My home made barrel key collection (& how to)

[Lauren]

Wow! My first sticky...Thanks.

[Lauren]

Define the key head thickness.



A closer view.



Using a Craftsman socket wrench to hold the stock.



Drill the center pin hole.



Remove rough material using a slot cutting blade, hand turned.



Define the key shaft. Use a micrometer to check outer diameter.



Define the key head.



Make round, hand turned.



Cleaning it up.



The finished product. (Empire C.L.C., patented Feb. 25, 1865)....W0RKS GREAT!

[Raymond]

I AM SO IN AWE OF HOW SIMPLE YOU MAKE THIS PROCESS LOOK.

[unlisted]

Was this supposed to be part of your sticky thread?

I can fix it if so...

[Phatphish]

Great post!
Just goes to show what can be acheived without the right equipment but with the right mindset.
Who needs to spend money on expensive lathes and milling machines when a pillar drill will do all three?
Marvelous.

[Lauren]

Yes. If a moderator could move this to my sticky thread; I would appreciate that.

[pin_pusher]

i can't believe it, looks amazing...and all with the drillpress. i'm definitely printing off your howto...i'll be trying this when time is freed up. thanks a bunch!

[mh]

Very very nice indeed.
And then you just impression the new blank to get a working key?
It would be kind of sad if that process failed and you wasted this type of blank...

Cheers
mh

[Lauren]

Most of the key bitting is done with a bench grinder, file, and most importantly, with cut of wheels from Dremel. This part of the process is hand held. And of coarse, you have to know how to make the key work the lock. This takes some expertise.

[Lauren]

Made Sept. 1, 2010 for Wilson Bohannan padlock #105, patented June 25, 78.

[Lauren]

This lock is from the early 1900's by Eagle Lock Company (6 lever). I recently won this on E-bay without the key. I wanted to make a key that would really withstand the test of time and never get as rusty as this old lock. So, I used stainless steel. This key was made from a 1/2 inch and a 1/4 inch machine bolt, carefully machined to my specifications. I call this key, "Tee Key". It has a nice ring to it. Here, modern day meets old. Made 10-10-2010.

I'm usually able to determine the biting of these type of locks by observing the movement of each locking plate through a tiny crack between the inside hasp and the lock body. But in this case, the tolerances were to tight for this type of process, so I used the "reading method". I observed that the middle levers were almost touching the outer diameter of the key shaft in the key hole. This basically means that a much deeper cut relative to the other cuts had to be made. I basically had to take my best guess on the cuts for the other two levers relative to the middle one. Once the lock was triggered open, I was able to get better precision of the cuts by observing the movement of all six levers in the open hasp hole. These type of keys have cuts that are often mirror image. One important fact about using stainless steel; make sure that you round out the internal edges of each cut that you make. The edges of stainless can be so sharp, that you will scrape the edges down of the levers and ruin the lock.

[Lauren]

I made this concept key a few days ago. It's made of stainless steel and brass. This 6 lever antique lock was made for William Enders Hardware Company by Corbin. Like most of my locks, I get them without the key and the challenge to make one.

I was able to open this lock through a process I call "shim-picking". I made a specially shaped shim that has a 45 degree beveled tip that sneaks through the inner hasp and the lock body. I took a needle tool that I used to depress the back lever of the right hand stack of levers. . Once depressed, I was able to push the shackle shim in slightly, holding the back lever, and disengaging it from the hasp. Then, I attacked the middle lever, and also once it cleared the hasp, I pushed the shim slightly deeper. And finally, I disengaged the third lever and was able to completely push the shim in, separating all three levers from the hasp. This process is very similar to shimming modern day pin tumbler locks. After the right stack of levers were free, I easily picked the left hand stack of levers. There's also three levers to deal with. The tool that I used to manipulate the levers inside the lock has a simple ninety degree bend.

[pin_pusher]

simply impressive

[HRPufnstuf]

I can't for the life of me figure out how you can tell how to cut the key once the blank is made, I simply don't understand your explanation of how you figure it out. I probably won't be able to visualize what you're describing until I have seen the insides of a few of these locks.

But...

For a source of blanks that you may not have been aware of, look at a site that specializes in unusual and obsolete key blanks: bluedogkeys.com

[Lauren]

As far as how to cut a key blank for the 6 and 8 lever locks, it's a relatively simple process that requires careful cutting evenly on both blades. Imagine a pair of scissors where the key rotates rotates on a fixed pin between each scissor blade. As the key turns (sometimes counter clockwise), the scissors open evenly. Each lever pair of the lock behaves likes this, and as they spread, begin to disengage from the hasp. Because the distance from the center pin of the lock and the edge of the lever is usually different between pairs, it requires different cuts. For example, a lever with its edge relatively close to the pin will require a deeper cut than one further away. Once I make a double bitted key blank, I first make the warded cuts. Usually the warded plate will be stacked between levers, or even something as a recessed ring in the bottom of the lock. Next, I begin turning the prepared blank and observe which lever pair(s) moves first. I continue to cut the blades down until the second lever pair begins to move. The depth cut for each lever set is reached when all levers move at the same rate as the key is turned, clearing the hasp evenly. In order to observe this movement, sometimes I can see between the hasp and the lock body. I alway prefer to have the lock open, however.