Coin Slot Magazine - #089 - 1982 - July[International Arcade Museum]
RESTORATION & REPAIR
By Marc Harrison
MILLS
ESCALATORS
for wear, or otherwise provide for limiting stroke or
increasing engagements, further hinders the proper
Mills'SILENTS—the most popular bell
machines of their time, when first intro
tions which follow.
operation and service life of the escalator. A thorough
disassembly, cleaning, and rebuilding can often restore
the coin chute to a reasonable level of operational
stability, if carried out in accordance with the instruc
duced over fifty years ago, and still the
most frequently encountered machines
in collections today. This popularity was
based on many factors including: con
stant design improvements, innovative
features, and contemporary appearance.
Unfortunately, the most proven design
feature of the SILENTS was the unreli
ability of the coin chute mechanism.
Without the benefit of any appreciable
improvement, the Mills escalator was
installed on thirty-five years worth of bell
production, providing the single largest
source of mechanical failures and
service woes.
When compared to the escalators fitted to machines
manufactured by Jennings, Watling, or Pace, the defi
ciencies of the Mills design become quite evident. The
most easily seen feature of the other makes is that
they "roll" the coins along in individual compartments,
providing positive coin placement and preventing coin
Because of its straight forward and simplistic con
struction, disassembly can be accomplished in the
usual manner. Take care to observe the position of the
various shims so that they can be refitted in the proper
place. Brush away dirt and grease in a suitable solvent,
and allow the parts to dry.
Special attention should be directed to the coin
runway, where the greatest accumulation of dirt and
wear will be located. The wear will manifest itself as
wavy scallops along the lower run of the coin track, as
well as circular impressions on both the runway back
and face plates. These spots can be removed by care
fully dressing with a hand file, though if very deep, a
simple smoothing off of the peaks will have to do.
Inspect the teeth on the coin advance and holding
bars for wear. The leading edges of the teeth must be
square with the face of the runway, and the trailing
edges should be smooth and free of dips or gouges,
providing a sliding ramp which will pass easily over the
edges of the coins.
Both bars are spring loaded and must operate to and
fro on their support shafts without binding. The guide
slots on the advance bar must, likewise, be free of
wear, which might cause the bar to bind on its posts
when moving laterally.
Continued on page 46
overlaps or other jamming. The Mills escalator, however,
'drags" the coins along the runway with spring-loaded
ratcheting advance bars, causing excessive wear on
the escalator tracks and face plates due to the axial
loads on the coins.
While the other units advance the compartments to
receive the coins, and then allow the coins to stay with
their respective compartments until they are released
at the opposite end of the runway; the Mills escalator
om
m.c
attempts to advance coins five at a time from one
compartment to the next by the ratcheting action of
the advance and holding bars. Of course, such an
m: useu
o
r
f
ed
e-m
oad .arc to ad preserve
action makes n
it l impossible
the integrity of
ow
w
the coin D
compartments,
allowing
coins
to
pass halfway
/ww
/
:
between compartments
in either direction at five
p
t
ht
different positions. That such a device could work at all
when new is a marvel — when well worn, miraculous.
The lack of any sort of adjustments to compensate
© July,
The International
Arcade Museum
1982
"A thorough disassembly,
cleaning, and rebuilding
can often restore the
coin chute to a
reasonable level of
operational stability,
if carried out in
accordance with the
instructions..."
http://www.arcade-museum.com/
THE COIN SLOT — 45