Caille Doughboy

[pachiwall]

Found a reasonably priced slot machine on eBay a couple days ago. 2050-12-31 23.59.59-39.jpg My new job has me working "manditory overtime" so I decided to buy something that I normally can't afford. Searching the web don't pull up much information on Caille slots. Seems they were made "well into the thirties", according to one source. When I specifically searched "Caille Doughboy" I seen a lot of images of basically this machine, with a round double jackpot. I'm assuming that the round jackpot is newer than the square. I'm guessing early to mid '30s.
2050-12-31 23.59.59-40.jpg On my Mills, the payout for 3 bells is 18 coins. This one pays 15 to 17...when I hit 3 bells it paid out 16 coins. I asked the seller why...he stated that there was a variable thickness to the older nickles. Not sure if that is true...but it sounded good. 2050-12-31 23.59.59-41.jpg Like all antique slots in a wooden/cast aluminum case, the back comes off to remove the mechanism. The 2 thumbscrews at the bottom loosen, and the bars lower to allow the mechanism to be removed. I have often wondered why older slots had 2 very small cups to catch the winnings. 2050-12-31 23.59.59-42.jpg The winnings from "regular" payouts fall into the cup on the right (viewed from the front), and the big jackpot from hitting BAR-BAR-BAR falls into the cup on the left. 2050-12-31 23.59.59-43.jpg I wasn't sure which was better...with flash (first pic), or without. The mechanism is dirty, oily and functional. The wood was stripped and refinished. The cast aluminum was stripped and painted as well. The chrome around the jackpot and along the right and left edges are in bad shape...but included separately. No pics of them because they are still in the car.
2050-12-31 23.59.59-44.jpg2050-12-31 23.59.59-45.jpg2050-12-31 23.59.59-46.jpg2050-12-31 23.59.59-47.jpg The mechanism is considerably different than a Mills mechanism. The horizontal bar across the front can be pushed down, when a nickle is inserted, to cycle the mechanism when out of the case.The damper on the right is apparantly to soften the return of the handle. The handle stays down as the mechanism is cycling, then snaps up at the end. The damper should soften this return...but is acting like an old worn out shock absorber. At this point, I pull the handle, then return it upright while the reels are spinning, then let go after it stops. The rubber stop that the handle rests against is torn and needs to be replaced. Probably from the handle snapping back. One end screws off of the damper, so it may be able to be rebuilt. The seller has another mechanism with black reel strips that he bought for parts. I tried to buy it, and it will be for sale, but he wants to research what it is worth first. I would like to get it to take apart the damper and try to rebuild it without fear of destroying the only one I had.