Paces Races Restoration Progress January 26

All the coin head parts are clean and ready for assembly. The bellows that moves the fingers in to sense where the coins were bet is prepared for new bellows material and hinge.

Here are the clean parts ready to be assembled. The chrome parts were cleaned and shined with 0000 steel wool. The rubber cloth on the bellows has not been removed yet.

Note how the bottom spring must reach around the braze material. While not ideal, the spring is a small one and should keep the parts in the correct position.

The fingers and levers are nice and shiny.

paces races remove bellows material on coin head

The old bellows material needs to be removed. The hide glue used to apply the material can be burned off but often times can be torn. Eventually I will sand the wood carefully to remove most of the trace of the hide glue used to apply the rubberized material. I check the brass nipple to make sure it is sealed. The mounting block also has a crack in it and I make sure it does not leak. Any leaks are sealed with shellac or burnt shellac.

The inside of the bellows shows some wear on the hinge. Here the hinge is torn and needs to be removed. Note the tiny blocks that prevent the pneumatic from fully closing as this adjustment is critical in detecting the coin in the slot. The hinge will be replaced with pillow ticking and glued with hide glue.

The pneumatics are clean and ready for the new pouches. The pouches are glued over the circular openings. The pouches have a leather valve seal on the inside and a wooden button on the outside. When there is a vacuum in the pneumatic, the bellows close the fingers against any coins. The finger, attached to the wooden button, lifts the wooden button, which is glued to the pouch. The pouch is lifted and the leather seal is lifted off the hole, allowing a vacuum to be sent to the odds wheel. More on this later.