Direct sales are usually by card or cheque, so cash sales, when they happen, tend to be quite an informal affair with an invariably struggle to find change.
So we have invested in a dedicated EPOS system.
More accurately, we have purchased a GH Gledhill’s Patent Cash Till, a wonderful device that is probably 100 years old (Correct me if I am wrong please) Is made from Mahogany, with cast iron and brass bits, rings a bell when you open the drawer and advances a till roll at the same time to enable you to make a note of the transaction.
Except it didn’t when it arrived. Instead, it was splattered with paint, the locks were either damaged or missing, the handle for the drawer gone, the till roll mechanism would not advance and the glass covering the till roll was missing. Now this is not to say I was unhappy with our acquisition, in fact far from it. At under GBP40.00 delivered it was a bit of a bargain, plus it gave me a chance to add my own touch, to make it ours .
When the drawer is opened a bell rings which it did, however the till roll mechanism did not advance. Also, the drawer had an interlock/ratchet system which means it had to be returned to the fully closed position before it would open again, this was also in a non functioning state.
The key for the top lock was also missing and the top plate damaged, my view is it had been forced at some point. The bottom lock had long since been removed.
My Grandfather was a joiner/cabinet maker and I still have some of his old locks and keys plus a load of brass wood screws so a key was found and the lock modified to accept a spare key. I should have taken some pictures…
The paper advance was intriguing, it looks to have been reversed at some point so the paper would no longer advance, additionally, the dog that trips the system was bent down and when I removed it I noticed some paper packers which had been used to stop the cam slipping over. I like little challenges like this as you cannot just google them, you have to think things through. The paper roll now advances.
The trip/ratchet to prevent the drawer being opened again once you started to close it was worn, however some careful filing allowed the trip to drop down further and operate. This is the drawer ready to be oiled with some coins for scale. The .22 Shorts are there because I could.
Finally, a piece of glass to cover the paper was needed, a piece of 3,0mm Lexan did the job.
With the mechanical side of things working as it should, I ordered a cast iron cup handle for the drawer ( We are currently using the bottom key to open and close the drawer) Hopefully it will be here next week, can be blacked and fitted.
That only left the wood. It is either a Mahogany or very similar coloured wood and was showing it’s age. I started with a wipe down with Methylated Spirits, from here I could raise some of the dents with an Iron, then rub everything down with wire wool and more Methylated Spirits before applying wax, initially with wire wool followed by hand with wait periods and buffing in-between. The wax I use is to a secret recipe from Nick at NB Guns and is so secret he usually gives me the ingredients in a bag to make it, excluding the boiled linseed oil and I put everything together on the stove.
I can see it will take a few more coats of wax yet, however it is looking good so far. One thing I did notice is there is a worn section on the top of the cash till between the front edge and the till roll, it took me until it was on the counter to realise that is the part you would rest your hand on when entering the transaction to the paper roll. The Till is also at a perfect elbow leaning height which probably explains the worn area.
Total time spent is probably a couple of hours and well worth the effort I reckon. I know, it is not really gun related however I thought it might be of interest and yes, I did screw it to the counter.
