Mills Dewey Restoration Part 3 by Jenny Creekmore



Dewey Upright Cabinet After Stripping

Don and I are slowly restoring our Mills Dewey antique slot machine.  When we have some time, which isn’t very often, we try to do a little work on the machine.  The first task was to take all of the metal off of the machine that needed to be copper plated.  I am pleased to say that this task has been completed and looks phenomenal.  The next big task is to begin the woodworking of the cabinet.

For some reason, back in the day, someone decided to paint this upright slot machine with a very heavy beige paint with burgundy accents.  Goodness...  I wanted to take every precaution when working on the wood, because we just didn’t know if the paint contained lead.  We finally found a respirator that filters out any lead particles. 

So let the stripping begin! 

Well, I am pleased to say that after lots and lots of paint stripper, you can finally see the wood.  I knew this was going to take a lot of time and elbow grease to get this paint removed, but it took a bit longer than anticipated.   That old paint did not want to come off the wood.  However, I am pleased to say, the machine has been stripped of that ugly paint and is now ready to be carefully sanded.   And even though the machine hasn’t been sanded, I can already see the beautiful wood. 

As I progress with the sanding I will post some photos on Facebook.  Stay tuned as we continue to make progress on the Dewey.

Mills DEWEY Floor Machine – Restoration Part 1 by Jenny Creekmore

Mills Two Bits Dewey Upright Slot Machine

Well, the time has come…  My husband and I are finally adding a Mills DEWEY Floor Machine to our collection.  Granted, it is in desperate need of a full restoration, but I am pleased it is ours and will eventually get to come to our home. 

I thought this might be a great blog topic.  As we proceed with the restoration, Don and I will both be posting updates on our progress.  I think it is going to be quite an extraordinary journey and I thought you might like to be included.  I really am excited to bring such a phenomenal machine back to its original glory.  With that being said, there is certainly a lot of work that needs to be completed. 

This particular machine was literally SAVED!  The family that we purchased the Mills DEWEY from had quite the story tied to the machine.  Apparently in the 1940’s, the family went to the local dump or landfill in the Pocono Mountains.  They noticed the Mills DEWEY machine had been brought to the landfill and it had been discarded as trash or garbage.  Oh my, right?

After the family got rid of their haul, they decided to load up the Mills DEWEY floor machine and take it home.  They got the machine home and surprisingly it functioned.  No one knows how long this marvelous machine had been sitting outside and enduring the elements of the Pocono Mountains.  It really makes you wonder just how many of these upright floor machines were dumped, because at the time they were viewed as obsolete and outdated.  If the slot machine operators only knew this would become a treasure….

The family kept the Mills DEWEY in the upstairs of their home until the 1950’s.  At that time, the slot machine was moved to the basement and left until just recently. 

Our Chicago-made Mills Novelty Company DEWEY is also known as the Admiral.  Don will post some historical information in a future blog about why the machine is also referred to as the Mills Admiral DEWEY floor machine. 

Please stay tuned as we make progress on our newest personal slot machine addition.