If the machine has been jarred during its cycle, however, the lever trips and the slide moves backwards to prevent coins from passing through.
It its normal position, it allows coins to pass down through it and out of the mechanism into the payout chute. When we remove the payout slides you will be able to see the safety slide itself, which is really nothing more than a thin piece of metal with a hole in it. The safety slide lever assembly is the closest thing an antique slot machine has to a pinball machine’s “tilt” mechanism.
It’s secured by a shoulder screw visible in the photo above, plus a spring that is attached to the underside of the base plate. I chose to remove it now, so that’s what the photos reflect. The part in the photo above can be removed at this point, although it is probably easier to wait until the coin slides are removed.
