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Just got this today machine plays some what . It will play with or with out coins . The arm is real hard to pull . does not seem to pay out though . any Ideas . 

Sounds like you want to stop playing it while it still works and sell it on E-Bay for $2000.00  :89- :89- :89- :89-

Sweet ..I would love to have a old machine like that!  :89-

On the old mills it's more complicated than that.
i mean they usually need to be taken all apart,
cleaned, maybe bead blasted, and reassembled
with fresh lubricant. it's a big job.

if you want to "bandaid" it, there is a lever that
pulls in as a coin goes thru the escalator. if there's
no coin, the lever doesn't allow the user pull lever to move.
sounds like that internal lever is stuck (or someone modified
it for "free play").

well got my camera fixed here is a few pics of the new machine

Is there a way to lubricant this machine without taking it apart, if so what should I use .  Where should I look to  find the lever that
pulls in as a coin goes thru the escalator.  Any one have a manual for this . Thanks for any help

The pictures below should explain it. This is a 1930s Mills "silent"
War Eagle, but the mechanism is the same as your post-WW2
Mills Black Cherry.

As a coin enters the escalator, a lever "feels" for the coin.
As the player pulls the handle, this lever is prevented from
moving if there's a new coin in the escalator. No coin, and
the lever moves, and prevents the game from playing.

If you want to "free play" the game, just hold the lever in
place. Though it's a big long mechanism, you only have to
hold the lever where it's shown with the blue arrow below.

(http://www.pinrepair.com/slots/mills/mills_coinin1.jpg)

(http://www.pinrepair.com/slots/mills/mills_coinin2.jpg)

(http://www.pinrepair.com/slots/mills/mills_coinin3.jpg)

Thanks CFH got it to only spin with a coin . There was a pin going in that I had to adjust works great, thanks . Now is there anyway to find out why it is not paying out, is there a bell or something like that on this machine if so i can not find it thanks Jim

Payouts are a different matter. that's a lot more complicated unfortunately.
it works like this...

first there is a pay tube. this should fill with coins, and it's what feeds
the "slides", which ultimately drop the coins. so the tube is exactly
that, a tube the size of the coin, about 12" tall. it feeds to a stack of
about 6 slides, each maybe a 1/4" thick (thickness depends on the
payouts). the slides have holes in them, same size as the feeding
tube.

when the slides are out of place, no coins fall thru from the tube
to the payout tray. when a "hit" is made, one (or more) slides move,
allowing the coins in that slide to fall to the payout tray. when the
slides moves back, it is automatically refilled with new coin(s) by
the feed tube.

there is also a spinning disc, to the left of the reels as facing
the back of the machine. the disc has a bunch of holes in it, and little arms
that find the holes in the disc. when a "win" is hit, some of the arms find
a hole, and it pushes one or three "slides".

most problems relate to the feed tube and the slides. actually
the feed tube is the biggest problem. sometimes the coins come
into the tube "on edge", instead of flat. this obviously jams the
slides, and no payouts result.

so check the tube first. it's just 1 or 2 screws, and the whole tube
comes off (coins will come out as the tube is removed, be careful).
empty the tube and clean it. then manually reload the tube with
coins.

if that doesn't fix it, next up is the slides. that's more work. but
they will need to be removed and cleaned (derusted), and lightly
lubed with 3-in-1 oil. DO NOT USE WD40 ON YOUR SLOT MACHINE!

Well took the tube out found a few pennys , still no pay out does the tube have to be full for a pay and how do the coins get to the jackpot at the bottom of the machine in the center where the glass is . when the machine hits a pay I hear a clicking noise but thats it . Thanks Jim

that's the jackpot window. as the coins reach to the top of the tube
(the tube is full), it goes to the jackpot window. when that's full, it
diverts to the lower cash box.

you need to remove the tube again and check the slides. they
should move easily and not have any pennies!

