wave machine

[David Payton]

I'm probably in the wrong forum but this is the closest I can find to
resolve my issue. I have an old Simplex Lava Corp. wave machine that had been dormant for years. It refuses to return to the cam wheel regardless of the 'long' end being placed correctly. If I manually "assist" it the cam attempts to push the vessel off the base laterally. If I'm at the wrong place could you please direct me to someone who might be able to help? The only places Google gives me are "repair shops", tutorials on building a wave machine from scratch and machines for sale (at exorbitant prices, I might add). It's not that important, other than my granddaughter is fascinated with the concept and I'd like to restore it for her. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

[Soylent Green]

Sounds like your wave machine is low on fluids (which are known to evaporate over time) and can be refilled (ease of which depends on the model - older ones which have glued acrylic fill hole plugs are more difficult vs removable rubber plugs on the end cap).  Torrey Hughes of Hughes Wave Motion Machines is a member here and sells replacement plugs, parts, and replacement fluids on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/hughes_wave_machines/m.html?_trksid=p3692