I installed the finished pinbank, re-aligned the rack to the mech, and then aligned the pinbank and contact block to the rack. With the free play unit set I started making selections. Now is the “fun time” when little problems crop up and I do my best to fix them without tearing my hair out. Some jukeboxes have very few problems, some can be a booger bear to get sorted out. This one is making selections properly and picking them up. Everything seems to be OK but there is no A side pickup, the mech constantly trips after making a selection and when I do get the mech in Play there is a wicked loud hum. Turns out the trip wire wasn’t getting fully reset and stayed tripped. I can jiggle that with my finger while trying to figure out the rest. I replugged the tubes on the amp, pulled the mute plug, checked the ground on the RCA input to the amp, pulled the 4 inch speaker lead, checked the speaker wiring. No joy on the hum.

I cleaned the LC and RC contacts on the reversing switch and checked that they made properly. This is the switching for A/B pickup. This is where it actually splits into two legs going back to the contact block. It is the same circuit for both sides from the reverse switch back to the reciever through the 11 pin mechanism plug. The fact that the B side will pick up tells me the problem is from the reversing switch to the contact block. I checked the contact block and did not see a wire off. I’ll get it sorted tomorrow.

I’m really pleased with how the modification to the C upper back door worked out. The strip of wood allows the door to fit snugly in place. With it in place I checked that the lower door closed and fit well. The lower lock needed to be remounted. It is keyed the same as the cashbox lock which I like a lot. I can hand my customer two keys for all locks. Seeburg back doors are keyed the same as the side locks but they’re not always there. The coolest solution to a bunch of keys is when I have an extra back door lock to use for the cashbox door and can use one key for all locks. After checking the fit I took the upper back door off and laid it aside for access.

The cosmetics for the SMC1 have been finsished and the juke is done. Hah! That sentence only covers about five hours of work to the lower front door. I prop those up on the bench and then remove the glass, the lower screen and trim pieces. Everything gets cleaned. I’ll even take nasty screws and clean ’em up on the bench grinder wire wheel. The black anodized pieces get wiped down. Glass is cleaned and even this is more involved than it sounds. Seeburg used some kind of sticky foam tape around the edges of any glass. Just a pain in the butt to remove and clean up. Glass will usually have something on it after all the years that involves a razor blade and/or polishing compound to remove. The most labor intensive part is getting as much of the old paint off the bottom screen as possible. I use a 3/8″ drill and a wire wheel and this helps but is still a tedious chore. Can’t be glamor all the time. Grills get painted semi-flat black.

Then I had fun trying to decide which way the reflective glass went. I had neglected to mark it. I tried it both ways. I even messaged Joe A. the SMC King to see what he had to say. I believe I got it right though. Once re-assembled though, all the trouble is worth it to put one of these jukes back to as close to new as I can get it. The SMC1 looks good and sounds superb.