Took the tube out again nothing there , slides move very easy . I turned the machine upside down here is the pic . Can not get the bottom plate to move . it is not a slide seems like a plate of some sort . Would like to give a big thanks to CFH Thanks Jim

There are two levers running across from the coin chute in the pictures above, and two verticals going down into the mech. The vertical closest to the reels is called the coin detect lever, and the slightly longer one next to it is the check detect lever. The coin detect lever has to be held back to play, but the check detect lever moves forward as you pull the handle and the mech cocks. Over by the coin chute it puts a pin into the space where the coin moves to in the escalator, feeling for a hole - a "check" has a hole in the middle. The purpose is to block the payout slide release if it moves all the way forward - the handle still pulls and the game plays, but it won't pay out. It may be out of adjustment or its pin bent and that's what is blocking the payout. Note also that it will stop the machine paying out if you just hold back the coin detect lever and pull.

If you follow the check detect lever down, you'll find at the bottom it interacts with some pins and a cam, and you'll see what's going on. I seem to recall there was a small lever somewhere near the bottom that you could set to allow check payout or not, otherwise you can just hold the check detect lever back with wire.

Worth 1000 words -

Here's a link to the Mills manual on Ray Watts' site (http://rwatts.cdyn.com/Machines/download_area.html) - look for the Mills manual about 10 lines down. It's a Hi-Top, yours is a half-top, there's very little difference. The file is a 33MByte PDF.

I love the old school technology that went into the mechanical machines.  :131-
Op-bell, let us know if the manual with all those GREAT photos somehow makes it into the download area.
Looks like a must have for someone with an old Mills mechanical slot.  :3-
Guess I didn't read on to page 2
As Paul Harvey says "and now, the rest of the story"
Thanks for the link Op-Bell   K+ to ya

I can not seem to find the pin your talking about . I took some more pics hope this helps .. The first pic shows the pin I moved to allow it to only play with a coin . the 2nd pic shows what I think is the COIN RELEASE LEVER ,  it looks like it should have a spring on the end in the pic. thanks Jim

Silly me, I should have suggested the simple thing first. See the lever colored yellow in the picture? It's used for filling the machine's tube. When this lever is pulled back (out) it prevents any payout. Push it all the way in, see if that makes a difference, and watch what it does at the other end, because that's where the problem lies.

I do not have that lever on my machine thanks Jim

HI,
    I restore Antiques Mills Watling...etc Machines as a hobby/ business.  I have found a lot of machines that have problems simply caused by little or no maintenance.  The Mech (the mechanical part of the machine except for the cabinet and Jackpot) goes through several timed events.  These events, Coin in, spin, stop, and payout/reset, all have to happen in sequence, and can cause a machine to jam or lock up if one fails.  The biggest cause of this?   WD40!!!  Beleave it or not,  I have rebuilt machines that wreaked of WD40.  The problem is that WD40 is not a lubricant as much as it is a solvent.  It can get parts moving, and quiet squeaks,  but it also pulls the dirt out of the metal and collects dirt.  After a while, it will evaporate leaving a black tar around all the joints of the mech.   One machine I did allowed you to play a coin, and just after the cycle (Which was really slow) you could pull the handle again and again without a coin.  The machine was so "gummed up" that it took several seconds just to return to the coin in position.
    I only mention this so you don't start spraying down the mech with WD40.   When I rebuild a Mech just like yours,  All parts are thourougly cleaned, and reassembled.  There are only a few spots that actuall get greased.  most other spots are lubricated with a machinist oil or 3 in 1 oil.   The slides that pay out the coins do not get any lubricant at all.they are brass and should easily slide in at the end of the cycle when the payout fingers detect a win.

