Need Info on Antique Slots

[Dirtguy]

Hi
I just picked up these 4 slots and don't know the first thing about them. Was wondering about how old they are, what one is the best of the bunch and any other info about them you might have. Tried a nickel in one and it seems to be stuck. Any advice as of what to do first getting into trying to get them going ? Hope I'm not going to end up bald working on them.
                                                         Thanks,  Dan

[shortrackskater]

The Black Beauty and Blue Bell are probably from the mid to late 40's. The Castle front is mid late 30's (I think) and the Jennings Chief could be 40's early 50's I believe.
What did you pay for them?
Are any in operating condition?
For starters, in MANY cases, the escalators get jammed. (That's the part in the clear window above).
Don't force or oil anything until you know a little more on mechanical slot machines. Escalator rebuilds are easy long as your willing to get a little dirty. It's a matter of cleaning them and replacing the springs which you will get from Dave Berten but his website is down right now. He's one of the few that sell a multitude of parts for antique slots.
As much as this is a awesome site for slots, it's not the best for mechanical machines. Still there's a few members that might reply so don't leave us.
But, I HIGHLY going to   http://coinopcollectorforum.com and post in the appropriate section. There's a 90% chance Monti will reply! He and the others are full of knowledge on mechanical slots.
As for value I'd guess the Jennings and the Mills Castle front are more valuable but wait til you hear from the guys on the other forum unless some of our very few mechanical slot experts reply here. They all appear original to me. If you had a Mills Golden Nugget though, there'd be a good chance it was a repo.

[Dirtguy]

THANKS FOR THE INFO! I was all ready on YouTube looking at some repair videos. Watched one about the coin elevator, I think that's a good start to look at since 3 of them seem to have the coins stuck, The Black Beauty $.25 machine takes the quarter and lets me pull the handle, reels do spin but don't seem to stop hard. I will check out the site you recommend  and go from there. I'm hoping to learn something new, different from S 2000's and BB's that I've been fooling with for the past 5 years.