My home made barrel key collection (& how to)

[Lauren]

Here's some pic's of making a key for my newly obtained "Miller" pancake lock. This lock was easy to cut a key for free handed on my drill press with only 3 zero cuts, but the lock was extremely difficult to decode. I had to use a .015 thick piano wire to divide the lever stack to feel the gate cuts. This is by far the thinnest probe I have had to make. I also discovered that this lock has key slot that won't take a key thicker than .040. Usually, these locks use a key that is .050 thick. Perhaps this lock was Miller's first generation, making it more valuable in the "Champion" embossed series. I also made a smaller decoder tool that will fit most "Champion" locks more accurately with .051 spring steel wire. I now have a special tool just for the .040 line. I purchased an original "Champion/Miller" engraved push key to make the key. The key hole is 7/16 which is to original specifications.

McMaster-Carr is a great source for music wire.

[Lauren]

I just received information that this lock was made after 1902 due to the existence of a pin placement just above the 'H' in "Champion". This was a design change made at this time. The key thickness still appears to a mystery.

[2octops]

Lots of talent has gone into making some of these keys that are truly works of art.

Obviously it's a labor of love.

Thanks for sharing.

[Lauren]

This obsolete N.Y. Telephone Co. padlock by Corbin was received in the locked position. Before making a key for this particular design, the strategy is always best if the lock is picked open. This will lock the fence directly into the gate of the levers so that measurements can be taken from the inside edge of the key hole pin to the edge of the levers. This is not the first time that I have discussed this technique in this thread, but one thing that I have learned since then is that it is best to measure the maximum distance the levers will displace upward rather than measuring the levers in their natural rest position. This will prevent the key from being cut too shallow.

This bronze lock has lost all of its original gold color plating, but for a lock that was found in someone's garden, it functions beautifully with strong spring action. This padlock turned out to be only a two lever design. It was picked open by levering a shim against the hasp locking lever between the hasp and the lock body. The hasp locking lever and the fence are the same component. The pressure of shimming combined with picking will lock the levers into place before the lock will open. I was able to manipulate the levers one at a time through the drain hole with a simple wire tool.

When I finished machining the brass key blank, I was able to determine the lever cut elevations by marking the key with some colored wax crayon.

[Lauren]

One thing I really like about the Ames Sword padlocks is the fact that it has the patent date the same as my birthday (Mo. and day). This one was an excellent Ebay find for $20.00, and it still has a spring loaded cover. This lock was purchased locked and without a key. I went on the government patent search site for Ames Sword Co. and found the patent no. of 264,445. It was invented by Charles Dickerman. There's a nice mechanical drawing under images that I carefully studied to determine how to defeat this lock.

My padlock consists of 2 stacks of 4 levers, 8 total. Using the key hole as a reference, the left stack must be rotated fully as a key is turned counter clockwise to disengage the locking feature on the hasp. This occurs at the 10 O'clock position. Also, the mini levers on the right must properly coincide with the levers on the left for the fence and gate combination constructed into the corresponding lever pairs.

I came up with an idea to decode my lock. If I could take a key blank and file the biting down on both sides, leaving just one tooth per side on the key tip, it may be possible to use it as a depth key. I would have to start in the rear of the lock and test each lever pair at a zero cut. If any of the levers freely rotated to the 10 O'clock position, then I would know the correct cut. Eventually, I would have to file down the key evenly on both sides at about .020 increments and test each lever set in the same manner. It turned out, that this process worked perfectly.

[Lauren]

This Ames Sword padlock was again obtained locked and without a key. I really wanted to add some character to a key that was more of a challenge to make. This tri-foil head came out quite nice. This key was 90% ground out of quarter inch thick cold steel using grinding discs of various thickness and diameters. It's certainly faster to make a key using this technique. I used a second key to decode the lock as described in my last post. I ground the decoder key down in .005 increments per side for testing each lever pair. One critical observation I have made in making keys for the Ames Sword locks is the ability to read the tips of the right lever stack. In summary, the wider the tip, the deeper the cuts on the key. The levers on the right stack can be read to some degree and compared to each other, which is one more aid in making a working key.

