165 Locks...I have a few questions

[Schuyler]

Alright, I'm new, very new, but I solicited for lock donations on Craigslist and one fellow came up with 165 locks for me. So, now I'm a newbie with a big box of locks. And I'm a bit perplexed...

I've been looking them up as much as I'm able and learning this and that. I get the feeling that at times I just don't know what it is I'm actually looking up.

The collection consists of:

EZ Set deadbolts
Defiant KIK & deadbolt
a few unbranded KIK and deadbolts
Several normal padlocks
A few warded (I think...) padlocks
A couple of nifty "Hawk" brand double pinned cabinet lock
A whole bunch of cabinet locks with a number stamped on the front, looking up the number revealed places to buy the keys to that specific lock! Wowza...

Cylinders from these fine makers:

arrow, elgin, best, yale, sargent, falcon, corbin, keil, ilco, dexter, taylor, russwin, kawneer, lockwood, LSDA, and lori

(OK, no clue if these are "fine" makers, but makers none the less!)

OK - now for the photos. All I had available was a camera phone. You can guess the quality. If you can't stand it, I'm sorry, don't worry about it. If you're willing to muck through my sub-par photography? I do have a couple of questions:

Is this an old ignition?


What are these two prongs (I'm feeling really stupid not being able to figure it out) and this lock pushes inward like a button when turned, any idea what it's application was? It also has a spring-loaded piece of metal (much like a car lock) in front of the keyway.


A few medecos. I, of course, have heard the name a lot since having picked up picks, but I'm curious as to which these are, and what I can expect from them. Also...is this some sort of Medeco Ignition? I found a brief reference to Medeco replacement ignitions, but I'm not sure.



Alright, that's about it. Oh, a couple of Masterlock's version of the bicycle U-Lock with tubular locks.

Any insights would be absolutely appreciated! Thank you all!

[devildog]

A lot of those are good quality locks.

Best, Sargent, Yale, Corbin, Russwin and Lockwood in particular are very good quality and are going to be quite a bit more difficult to pick than some of the cheaper stuff you've got. If you want the easiest thing to start with, look for kwikset, master lock, moutain security, falcon, defiant, dexter. Those shouldn't be too tough, especially the kwiksets and master locks.

Medeco is in a class by itself. None of the above locks are high-security, and medeco is. It's not even a normal pin tumbler--the pins have to not only be raised to the correct height but also rotated to the correct angle which is NOT easy due to the presence of the sidebar. If you're not clear on that, the best thing to do is go to medeco's website and look at the nifty animated videos they have that explain their system from a layman's perspective.

[maxxed]

Old ignition yes it is

The prongs on the one lock I believe are for electrical connections for a switch lock

The push button lock is from a truck type tool box, the plunger is used to trip a latch when pushed turning the key to the solid locationlocks the top.

The Medico something is a Medico Keyswitch

[Schuyler]

Aha!

Thanks for giving me a clue about what I was looking at here. With switch locks - are they just completing a connection?

I had read somewhere (an old BBS posting from the early 90s) about medeco replacements for ignition switches. That's why I was wondering if it was an ignition.

I have enough redundant locks now that I'm going to start cracking some open to pick at their insides...

[unbreakable]

where did you get all of those locks??

Nice collection.

[Schuyler]

a quick posting on my local Craigslist.com turned up a bunch of people happy to get rid of old locks.

I offered to pay a buck a piece for any lock missing it's key and got a whole bunch of responses. This guy happened to be a locksmith and we worked out a bargain (as I certainly wasn't expecting 165 locks from anyone!) so it wouldn't cost quite as much. I still have to pick up two more loads of locks from other folks this week.

And the locksmith guy said "This is all I could get on short notice." He was very nice, offered to help us get equipment through his dealer in Cambridge, MA. I'm glad I met him.

My friends and I are starting a chapter of TOOOL in Boston, so we needed a good pile of locks for some communal picking.

[maxxed]

Aha!

Thanks for giving me a clue about what I was looking at here. With switch locks - are they just completing a connection?...

That is all a switch does, the Medico keyswitch is a single pole double throw. This means in one key position there is a closed connection between the common and one of the terminals. In the other position there is a closed connection between the common and the other terminal

[Schuyler]

Thanks maxxed. Glad to know.

[unbreakable]

a quick posting on my local Craigslist.com turned up a bunch of people happy to get rid of old locks.

Dont accidentally type craiglist.com.

[Shrub]

That is soooo funny

[Kaotik]

About the Single-pole Double Throw Keyswitch, here is another example on a Tubular lock. It is the first one on the second row of this link.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g55/K ... ubular.jpg

[maxxed]

Thanks maxxed. Glad to know.

Glad the info was usefull