Coin Knife Adjustment

[dieselburner]

Hi, I have a Wild Cherry slot that is working fine except for when I want to cash out. The coins ride up behind the knife and get between it and the mechanism. It does usually pay about 20 to 40 coins before this happens. I bought a couple of new knives on ebay but was wondering if there are any hints/tricks in adjusting this before I start. Thanks

[reho33]

Adjust it so that it is level with the pinwheel, not higher or lower.

[dieselburner]

Adjust it so that it is level with the pinwheel, not higher or lower.

Would that be flush with the front of the wheel? If so, where should the top of the knife ride in relation to the wheel? Right on the top edge? I tried to adjust it once before but could not figure out how to get it flush with the front. If you tightened up both screws, it was still out a little bit from the face. I wonder if you are supposed to use a spacer behind it on the outward screw to get it to angle back to the wheel? Thanks for the help!

[AnotherTech]

It sounds like your knife is bent.  If it's metal, just bend it back until it rides against the pinwheel and adjust it to sit right on top of the shelf wheel.  If it's plastic, it can be bent after heating it up.  Hair driers, boiling water, heat guns and a few others I can't remember now have been used with varying degrees of success.   

A new knife isn't really that expensive, but sometimes you just don't want to wait.   

[Buzz]

dieselburner   I've been known to put a flat washer under the knife at the outboard screw and yes sometimes it does work. One thing about it it can't hurt anything !! You can also take a file and clean up the top edge of a old knife.

[reho33]

I tried the hair dryer and heat trick and works well. I have seen some Nylon knives out there and they are really good. Just do a search or contact vendors above. They have been cheap as 3 dollars apiece.

[dieselburner]

Thanks everybody 

[dieselburner]

I had already ordered a couple of plastic knives before I heard about the nylon ones here. I don't have them yet but they are coming. I found some nylon ones for sale at a vendors website and they also had something called a "knife block stop plate" . If I get one of these nylon knives, would it be worthwhile to get this plate also? I am not sure but I think this is the plate that the knife bolts up against?

By the way, I did the trick with the washer and I was able to get the plastic knife over far enough for it to work for now. Paid off a little over 300 credits with no errors which is way more than it was able to do before without jamming.

[stayouttadabunker]

The knife plate helps keep the knife flat against the pinwheel.
If you have a can of Teflon spray...give the wheel a light coat...
it reduces friction so your hopper runs better.
Teflon does NOT gather dust once it's dried and hardened...just don't overdo it!

Nylon or plastic knives are very easy to work with and repair.
I like to remove the knife , turn it upside down and lightly press the
top side down on some medium grade sandpaper.
Make sure the knife is straight upright as possible so you end up
with a very flat edge for the top of the knife.

This is where one can completely ruin a knife's edge so
be very watchful when sanding.

Finally, upon re-installing the doctored knife,  make sure the tip is just touching the
edge of the pinwheel so that the knife's top edge is level as possible.
Not often, but sometimes older knives that have been re-worked numerous times
need their holes opened up so the knife is a little bit more extended away from the two retaining bolts.

Make sure there is no pieces or paper or human hair in the hopper.
These items are all that's needed to begin the mad bend a knife will receive once they slip in there
between the hopper wheel and the backside of a knife.

This may not occur for a home machine but you won't believe
how much paper and hairs get into a hopper on a live casino floor!
Dimes and pennies are also well known knife benders!

[dieselburner]

OK, I just received my nylon knife and IGT Hopper Knife Block Stop Plate. I will follow your directions but I have one question. Does the stop plate bolt on on top of the knife to sandwich it down to the pin wheel? Thanks

[Buzz]

OK, I just received my nylon knife and IGT Hopper Knife Block Stop Plate. I will follow your directions but I have one question. Does the stop plate bolt on on top of the knife to sandwich it down to the pin wheel? Thanks

 Yes Sir the plate to the outside.  If you think about it, if the plate was installed first it would hold the knife away from the pin wheel. 

[dieselburner]

Yeah, thats what I figured but I wanted to double check and only want to do this once if I can.

[Buzz]

Unless you sell your only machine tomorrow, there will never be a one time doing something.