Antique Iron Strong Box from 1800s

by **davhamilton** » 11 Mar 2005 10:40

Remember, I never claimed to be a locksmith or someone who knew the
correct way to open a strong box. I'm just a 26 yr old computer
programmer. Us young people are sometimes quick to jump into things,
make impulsive decisions, etc... It was a crazy decision to buy it, and I
never claimed I was expecting gold or money to be in the box, I just
thought it would be neat to have an old box from the 1800s and thought it
would be cool if there are some historical artifacts inside. I'm also not
exactly full of free time, I usually only get a few minutes a day to do
something I want to do, and that is with 3-4 hours of sleep.

I do hear some things that move inside, but since I can't exactly pick it up
and shake it, I have no idea what I am hearing through the box. I also
never said it was in good enough condition to be considered a real antique,
but it is old and an antique because of that. The whole box is covered
heavily in rust, the bottom is in horrible condition in that the metal 'straps'
have buckled and have rusted badly in various places, but the bottom of
the box itself is still solid as can be. I don't want to angle grind it open
that way, because then I can't store things inside.

But as something to store valuables in later, or something my kids can
enjoy, I think it was worth it. I'll gradually get all of the rust off, and
there is still a cool old padlock on one of the rings that is in perfect
condition and is barely rusted. If the strong box lock is ruined and I can't
open it, either from water and rust or from my rash decision to use a
hammer and screwdriver, I will take off the rivets and have a different
lock put in later. I'm not expecting to be able to sell this later for a fortune
or anything like that.

I think if everything frees up with the wd40, I can move the levers back
down. Anyway, we'll see what happens. I like this group, I've never
gotten to communicate with people from so many different countries
before. It is too bad I wouldn't be very useful on this board other than for
asking questions. Once again, I appreciate all feedback that I am
receiving, good or bad.

Dave

by **HeadHunterCEO** » 11 Mar 2005 20:09

Think of how much of your time you have already put into this

Take it to a locksmith

cut your losses

by **toomush2drink** » 11 Mar 2005 20:32

Nah give it a go and if you open it you will feel on top of the world

This thread is great as im sure we all know what it feels like to have a challenge and i completely understand the spirit of why you want to open it.

by **kodierer** » 11 Mar 2005 21:07

#include <locksmith.h>

by **MrB** » 11 Mar 2005 23:34

OK, peeps. This is in the USA. The lock is a lever lock. "Call a locksmith." What, exactly, is a typical everyday locksmith going to do with a 150 year old lock that is no longer common in America? Especially since a typical everyday locksmith in the UK (where lever locks are common) is highly likely to use a bloody big drill until pinky succeeds in straightening out the industry?

by **vantito** » 12 Mar 2005 1:06

god get that box open i wana know whats inside!!!

by **archiebald** » 12 Mar 2005 5:04

I hope there is a spare key inside.

by **toomush2drink** » 12 Mar 2005 6:14

Or a spare lock at this rate :lol:

by **Kayvon** » 12 Mar 2005 11:18

You are going to tell us what's inside when you get it open, right? I mean, if this had been a short thread I icould have forgotten about it, but every time I see the thread again I think to myself, "What in the world is inside that thing, anyway?"
When you finally get it open, make big announcement--even if it turns out to only be seaweed or something equally useless.

by **davhamilton** » 12 Mar 2005 16:13

Once it is open, I will let everyone know what, if anything, is inside. I
have actually gotten further information about what it is, it is an old
railroad chest. He gave me a pretty good history on it. Another guy who
was watching the item has an identical one that he has cleaned up, except
he bought his from a lady who has the key. Any chance his key would
work on mine as well? I'm asking him to send me pictures of the inside, to
show me the lock in the open and closed positions.

I'm still determined to open it myself, as local locksmiths won't have seen
this before either, as a previous poster mentioned, and if I want someone
to drill the lock, i can do that myself. I'm still letting the wd40 work on it
with the chest upside down. I tried moving parts and one of the levers did
move a little, easier than it was to move before. So I will try tonight on it
again, and if I still can't get it to do much, I'll wd40 it one more time. May
as well do my best to loosen it up as was recommended.

Other than the price of the chest, the only thing I've lost is some sleep that
I wasn't going to get anyway due to my newborn, $2 for wd40, and some
time, so I don't feel I have to call a locksmith yet, if I do. For all who are
curious, now you know what I've been going through. I have it sitting in
my kitchen and can't open it. It drives me crazy sometimes!

Dave

by **HeadHunterCEO** » 12 Mar 2005 16:40

davhamilton wrote:Once it is open, I will let everyone know what, if anything, is inside. I
have actually gotten further information about what it is, it is an old
railroad chest. He gave me a pretty good history on it. Another guy who
was watching the item has an identical one that he has cleaned up, except
he bought his from a lady who has the key. Any chance his key would
work on mine as well? I'm asking him to send me pictures of the inside, to
show me the lock in the open and closed positions.

I'm still determined to open it myself, as local locksmiths won't have seen
this before either, as a previous poster mentioned, and if I want someone
to drill the lock, i can do that myself. I'm still letting the wd40 work on it
with the chest upside down. I tried moving parts and one of the levers did
move a little, easier than it was to move before. So I will try tonight on it
again, and if I still can't get it to do much, I'll wd40 it one more time. May
as well do my best to loosen it up as was recommended.

Other than the price of the chest, the only thing I've lost is some sleep that
I wasn't going to get anyway due to my newborn, $2 for wd40, and some
time, so I don't feel I have to call a locksmith yet, if I do. For all who are
curious, now you know what I've been going through. I have it sitting in
my kitchen and can't open it. It drives me crazy sometimes!

Dave

hey get the guy to take a pic of the key

by **aviator151** » 12 Mar 2005 19:52

ok, that whole young people can be impulsive, yes they try snowboarding or buying a new car, but impulsive is not the word i would use for buying a 200+ pound 200 year old iron box to leave it in my kitchen and figure out how to pick it afterwards. but then again from looking at your mannerisms of typing you seem like a weird guy, not to mention that whole buying a 200 year old box on impulse thing :roll:

by **kodierer** » 12 Mar 2005 22:59

His mannerisms seem normal to me.

by **digital_blue** » 12 Mar 2005 23:14

Yeah, they seem normal to me too. Should that be telling me something?

db

by **vantito** » 12 Mar 2005 23:37

think of how boring all our lives are going to be after he gets this open.... we'll have nothing to look forward to...

Antique Iron Strong Box from 1800s

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