Very Old Lock

[bowleya]

Hi All

I received this e-mail from a guy the other day and wondered if anyone has any ideas. The owner has the lock but no Keys, i can forward the original mail including the drawing tov anyone who may be able to help



Many thanks for talking to me yesterday about this old box my wife has acquired. The box is marked 1802 and comes from the Tatra Mountains which are the border between Poland and Slovakia. I guess it could have been built in either country, though the seller claimed it was from Slovakia.



I have attached a very crude drawing of the mechanism I can see. It is a circular spring, the upper arms of which move outwards to open a hole in the top through which a piece of metal on the lid slides. The box I have drawn is a metal cover plate which hides the mechanism which moves the arms. IO have marked the position of the external keyhole. I guess the key moved something behind the cover plate to push the two spring arms apart.



Sorry the drawing is so poor but I am not much of an artist.



If you could find out anything about the lock we would be very grateful as my wife would love to get it working again.







Best wishes



Richard Sale





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[Shrub]

Yes show us the drawing and ask him to send you a photo.

[raimundo]

the guy should also look in antique stores in that area, locks from any period are not often unique, there may be examples he can look at, 200 years ago, locks depended on heavy springs, warding, and sometimes lever tumblers. a really good antique dealer in the area will possibly know something about the type of lock, these dealers also may have a box of old keys, and the variations in keys were not so much back then.