Now to answer you question on the bottom plate.   As you can see in the picture You posted with the coin plates,  there is an odd shaped lever above it.  The bottom plate in the mech does not actuall pay out the coins,  bu prevents coins from just dropping through the tube.  When you cycle the mech,  all the slides move forward,  at the end of the cycle,  if you get two cherrys (usually 5 coins) the bottom two brass slides will slide into the mech farther than the rest.  at the very bottom of the slides is another plate.  That odd shaped lever is on a spring and keeps that plate closed until a payout.  that lever should move FREELY when the mech is at rest and ready for a coin.  A very light touch will move it back and fourth about a 1/2 inch.  if your lever does not move freely,  then the shoulder screw is "gummed up".  Easy fix.  on the back of the meck,  you will see the shoulder screw on the bottom left of the base plate.   a small screwdriver should fit in easily and you can remove the screw.  clean it up and clean under the lever. apply a little 3-in-1 oil to the screw shoulder and replace.  Remember,  that lever should have no resistance except for the light spring that is on it. 
IF YOU"RE NOT SURE...TAKE PHOTOS OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE BEFORE YOU REMOVE ANYTHING OFF THE MECH.

Hope that helps!

Well I found the problem , in the pic posted below .I had to pull the release lever back it was holding the arms from going into the holes on the spinning disc . Don't know if it's paying out right though . When I get 1 cherry it pays two coins , 2 Cherry's 5 coins ,3 bells 18 coins . But if I get two bells and a lemon ,I do not get paid . Does it have to be 2 bells and the bell fruit bar .Also where should I lubricate the machine so that the arm pulls easy Thanks to everyone who helped . This is a great site thanks again Jim

Hi,

If your getting 2 coins for 1 cherry, and 5 for two cherrys,  Then the machine is most likely a reproduction mech.  On an original machine, You would have to get two cherrys in order to get 2 coins and two cherrys with a lemon or bell to get 5.  you also would get paid with two bells and a lemmon,  but on a reproduction, it will pay out on two bells and a bar.  It's hard to tell by the picture you show,  but all repros that I have seen pay out on that kind of schedule.  I may be mistaken though,  I would need to see more pics of the mech.

The above paragraph is based strictly on what you mentioned about the winnings.  It may very well be an original mech.

   I stand corrected.  I took a look at the machine on page 1 of this topic...That does look all original.  according to the pay card,  your payoffs are correct.

Now that I got the machine working , do you know where I can get some new reel strips

Krahl classics  antiques...  http://www.antiqueslots.biz/aboutus.html

If you pull back the strips that are on the machine now,  You will see at the bottom of each stip some numbers.  Example:  CH-1,  CH-2, CH-3 on each strip. 

Or you can check Ebay.  But you will need to mach up the numbers of each strip.  There are many variants.

Thanks for the info . I am now cleaning the machine up a little bit , took the reel glass out to clean them. Each reel has its own section, there is 2 pieces of glass with a sheet of plastic between them . One came apart by it self, the other 2 seem to be glued together . I can not get them apart , should I just buy new glass what do you think? Thanks Jim

Do not try to get them apart.  They are original 1930's glass.  just clean them if needed.  Keep the plastic from the one that fell apart,   and just stack it back together when re-installing it.  The glass is Security glass to prevent players from smashing it and stopping the reels manually.  Do not replace them either...beleave it or not, original glass helps with a machines value....no matter what the condition.

Thanks that is what I thought . Its just that the glass has some marks in between the two pieces . was hoping to make them look better . Thanks JIm

Here are some Youtube videos that can help get you familiar with your machine.  http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=VintageSlots

You can always put new glass in the machine if you like and you're happy with it,  but keep the original glass wrapped in tissue or bubble wrap and store it in the coin box for future use...in case you decide to sell it.   Since you own the machine,  It's up to you what you want to do with it.  When a customer brings me a machine to restore/repair,  I try to do what the customer wants...no matter what the color scheme.  Why not, it's there's. 

With that said,  I did turn down one guy who had a Mills Castle front.  He wanted it to look like new.  I told him that from what I saw,  it was the ORIGINAL paint job on the casting,  and would de-value the machine if I were to strip it , polish it, and paint it.   He decided on just a Mech cleaning,  and I think He was right.  If a machine has original 1930's panit on it,  I wouldn't touch it...even if it were mine.