Guide to refurbishing machines (with PICTURES)

[lurtsman]

Yeah, I noticed how much they look alike

It's thursday evening and I have the stands put together all six, though one of the 24 eagles was out on location and needs a severe cleaning. Five stands should be ready for placement soon. However, this brings up a big issue. (I hope people are still following this thread) For the eagle/oak operators: How do you get the coins out during service?

There is a metal plate that screws in between the base and the bottom of the machines, and it catches the coins. However, it would appear to get the coins off of there you would have to take the head off, and reach down into a small confined space scratching your hand and looking like an oak.

On my vistas (which are not on location, purchased from a live auction a couple weeks ago-- I decided to get the eagles out first), I've just removed this metal piece so the coins would fall to the bottom, and I could live up the whole machine and reach straight in from the side, rather than from the top. However, this creates an issue in gravy locations because the coins would spill everywhere. So I can either create some kind of coin tray, or leave the metal piece and just do the oaf looking thing and take each head off and pull the quarters out the top.

I value being quick on my service so people don't have time to start asking annoying questions. Quick service will become even more important as I grow. So, what is the suggested way of dealing with this?

(I prefer the way the northwestern catches them in the base, and allows a quick rotation and set down to let me scoop coins out--though my hands still struggle to fit while pushing quarters.) A semi-shallow tray with a string attached to the back so I could pull and dump everything forward seems ideal--but also hard to manage. The whole holding things in the air, or deconstructing the machine, seems like an obstacle to be cleverly avoided.

Thanks!

[lurtsman]

I was really hoping someone would be online. I'm looking at putting these back together and just being a little oaf-ish servicing them.

[vendnoob]

Great post. Im going to redo the rack i just baught.

[nam]

What is the difference between an Oak and an Eagle? How can you tell by just looking at the machines? I think any quality machine should have it's name on it - you know - like Vendstar or U Turn.     I really don't understand why these manufacturers of quality machines don't all put their name on them.  Sticker/Tattoo machines never have a name on them.  I have a bunch of them and not one has a name other than the name of the coin mech either ESD or Greenwald.  I've seen these advertised as ESD sticker/tattoo machine.

I also see all sorts of machines with Beaver coin mechs on them and the sellers don't know any better so they'll call it a Beaver machine.  If I were proud of my product I'd want my name on it.  Sure makes it easier to buy parts, etc. if you know what kind of machine it is. 

I thought I knew what some of my machines are but not sure now if they are Oak or Eagle?

nam

[lurtsman]

LOLed so hard when I read "like vendstar or Uturn".

The keys for the machine say "EAGLE" (in caps, just like that) on the head. The machine does not say it anywhere. They could secretly be Oaks with eagle keys. As a side note, the paint job they came with is terrible sealed, and any pressure from under the machine pulling out to the side will break the paint, causing cracks to appear and pulling the paint off the machine. It is unclear to me if this was caused by the machines being kept in a bad environment, or a poor painting job by the manufacturer.

I wish my phone hooked up to my computer to show the pictures, however I refuse to spend money on the addons.

Hey Steve, who is your cell phone carrier? If it's verizon I can send pictures @ you for free (to have added to the thread)

[shvend]

lurtsman,

Ok first thing is first on the coin issue you are having.  The oak or eagle machine is desgined for the quarters to fall on that metal plate you are talking about.  When you go to service it just remove the lid and the head and half the battle is over.  Pickup on the coin box and lift it over the center rod and poor it out in a box or a bag.  Be sure to hold on to the coin mech while you are doing this or it will fall out.  I stress IT WILL FALL OUT!!!!!

nam,

on most big name machines the machine name is located on the prodcut shoot.  Eagle says eagle, oak says oak, nw says nw, and acron has a picture of a acorn.  This is just the way the manf.

and as far as telling a oak from a eagle there is absolutly no difference in the two you order a part for one and it will fit on the other.

 

[lurtsman]

I guess that works, picking up the whole bottom half of the machine and pouring it out. I had been thinking about putting a small plastic box in there to catch coins, and removing the metal piece at the bottom so I could lift the whole thing and slide the box out the side. This works also--but if I'm going to pick the machine up repeatedly I will need to fix the paint at the bottom. (Any pressure sideways on it will cause the paint to crack and flake off, which is a shame because they are otherwise beautiful machines)

I'm going out to the garage again today, probably for several hours, to work on removing rust. I have 5 4-way eagle set ups ready to go. I'll try to have them out there around the start of June. My wife and I are planning a trip to Sam's club. For gumballs, Jax seems to despise the ones at Sam's, would it be better to order Quill? (With Quill's price per gumball at about 3 cents per, and needing to order 3 boxes, it seems a little high for me, but not too unreasonable.)

[PLAYTOWINBOB]

go to home depot or lowes and buy a sheet of plexi they will cut it for you or buy a plexi cutter for $5

and cut it your self you can take the old panels and paint them red for the back and sides will

help out for sun damage

[lurtsman]

That's the shortest post I ever gave a potd vote for. It had all the elements I'm looking for in this guide. Tells me where to go, what to buy, how to turn raw product into a piece of an asset. Excellent. They are called "plexi". This is new for me also--and I had not known why occasionally the back panels were painted, but it makes much more sense now. Several posts incoming, since I only know how to attach one picture to each post. (unless I figure out a way to improve on it)

[lurtsman]

I now have 23 eagles looking beautiful, and one that is in acceptable condition. I will debate putting some new pieces of plexi in it. May swing by Lowe's and see what I can learn. (I strongly prefer home depot but we don't have one near by)

I have 24 of the machine pictured here also. These will be the focus of my refurbishing.

