Help bring life to a old girl

[wils757]

Hi all !!!!

Firstly what a lovely site we have here

I've been interested in locks for some time now but never really got past the basics due to my first child and all what comes with it I guess

Anyway - - - I bought / saved a old red BT telephone box from a local scrap dealer several months ago. Guess one of those moments of madness which her in doors still doesn't understand. I've part restored the old box learning where I need to.

I had no previous experience but thought the power of the net and other forum managed to wire the old girl back up and get it to part work.

Now I'm planning to use it as a novelty item in my garden. Although I've managed to wire it back up and get it to work in a fashion I now have the problem of it working too well....

You see as I got the old girl from the local scrap dealer no keys for the telephone where present. I've called local locksmiths who to didn't seem overly keen with the cheapest quoting £250 pounds.

Now the box works but I have no method of opening the coin return to empty the coins. It now requires a good few hearty kicks to move the money which in-turn allows more money to be entered and calls placed

I've done all the work myself so It was suggested by a friend on another forum I run it past you guys if you can help me out??

I dont really knw much if anything but that is the whole point of me and my box so to speak !!!

I knew new members are treated with a certain element of caution but I can assure you I'm genuine. I can provide photos of the box and my ugly face the lock/s of course think I even have receipts from when I bought it if that helps??

Anyone please help !!!!! or point me in the right direction??

(My apologies if this shouldn't have been posted)

Regards

David

[JackNco]

nope cant see any problem with u asking about this as i think they have changed the locks on the newer boxes and there as basically none left working in the UK.

I assume you will need to post a picture before we can help if im to be any help ill need to have a look at the lock its self. and i cant really post anything till one of the mods has OK'ed it as it is still in use in some small deserted parts of wales. or there were some last time i was there.

Got your self a bit of a bargain there though. last i herd one in good nick was selling for a couple of thousand. im assuming its only taking old money? if its been updated with a newer style phone (and locks) then im guessing we cant post in the open forums but you may be lucky enough to get a PM from one of the mods.

So im guessing the best bet is to take a picture of the phone box on your properly (so we can clearly see its in a garden.

A picture of the inside of the box so we can see how old the phone in there is and a picture of the key way (clear as you can get it, theres a sticky about lighting if you have having troubles)

All the best and look forward to hearing from you.

[n2oah]

Give us a pic, for identification of the lock, and making sure you're you're genuine.

[SteveW]

Where abouts in the UK are you ?

[wils757]

WOW !!! firstly thank you to everyone who took the time to reply its much appreciated !!!

Yes netted myself a real bargain thanks - I'm trying to design some sort of fish tank inside the box so from the outside looks as if its full of water

My digi camera as broken - but will be borrowing my brothers today or tomorrow and I'll throw some pics up.

Would it be Ok to just post pic's of the lock on the open thread then PM my personal pics to either mod's or whoever?? Isnt a problem if you prefer it the other way round.

Does anyone knew if they are hard to pick?? and roughly how long it would take me to get to the required standard??

Personal I haven't seen a red box in operation for a good few years most seem to be in private collections now etc or in scrap yards

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN !!!

David

[JackNco]

feel free to do what ever you feel but no mods have posted in here yet and so might not appreciate a random message as they work pretty hard anyway. we would need a picture of the key way and the phone in good detail before wost any details. if we can confirm its an old red box and that its got an old mechanism in there we can go from there.

If i catch any of the mods in the chat room ill ask them to have a look but im yet to see shrub (The UK mod) in there so im not sure if they will want to advise on that one.

All the best

[Keyring]

I'm trying to work out which type of mechanism this phone has. Is it the really old button A / button B type. Or the later type. Assuming it's the later type, I am wondering how you are unlocking the coin slot, as this used a signalling method which a normal phone line wouldn't provide, so I'm wondering how you are managing to put the coins in, in the first place. Just interested as I used to be involved in the telephone industry, when there still was one.

Looking forward to seeing some pictures.

[wils757]

Ok thanks I'll wait until the mods give me the go ahead. Thanks all for in-put.

That's the thing KEYRING i haven't been able to open the coin slot - coins have gradually built up and as discussed above it now requires a combination of luck and brute force get it to accept coins to make calls. So i guess its a victim of its own success

while I'm on the subject. Their just seems soooo much info on this site that to an "new-bi" it all seems a little overwhelming can anyone recommend a good place to start?? (other than he newbi section of course) any videos that as helped anyone out?? Just really looking for directions.

Thanks all !!!!

David

[JackNco]

First you need to learn what type of lock is on the phone. if your just wanting to pick this one lock open and not interested in it as a hobby then you only need the tools to open that kind of lock. once you know that you can order individual picks that will do the job from www.southord.com

if its a pin tumbler lock then you could be talking $4.00 or less plus postage if its a tubular lock then you are talking more like $70.00 or more, but then again if its a tubular lock its gonna be on a newer phone and so we cant really give you any help directly as it would also be teaching you to open newer phone boxes. or at least thats how i see it.

Either way your gonna need to do some reading on the subject of how locks work and how they are picked.

First of search this forum for...
The MIT Guide &
The LSI Guide

Then watch this. its a good beginners video with some nice slides to show you how it all works.
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?doc ... iant+ollam

Finaly
viewtopic.php?t=10677 Read this and follow the guide if you have a lock you can take apart.

To he honest i have never even looked at a lock on a phone box, new or old. but chances are its not going to be an easy lock and will be old and full of crap.

But for the lock of god don't spray WD40 in to it. i know you will have been tempted.

In all honesty after you have put the time in it may well just be easier to get a lock smith in, chances are he will charge you less than £60.00 and have it done in seconds.

But still, its a fun skill to learn so i hope you stick it out and pick it, i may even get hooked and end up as a resident on this site.

All the best.

[Shrub]

Hmm you would normally ask a mod before posting if you can post, ive just finished replying to your question via pm whether you should post this or not and find youve posted it anyway

Its not suitable for the open forums with many still in use today (i have one accross the road from me right now),

All vending locks are kept out of the open forums,

I refer you to the help offered in my pm to you,