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So I bought my first vending machine a few days ago. No tags or plates but, on this forum, I learned it's a Vendorlator 56. Among other questions, I asked the same question everyone who first obtains one of these machines asks, "Can it be used with cans?" The answer was obviously "no." Yes, I could change the rack to a can rack but then it won't vend bottles. My favorite drink only comes in a can and the wife's favorite drink only comes in a bottle. I'm a little handy, have some free time and don't like being told something can't be done. Here is how I converted 4 of the 7 vending slots on my machine from bottle to can...

You'll Need:
1. About 17" of 1/8" round steel for each slot you want to convert. (a 4' section was about $3 at Lowe's)
2. A 5/16" x  3" x .028" spring for each slot you want to convert.  (a 2 pack of these was about $3 at Lowe's)
3. A knob with a set screw to lock onto the round steel.

Directions:
1. Remove the rack from the vending machine. Grab the rack and a beer and head to the workshop.
2. I started with a 6" piece of the 1/8" round steel and from the inside of the rack, I pushed forward to mark the spot on the vend shelf I needed to drill. (see picture 2 to see where to put the round steel). Remove the vend shelf and drill a 9/64" hole in the spot you've marked. Reinstall the vend shelf. Going through the hole in the vend shelf, drill the front panel of the rack. - I only did this for the first vending slot and then used those measurements and drilled the remaining vending slots from the outside. My measurements ended up being 5/8" over from the welded circle marks on the front (see picture 4) and 3/16" down from the bottom of the vending/bottle hole. After measuring and drilling all the holes (I did 4) have a beer to celebrate, the hardest part is over.
3. Cut about 17" of round stock and bend your triangle at one end. After bending to make the triangle, bend the entire triangle so the top of it will be slightly tilted towards the back of the machine. This is crucial. If it's not angled back a little the triangle will interfere with the next can to roll into the vending slot. - Each side of my triangle is 2" and that left 2 or 3 inches sticking out of the front of my machine. Not sure how long I'm going to leave the rod sticking out but I can always cut it down.
4. Insert the rod into the newly drilled holes from the inside of the rack.
5. Attach the spring to the rear of the rack (see picture 3) and to the triangle. Use a zip tie to hold the spring in place on the triangle. Finding the exact place to secure the spring to the triangle is art not science. Moving it up or down will change the way the rod returns to resting against the bottle shelf. Basically you'll have to hold the bottle shelf in place, obviously behind the triangle, and play with the spring's location on the triangle until you're happy with the way it returns.
6. Remember that beer you opened at the end of step one? Time for another beer.
7. Install the rack into the vending machine and install the bottle shelves. Drop a couple cans into each shelf to make sure that a can dispenses and that the triangle returns to where you want it.
8. As I type these instructions I don't know exactly what kind of pull I'm going to end up using. I happened to have a Jeep CJ aluminum dash pull that has a set screw to secure to the round steel. It works like a champ but I'm not sure that's the look I want. It works fine without a pull, it just looks like garbage. I'll find something eventually...
9. Really the only trick to using these pulls is after you pull out the "puller" far enough to be able to get the can, you must release it before you take the can. The "puller" MUST return to the back of the slot before the next can rolls into place (yes, I said the same thing twice, that should be a hint to you). It's reality simple and you kind of have to try to mess it up since you're using one hand to hold the vending door open, that only leaves one hand to get a drink. If you pull the "puller" thing to bring the can out you don't have a hand to grab the can until you let go of the "puller" knob.

Good luck to all.

I'll have to post the pictures in another post, I have reached the size limit....

Each of my pictures exceeds the maximum size allowed on this forum. Here is a link to the full sized pictures. Feel free to download, resize and post them on this thread if you'd like. https://goo.gl/photos/G6GKLPdwm51A8Rtu8

       I'm not bringing up any pictures but I can visualize your idea.  Great job, I'd really like to see more.

Now that's some good solid engineering work!  I'm going to have to try it out for my Vendo 90, a lot of the local breweries are canning their craft brews, so I haven't been able to keep them in the machine.

Here's the photos as well.

Thanks for posting the pictures, tkaz. Please let me know how your build goes and if I need to add or change anything in my directions. I tried to be thorough but didn't think about posting a "how to" until I was done. Hopefully I didn't skip any steps!

Nice job! Congrats.
Creighton

Very Creative.. may have to experiement with this.

Thanks for sharing..

Found some kitchen cabinet knobs at Lowe's that seem to match the style of the machine. I cut down the metal rods and used epoxy to secure the knob to the rod. I also applied ospho to the steel rods since I couldn't find galvanized. I am officially done. It's 100% functional and now and (I think) it looks like it could have come this way from the factory in the 60's.

Because of my issue with the size limits of this forum and having no way to resize a .jpeg, will someone please post these pictures for me, please? https://goo.gl/photos/yEsExRqyB2TniyQC6

Here you go.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Jk5WqDkXMqE_Zy0DiJfK9GWPIZwIUy9-TLvU_hyE38A=w515-h914-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KPbticLg3oZ8AavUFBROTy8miJ1FWlC4LiOzallOURE=w515-h914-no)

Picture tip for anyone interested.  If you have your pics hosted online somewhere else:

1) Right-click on your picture online and choose "copy image URL"

2) In your post now click the little 'picture' icon above (It says Insert Image if you hover over it) - it will insert an HTML start and end image tag   

3) Paste your image URL between the two tags. i.e. in between the brackets.

Jim

Thank you, jholmgren.

Thanks for sharing, that's absolutely genious! And it's a lot cheaper than buying a USS-64 so I can have both.

Great idea. Looks great

Thanks for sharing, I wanted to do something like this with my CSS. It has a different bottle stack but where theirs a will there is a way :) but before I get back to it I need to finish my other three home projects first. I even have the parts to make it free vend. I just need to find the time to place it how and where I want.

I always enjoy when someone is willing to think outside the box. But in your case it was inside the box. Very nice looking job and well done.

Thanks to all for the kind words and I'm glad I could help. Just out of curiosity, if anyone does this bottle to can modification, let me know how it went. Especially if I forgot anything in the instructions...