[lurtsman]

Here is a picture of the center rod of one. You can see it is heavily rusty, and this part will be surrounded in food. Clearly a mediocre job of removing the rust will not be sufficient here. I can scratch off some of the protruding rust, however it may require some form of chemical treatment. How should I handle that?

In the back you'll see part of my red oak vista rack, and a yellow NW super60 that I'm holding onto for a month or two while the restaurant decides if they want to keep the spiral or want the yellow super60.

[lurtsman]

This is how nasty the stands are. Beyond using the steel wool, how should I proceed with these? Take off the crystallized (for lack of a more educated word) rust and then use rustoleum paint on them?

[lurtsman]

This is the inside on one of the machines, it is one of the more damaged ones. It appears I will be measuring the screws and bolts and buying a few handfuls to work on this. I considered these beat up machines as pretty much free throw ins for the deal that brought me so many eagles.

Anyone recognize this kind of machine? (From the earlier pictures of course)

[PLAYTOWINBOB]

lightly sand the threaded rod then you can paint it any color you like or go to lowes or home depot and buy a threaded rod 1/4 20" comes in 5 feet sections and cut it with a hack saw put a nut on the end and this will clean the threads once you cut is its about 2-3 $ for 5' rod bob

[PLAYTOWINBOB]

wal wart paint dept will be cheaper then anyone else us rustolium paint a little costly but does a great job also has stuff in it to keep rust away for quick jobs use wal mart 97cent gloss black for stands and racks

[lurtsman]

So sanding the rod and then using rustoleum to spray paint would get it into safe shape? (I don't want to make anyone sick) The challenge with cutting the rod myself is buying the hack saw, and the amount of rust built up around the bottom of the stand.

With my machines being black like that, if I wanted to change the color, would it be as simple as spraying another color onto them, or would the black be too dark and cause a discoloration on the new coat of paint?

[chris in md]

With my machines being black like that, if I wanted to change the color, would it be as simple as spraying another color onto them, or would the black be too dark and cause a discoloration on the new coat of paint?

If you use primer first, that'll cover the black and provide a good base coat to spray a lighter color on.  They sell primer spraypaint in the same place they sell regular spraypaint; just choose a plain-color primer, like gray, so it's easy to cover w/ your main color.

It will probably take severaI coats of your main color to get a good finish, whether you use primer or not, so just allow enough time for each coat to dry (follow the dry time it says on the can).  You may need to sand in between coats if the paint runs in places (which will happen if you go too heavy on the paint in an area); purchase a finer-grit sandpaper, something between 150 to 250 grit (the higher the number, the finer / gentler the grit).  After a coat has dried, you can sand down any bad spots, wipe it down to get the dust off, and hit it w/ another coat of paint.  You probably will want to paint the whole piece each time you put a coat on there, so the finish will be uniform on the whole piece.

Usually the lighter the color, the more coats you'll need.  If you paint them red or blue, that should only take 2-3 coats; if you decide to paint them yellow, that may take an extra coat or two to make it look nice.

And paint outside so you're not breathing all the fumes!  It takes a little practice and trial and error, but it's fairly easy once you get the hang of it.

[PLAYTOWINBOB]

black gloss should match everything black you can buy a cheap hacksaw for 2-3 $ at a dollar gen or flea market its good to have tools when you need them i have tools in all 3 trucks and warehouse

you will be saving money by cutting the threaded rod your self then buying it also as you get more into vending you will need more and more stuff i have machines to count quarters 4 of them over $500 each its a investment.

you can buy these little rubber feet at wal mart that they put under sofa legs to keep the rug from messing up the carpet use these under your bulk racks will keep them dry so they don't rust fast from the floor being moped ect.. under a round stand put a piece of round cardboard or plexi glass to keep stand from rusting and your location owners will like you because there floor won't have rust marks on the tiles

[shvend]

Chris

It is a great idea to make sure you have a nice slick finish on your machines but be careful with how much paint you start placing on machines. You will start running into problems with parts fitting back in place and coming apart when the time comes.

What happens you start getting paint built up in the joints of the machines and you have a hard time with things operating right. One spot you really have to watch is the grooves were your thank you flaps sit. If they get filled with paint the flap will not go up and down smoothly. It will stick and stay up or go down and is really diffcult to get back up.

Not saying it will happen every time but it can and will happen one of these days.

[shvend]

Lurtsman,

Here are some pics of the machines I have done.  I have a before picture and a after, tell me what you think.  The machines pictured are old oak acron machines.  This machine is roughly 25 to 30 years old.  Looks like new I think!

[JPVendCo.]

looks like my garage in the background. man is my wife all GOLPHER'ED off about all that crap in her parking space.

[shvend]

Oops sorry about post 46 got just a little crazy with the post button.  Here is the after pic!!!!

[shvend]

looks like my garage in the background. man is my wife all GOLPHER'ED off about all that crap in her parking space.

That is no garage it is a small warehouse I rent.  I told I would post some pics, I will try a little later after I get it cleaned up it is a mess right now.:cool:

[shvend]

Here is a pic of the shop sorry for the mess but been busy busy busy!!!!!!!

[JPVendCo.]

ok the image is a little dark, but from what i can tell it looks pretty good. so which process did you use? did you wire wheel the housing or bead blast?