Saida Shokai pachinko circa 1938

Some further updates on the early pachinko machine I got, the Saida Shokai machine is identifiable partially due to the plate around the hole where you insert the ball:

ball entry plate

When I sent this is Kazuo Sugiyama he confirmed that it was likely a Saida machine, and specifically the style that appears in his book on Pachinko history, page 197.

page 197 of Cultural History of Things and Humans: PACHINKO (ものと人間の文化史 186: パチンコ by 杉山 一夫)

This machine is now believed to originally be from around 1938.  What makes it truly special is that the ball you insert immediately goes to the back of machine to the jackpot bin.  On it's way there it trips a lever and a ball is released into the playfield.  Each time you play, the exact same ball is used.  The balls that the player inserts never go to the playfield.

This is similar to the European allwin design, where there would be one ball in the machine, which got released upon inserting a coin.  Instead of a coin, the player inserts a ball, which then falls to the payout section in the back.

For me this is a very special machine to help bridge the history of pachinko to the lineage of coin-op game machines.  The machine is heavily restored and I don't know how much of the hardware is truly original, but that also means I can actually use it for my history booths and don't have to worry about it being a super fragile museum piece.  I also love that it is pre-WW2!

There are a few small things that need to be tended to.

First, when you insert a ball there is a tiny change the ball will hop out at this junction below.  I've limited that currently with a handy little paperclip.

paperclip inserted to limit the falling ball jumping out.

One of the pocket signs was done upside-down, and I'll eventually have to find someone to do the craft work to make me a new one properly.

oops: the one on the right was done upside-down

The machine has plexi in the front and not glass.  The thickness isn't quite right, so sometimes it can flex out at the center and let the ball rest just above the main drain.  To fix this I have some scraps jammed down at the frame here to ensure the plexiglass is pressed firmly by the bottom

tiny bit of scrap material to keep the plexiglass pressed towards the playfield

The machine pays out 8 for a "big" win and 3 balls for a small win.  The big win actually pays 8, and ALSO pays the 3.  The ball is then returned to the player to shoot again.

But sometimes the teeter-totter for the 3-ball payout doesn't return so readily, and more than 3 balls can stream out.

3 ball payout section

my theory is that this part isn't quite heavy enough

I tried a bull clip here as a test, and it never overpayed, but did underpay some times.  So that means too much weight.

it looks silly, but the key for me is to only make temporary modifications when possible.

In the end I attached a paperclip and some washers to weigh that bar down, but I'll eventually attempt a more precise solution.  It's not currently perfect, but it certainly pays an average of 3 balls each win.  :)