[femurat]

Outstanding job, as usual. I like the tri-foil key very much.

Cheers

[Squelchtone]

Beautiful work Lauren! Makes me want to get more into this aspect of our hobby. =)

Have a good week,
Squelchtone

[Lauren]

Sometimes I obtain antique padlocks that I can't make working keys for. Either I don't know enough about the internal mechanism to defeat the lock or because the lock is too original to damage and rebuild, as I have done in the past. I don't know how this railway lock slipped through the Ebay cracks so cheaply ($4.35), and it's in excellent condition. I didn't know that Eagle Lock Company made these locks; it's the first I've seen of this type from this company. The lock is marked "General Purpose" with the railway abbreviations of C & NW (Chicago and Northwestern) on the dust cover. The lock is galvanized coated steel and I don't know how old it is.

Perhaps one day, I'll find the code sheets on this lock and make a working key. The hasp is stamped with the following sets of numbers: 85w0xx5 and the other, 21722. In the meantime, I made a steel key blank that was 90% ground out of 1/2" cold steel bar stock, using various sizes of cut off discs. I drilled the steel stock with a number 19 drill bit, which fits perfectly to accommodate the center pin in the key hole. This 6-lever padlock is well made, and I don't see any means in picking it open any time soon. This lock will just have to sit on my self a while.

[Lauren]

Well, as it turned out, my C & NW padlock is much like some of the Corbin locks I own. In the past, I was able to pick Corbin locks of this type by tension or shimming the locking dog at the hasp location while picking each lever. My 6-Lever railway lock, however, has no room for shimming the locking dog through the hasp due to tolerances between the lock body and the hasp. I knew that supplying tension to the locking dog was probably the most likely means to opening this lock, so I tried tension by going through the two body halves of the lock as shown in the picture. I really didn't think that this technique would work very well since the amount of torque on the locking dog would have to be much greater. It's like trying to close a door close to the hinges. This shim is "Z" shaped so it doesn't interfere with the key hole and it really responded well to holding the levers in place. I could feel the shim rotate slightly when I had most of the levers correctly held in position. I learned the numbers on the hasp read 85WOX21722. I really didn't think I would ever open this lock. The lever stack has strong spring action. But where there's a will, there's a way.

Now that the lock is open, the lever stack is locked in place. I think I will try to impression a test key using half hard brass. This softer material should leave some nice marks on the bit of the key. Afterwards, I will make a finished key from my steel blank as shown in my earlier post.

[Lauren]

Well, I messed up my original steel key blank and I had to make a new one. I forgot to include the driver on the key. This is feature that drives the locking dog at the 2 O'clock position. I had the right measurements to correctly cut the depths on the key, but it didn't do much good without the driver at the end of the key. I used "L" wires to measure the distance of each lever from the center pin to the lever edges at the 2 O'clock position. Each wire is ground down unit the right amount of contact and friction between these components is achieved. These measurements were then transferred using a scribe tool onto the side of the bit of the key. I knew the the width of the bit was .395 and the driver width was .060 (the driver width is the width between the inside of the lock and underneath the bottom lever). Using basic math, .395 -.060 = .335. Thus, .335 divided by 6 is approximately .056. Remember this is 6 lever lock. Using the tip of the key as a reference, I was able to scribe the cuts of the key ahead of time. My finial key for my C & NW padlock was completely mapped out onto the key blank before cuts were made. I free handed the cuts on my drill press using Dremel cut off discs. This key was 90% made using cut off discs of various sizes. The key and the padlock work perfectly.

