Old 1938 U.S Mailbox - Carlisle Foundry CO

[Squelchtone]

There are no key blanks available for this lock. It is unique. As a post office vendor let me tell you, if you do ever find an "ARROW" key keep it to yourself, and never post it, possession is against postal code. You will get a visit from the postal inspectors.

Does that mean that there are no commercially produced locks/keys like this? I recently saw not 1 but 3 of these locks in my apartment building. I'm curious as to their function, though now it seems like they're probably to let our mail-lady into the building & into the mailboxes. If they have commercially available locks similar to this, I'd love to pick one up and fiddle with it.

Just to be clear, I have no intention of picking/trying to bypass the locks in my apartment building, I was simply intrigued by the strange keyway.

So at the entrance to your building you probably have a rectangular brass/metal plate with an arrow lock in the middle of it. This is like a Knox Box but for the mail carrier, and not the fire department. Behind that plate is the key to your building door, probably on a chain.

It should look like this: http://www.giahardware.com/Bommer_5620_ ... 20-998.htm or http://www.giahardware.com/Bommer_5620_ ... 20-628.htm

drawing of one with USPS lock installed http://www.alpha-comm.com/prodserv/5620-562.htm

You wont find that exact Arrow style lock commercially available for purchase by civilians.

Squelchtone

[asgardschosen]

Huh, strange. On the inside of the building, there are a couple of them on our mailboxes, which I guess simply unlock the entire cover for the post office. The one on the outside of our door is on the intercom system, but I guess there could be a key tucked in there as lock as it wasn't rubbing against the PCB.

Okay, on further investigation it looks like the lock is actually sent by the post office to buildings that request it. This lets the P.O. people access the building, and maintains key control. It looks like in order to get one you'd have to actually own a building, and even then you could only ever use it to put into a box for your building (basically even owning the building it's attached to still means you can't play with it at all).

[Robotnik]

Huh, strange. On the inside of the building, there are a couple of them on our mailboxes, which I guess simply unlock the entire cover for the post office. The one on the outside of our door is on the intercom system, but I guess there could be a key tucked in there as lock as it wasn't rubbing against the PCB.

Okay, on further investigation it looks like the lock is actually sent by the post office to buildings that request it. This lets the P.O. people access the building, and maintains key control. It looks like in order to get one you'd have to actually own a building, and even then you could only ever use it to put into a box for your building (basically even owning the building it's attached to still means you can't play with it at all).

Those would be carrier service locks for community mailboxes, and yes, they are the locks that open the entire panel for ease of delivery. There are, as Squelchtone mentioned, postal strong boxes for building access keys. Additionally, there are building telephone entry panels (DKS, for example) that can be fitted with postal locks that act as a keyed carrier override. Personally, I've only seen these fitted with Medeco MALs, not Arrows

[Robotnik]

Also, as an aside to anyone looking to convert a postal box to a civilian-legitimate lock, there are conversions available; http://www.americanpostalmfg.com/product/N1026342.htm is one example.

[billdeserthills]

There are no key blanks available for this lock. It is unique. As a post office vendor let me tell you, if you do ever find an "ARROW" key keep it to yourself, and never post it, possession is against postal code. You will get a visit from the postal inspectors.

Does that mean that there are no commercially produced locks/keys like this? I recently saw not 1 but 3 of these locks in my apartment building. I'm curious as to their function, though now it seems like they're probably to let our mail-lady into the building & into the mailboxes. If they have commercially available locks similar to this, I'd love to pick one up and fiddle with it.

Just to be clear, I have no intention of picking/trying to bypass the locks in my apartment building, I was simply intrigued by the strange keyway.

Ooopps You shoulda said so sooner, I'm afraid They are already onto You

They're coming to take you away, Ha Ha, they're coming to take You away
To the funny farm, where life is grand

[asgardschosen]

Hide me! Quick!

Hehe, I just wanted to get a jump on the "You shouldn't pick that lock!" messages that I see occasionally.

Can you ask them to take me off the no-fly list now?