FORUM

I'm now the proud owner of the Columbia Deluxe I'm sure you all saw on ebay. I don't know if I paid too much but I don't care as I love it.

It seems to work perfectly but I'm wondering if I have a small part missing or not. The jackpot unit is working fine but the feed to it seems to be missing. Were these fed manually like some of the Mills machines using a hand held chute, a method that seems to work fine, or should there be some sort of feed mech? If so, I can't imagine how it decided the jackpot was full, as there only seems room for a simple coin chute. In the photos below you can see (A) the existing short chute that drops the coins directly into the coin box (B) and also the opening (C) that leads to the jackpot. Inside this opening is a small slot leading to the jackpot and a larger drop leading to the coin box. What's missing? Can I make one?



I've started on the machine, my first job being to design and make new reel strips and payout cards. These seem to have come out perfectly, so if any one needs a set let me know: £5 post free in the UK. I'm working on a set with fruits but I'll leave my machine with the numbers, I think.

For anyone who did not see the machine on ebay, here it is before I start:

I once restored the more common model of the Columbia that had been operated in Aust. It had an armature that fed into the double jackpot and it would change every two or three coins from memory. There was some kind of camming action to make this happen and it pushed and pulled the chute with a spring. When the jackpots were full the coins would overflow into the cashbox. Don't think I have any pics of this part of the mech sadly.

as far as I can find out I need a straight chute that runs the coin against the jackpot slot, when its full the coins fall into the coin box.

the more I work on this machine the more I love it, so complex in some ways yet so simple in others. take the anti-tilt mech on the top of the escalator, I assume it was to stop players getting there coin back as it blocks the coin entry when you lean the machine over.

Ive cleaned and oiled the mech, fixed a couple of springs and re-painted the escalator,and checked the payout adjustments(thanks to the manuals I down loaded for the USA) and fitted the new reel strips so now ill leave well enough alone and start on the case

Just found a photo of the mech of a Columbia Deluxe. May be of help.