Turning the left-most reel causes the right-most reel disc to turn. Outside of the mech, it’s easier to see how the bundle functions. Here’s what the reel bundle looks like once it is removed from the mech:

Both the reel stop levers and the reel tins have a bit of “play” in them, so it shouldn’t be too hard. Essentially, you hold the bundle and lift it pretty much straight up, maneuvering the reel tins around the reel stop levers. Anyway, the process of removing the bundle is hard to photograph, so I’m just going to describe it. A Tetanus shot is probably not a bad idea either… I always keep mine current.

Blood isn’t any better for reel strips than dirt or oil, so be careful. They are made of sheet metal and their edges are very sharp. If you spend any amount of time working on an antique slot machine, you are going to end up cutting yourself on one of the reel tins. We’re going to be handling the reel tins (the part of the mechanism that holds the reel strips) as we remove the reel bundle, which brings us to another law of slot machine restoration: Reel tins are vampires. If you are trying to save your strips, you need to be extra careful not to get them dirty, so a good hand cleaning may be in order before you go any further.

There’s really only one part of the slot machine to which oil or dirt can do permanent and irreversible damage, and that’s the reel strips. It isn’t much to look at, and it’s pretty much guaranteed to be covered in oil and dirt. Here’s what it looks like once it’s been removed. After the shaft has been completely unscrewed, grab the end of it and pull. You may want to support the reel bundle with your free hand while you are unscrewing the shaft, just to keep it from slipping down as the shaft comes loose from the other side of the mech. After we have the screw loosened, we can unscrew and remove the shaft itself. Trust me on this one… you will thank me later. In fact, even if you need to remove a screw as part of the disassembly process, it’s a good practice to replace the screw after you’ve removed the related part. Screws are easy to misplace, and it will be much easier to reassemble the mechanism later if we keep all the screws in their proper place. Although you can remove the screw entirely, it’s a bad habit and should be avoided. Notice that I said “loosen” and not “remove”.

Mills slot machine restoration