Impressioning a key for a small cabinet lever lock

[GWiens2001]

Impressioning a key for a small lever cabinet lock

This is a small interior lock box from inside a very old Grover and Wende safe.  









Was asked if I would make a key for it.  Come on, what other answer would I be likely to give?  For those wondering what those two holes on the back of the box are all about, I wondered, too.  Was told that a 'tech' thought if he drilled those holes, he could open the lock from the inside.  No wonder the customer decided to try someone else.

First, used tape to mark the location of the throat cut on the blank.



Then used a file to make the throat cut.



Now check the fit of the throat cut.



Used a Sharpie marker to darken the blade of the blank



Insert the key, turn it until the key stops.  With a little tension on the key, jiggle it up and down a couple of times.  By up and down, I mean towards the center of the keyway and the edge of the keyway, in line with the blank.



Yes, I know.  I bite my nails.  Oh well.  Now look for the impressioning marks.  In this case, there are two.  That ended up being all the levers there were on this lock!  Only two.



Now file where you see the marks.



Reapply the marker, test the key, jiggle the key, reinspect.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  Keep at it, and only file where you see marks.  Soon...



And the final key.  One deep cut, one shallow cut.



Total time, under 10 minutes.

Gordon

[fgarci03]

Nice work Gordon! Did you hapen to have a blank for it around the house or you went to get one?

I've had the experience of once having 2 marks like that on a key and thinking it was 2 levers when it was only one (the edges of the lever marked the key), although on your image they look to be much distant than my marks!

The key got really nice with the rounded edges and so on. Really looks like a vintage key, except the ilco mark
The first filing you made near the bow is to allow it to rotate, am I correct?

So what are the holes for, then?


P.S. - your wife should put pepper on your nails! My mother tried that with me as a kid but I said I liked it (I didn't, but I already had a degree in reverse psychology back then) and she gave up. But it might work, who knows?

[GWiens2001]

Nice work Gordon! Did you hapen to have a blank for it around the house or you went to get one?

Have a big box of assorted key blanks. Have a number of different flat steel blanks from other lever locks I have impressioned.

I've had the experience of once having 2 marks like that on a key and thinking it was 2 levers when it was only one (the edges of the lever marked the key), although on your image they look to be much distant than my marks!

That does happen, especially with wider levers. I used a flashlight and a hook to examine the lock before I started, so I knew there were at least two levers.

The key got really nice with the rounded edges and so on. Really looks like a vintage key, except the ilco mark
The first filing you made near the bow is to allow it to rotate, am I correct?

Yes, that is correct. It is called a throat cut, and prevents that brass flange from blocking the key.

So what are the holes for, then?

Step one, cut a hole in the box...

Someone thought they could open the lock from the inside if they drilled a couple of holes. I would guess that they did not have much experience.

P.S. - your wife should put pepper on your nails! My mother tried that with me as a kid but I said I liked it (I didn't, but I already had a degree in reverse psychology back then) and she gave up. But it might work, who knows?

My mother tried Tabasco Pepper Sauce when I was a kid. Now I can drink that stuff by the bottle. Guess that did not have her desired effect!

Gordon

[phrygianradar]

Nice pictures and good work, Gordon. That was very informative and entertaining! I love the holes in the back; I wonder what the person had planned on doing to open it with those? Maybe the tech had a really long screw driver and thought they could just unscrew it? Anyway it makes me think of the Three Stooges; they're always putting holes in stuff to "fix it"

Great post, thank you!

[cledry]

I made a key to almost the same box yesterday, almost identical except the box is longer. Quite a coincidence. I basically did exactly the same way you did as well. The box I did had a fake wood grain on the door.