Post by juke46 on May 22, 2019 12:03:25 GMT
JACK and BILL
Jukeboxes have been an exciting and challenging collectible for Anna and I since 1972. We have too many, these days, but selling any of them is not a pleasant thought.
We met friends like Jack and greatly enjoyed this wonderful man's stories of his coin op days and working at the driver's license part of DMV. No one could tell a story better than Jack. He would have Anna and I with tears of laughter on many. He gave us advice on machines, he knew everyone that could repair anything on a jukebox or other coin operated machine. He was a wealth of knowledge that was remarkable. His health was poor but he never complained and his wife was a lovely, kind and friendly person. We miss them both and cherish the great memories Jack and his wife Helen gave us.
We first met Jack when, somehow, I had learned of a man with beautiful old jukeboxes for sale. I did have several machines from the 1950's but nothing like these. We got the details and Anna and I showed up at his home. I suspected we could not afford a restored machine but curiosity got the best of us.
Anna and I met Jack at his home. An older, skinny man pulling a portable oxygen bottle down the hall while puffing on a Camel cigarette. We were welcomed in to Jack's home and there they were; the most beautiful machines I had ever seen. Jack probably knew we could not afford any of those marvelous machines but it made no difference as he happily took time to explain and show us each one. What a wonderful tour it was.
As we got to know Jack we would use his truck equipped with a wonderful lift gate to transport his machines to antique shows where we displayed them for sale. It ws fun, exciting and hard work!
Jack knew where the best cabinet makers were to repair and veneer the old jukebox cabinets. He steered us to the best chrome shops to get the metal castings replated in nickel and chrome. He introduced us to Bill, an amazing man who was a highly skilled repairman and just plain knew everything about coin ops. Bill had his share of wonderful stories as well. Anna and I miss those two guys a whole bunch. I wish they had written books of the jukebox/coin op days they participated in.
An example of Bill's Knowledge and skill was on a mechanical gun game I had acquired somewhere. It was an ABT Challenger. The gun (pistol) was broken and I had it all apart but could not fix it. Heck, I could not even get it back together. Bill was at the Pasadena Fun Fair Coin Op Show and we got to talking. A vendor had a whole basket of those pistols, all in parts. Bill said he would put one together for me. He came back with a bag of loose parts and in a few minutes I had a working gun that never failed. We paid him for the gun and his skill but he would only take a couple of dollars.
Bill excelled in the old Wurlitzers. He rebuilt our mechanisms for a 600, a 750 and a 1015. We still have the 750 and 1015. We play them and I lube them and they continue to work flawlessly after all of these years. juke46 - Peoria Arizona
Jukeboxes have been an exciting and challenging collectible for Anna and I since 1972. We have too many, these days, but selling any of them is not a pleasant thought.
We met friends like Jack and greatly enjoyed this wonderful man's stories of his coin op days and working at the driver's license part of DMV. No one could tell a story better than Jack. He would have Anna and I with tears of laughter on many. He gave us advice on machines, he knew everyone that could repair anything on a jukebox or other coin operated machine. He was a wealth of knowledge that was remarkable. His health was poor but he never complained and his wife was a lovely, kind and friendly person. We miss them both and cherish the great memories Jack and his wife Helen gave us.
We first met Jack when, somehow, I had learned of a man with beautiful old jukeboxes for sale. I did have several machines from the 1950's but nothing like these. We got the details and Anna and I showed up at his home. I suspected we could not afford a restored machine but curiosity got the best of us.
Anna and I met Jack at his home. An older, skinny man pulling a portable oxygen bottle down the hall while puffing on a Camel cigarette. We were welcomed in to Jack's home and there they were; the most beautiful machines I had ever seen. Jack probably knew we could not afford any of those marvelous machines but it made no difference as he happily took time to explain and show us each one. What a wonderful tour it was.
As we got to know Jack we would use his truck equipped with a wonderful lift gate to transport his machines to antique shows where we displayed them for sale. It ws fun, exciting and hard work!
Jack knew where the best cabinet makers were to repair and veneer the old jukebox cabinets. He steered us to the best chrome shops to get the metal castings replated in nickel and chrome. He introduced us to Bill, an amazing man who was a highly skilled repairman and just plain knew everything about coin ops. Bill had his share of wonderful stories as well. Anna and I miss those two guys a whole bunch. I wish they had written books of the jukebox/coin op days they participated in.
An example of Bill's Knowledge and skill was on a mechanical gun game I had acquired somewhere. It was an ABT Challenger. The gun (pistol) was broken and I had it all apart but could not fix it. Heck, I could not even get it back together. Bill was at the Pasadena Fun Fair Coin Op Show and we got to talking. A vendor had a whole basket of those pistols, all in parts. Bill said he would put one together for me. He came back with a bag of loose parts and in a few minutes I had a working gun that never failed. We paid him for the gun and his skill but he would only take a couple of dollars.
Bill excelled in the old Wurlitzers. He rebuilt our mechanisms for a 600, a 750 and a 1015. We still have the 750 and 1015. We play them and I lube them and they continue to work flawlessly after all of these years. juke46 - Peoria Arizona