I stripped out every moving part and degreased, as old grease is sticky. I oiled all
moving parts, re-tensioned the ' pull' to the ratchet so it coincided with the switch
closing and the coin passing through each gate. Most importantly, I filed the sliding
edge so it was less severe. Making it more rounded did the trick.
Now both sides are smooth enough even for a child to operate. One thing I haven't
done yet but will do next is to glue strips of fine sandpaper between the vertical metal
wires on the wooden drum. That way the contacts will be self cleaning as the machine
is played.
I took a couple of months thinking this one out as I wanted to keep it all original
and didn't want to re-engineer anything. Especially being Oliver Whales I was sure
that enough original design had been put into it and it was only a case of tweaking
things.
It's now had three hundred pennies through it and if anything it's getting even
better. So if you fancy Kiss O Meter, don' t be put off by their reputation. If anyone
has one of these machines and wants to chat further, just mail me through
Pennymachines.co.uk or via this magazine.
Jeremy Clapham
Page 11