Our list of subscribers is kept confidential and we
were unable to send the list which Richard requested.
However, we encourage anyone interested in begin
ning a club in northern California to contact:
Richard Kent
566 Croyden Ct. Sunnyvale, CA 94087
THE COIN SLOT—51
http://www.arcade-museum.com/