[Butersomprom]

Well, I messed up my original steel key blank and I had to make a new one. I forgot to include the driver on the key. This is feature that drives the locking dog at the 2 O'clock position. I had the right measurements to correctly cut the depths on the key, but it didn't do much good without the driver at the end of the key. I used "L" wires to measure the distance of each lever from the center pin to the lever edges at the 2 O'clock position. Each wire is ground down unit the right amount of contact and friction between these components is achieved. These measurements were then transferred using a scribe tool onto the side of the bit of the key. I knew the the width of the bit was .395 and the driver width was .060 (the driver width is the width between the inside of the lock and underneath the bottom lever). Using basic math, .395 -.060 = .335. Thus, .335 divided by 6 is approximately .056. Remember this is 6 lever lock. Using the tip of the key as a reference, I was able to scribe the cuts of the key ahead of time. My finial key for my C & NW padlock was completely mapped out onto the key blank before cuts were made. I free handed the cuts on my drill press using Dremel cut off discs. This key was 90% made using cut off discs of various sizes. The key and the padlock work perfectly.

will i miss this kind of lock.

[csiprun]

I have just started reading through your thread and I have to say that I am truly impressed! I never imagined that this hobby could be so aesthetically beautiful. It brings to mind Indiana Jones to me for some reason

[Lauren]

Just out pure curiosity, I picked up another "Champion" pancake padlock to investigate the differences in design prior to the more recent version of the 3-11-02 patent date. My newest lock was an Ebay win of just $1.76 purchase price obtained in the locked position. I was thrilled to receive this lock in such fine condition. This lock has a patent date of July 26, 1870. Other locks of this type have three patent dates on them (7-26-70, 10-21-73,3-11-02) engraved on the sides, and some have no engraved dates whatsoever. What I find surprising is the high asking price of the locks on Ebay for the post 1902 versions, which are denoted by a pin visible above the letter "H" and also on the back of the lock. As an antique lock collector, I would be more interested in locks that are older and should fetch a higher price. Unless there is something about the older locks that make them harder to decode.

I didn't no what to expect from my newest "Champion" padlock in terms of design, functionality, and ability to decode. On the surface, my lock has a small drain hole left of the key hole and of coarse, no pin above the "H". I also noticed that the hasp had virtually no depression capability, whereas other newer locks have quite a bit ( about .050 inch). I found this to be a little concerning, because it was difficult to see if the hasp spring was still good. Also, with the hasp under close tolerances, the locking lever that engages into the lever stack would have to fight between the frictional forces of the hasp and the spring that drives the locking lever off of the middle lever in the lever stack.

As it turned out, my newest lock was the most difficult pancake lock that I have ever had to decode. I almost embarrassed to say, it took me about twenty hours over a coarse of a week to accomplish it. It became apparent that I was paying the price of having a lock with such a tight hasp. The lever stack was rather tight too. I'm accustomed to working with locks that take probes in the .030 range. This lock would barely take a probe of .015 thickness. As luck would have it, I finally got the lock to open. I would warn anyone attempting to decode locks like the "Champion" to use a decoder. The individual pins can be tightened into place. The decoder should be inserted slowly. Never use quick in and out motion. When the decoder is close to opening the lock, some of the levers should start to bind. What I find hard to understand is how I was able to open my lock with the probed measurements that I used to set my decoder. The actual measurements were about .020 off on each lever. I suggest that measurement be taken on both sides of each lever if possible.

As described in earlier posts, I made a new flat key using an original key as a traced copy. This lock open 100% of the time using my newly made key if a I press the hasp downward while inserting the key to its maximum insertion. Without using hasp pressure, I would say the lock opens about 80% of the time unassisted.

[Lauren]

I received this Corbin padlock some time ago with an original key marked "LEY 1". The hasp on the lock is stamp, "F.T. LEY & CO.". This lock was used Frederick T. Ley & company, circa 1920. Ley was in the construction business, and formed his own company, first in New England, and later in New York City. His company built the Chrysler Building in New York City, which was the tallest building in the world.

This steel lock saw some serious use. The key no longer worked without the assistance of shimming the locking dog. It appears as though the last cut on the key which activates the locking dog wore down. I made a new steel key and used "L" wires to confirm the depth cuts to correctly work the lock.




Here you can see the progression of machining the key head using cutoff discs on my drill press.