6 Lever pancake lock disassembled & cleaned

[Gantry]

I recently got bought a Miller 6 lever pancake lock with no key (pat. dates 7-26-(18)70, 10-21-(18)17, 3-11-(19)02) so I would say that it's least a 100 yr's old. To make a key I tried impressioning, then when that didn't work I tried using a "feeler wire" and digital caliber. I couldn't get ether to work so I went the disassemble route. I thought I'd share my journey of disassembly (BTW only do this as a last resort as you'll never get the lock back together the way it was from the factory) ... First, I'm NOT a lock smith or even a good picker (I'm trying) so bare with me if you know an easier way of doing this and if you have helpful suggestions please share them. If you try to do this be careful as your working with razor blades that are sharp and can break, keep safety in mind..

First what the lock looks like before I dive in:

, ,

Ok, take a deep breath and here we go... First I hammer razor blades into the seam of the lock. Note that I place the blades between the "studs" of the lock...

, ,

So now we have an open seam to work with but we still need to make it wider. I do this by "stacking" blades...



When the seam is wide enough I turn to a small screwdriver. I only use this next to the "studs" as I don't want to buckle the lock face. I use a hammer to drive it in like a wedge. You DON'T want to twist the screwdriver as again this might buckle the lock face. Once the small screwdriver has done it's thing, I went to a larger size to finish popping the cover off...

, ,

Ok! We're open... Other than being dirty, everything looks good. If you've never seen the inside of a lever pancake lock, here you go:

, ,

Now let's clean it up...

,

Well, we've got it apart lets figure out the bitting and make a temp. key that we can use later to make a "real" key...



Ok, almost done. So now it's time putting it back to gather again. I wrapped the lock in an old towel and "pressed" it back together again in my vise (also used a couple of wacks with a hammer as well).
Tried the temp. key and it works fine. please note the seams on the lock now are NOT a nice as when we started, that's why you only want to do this as a last resort...



I hope that at least some of you find this tutorial helpful, please fell free to comment... Gantry

[jeffmoss26]

Awesome! A friend fixed one of these up for me using a similar method

[tjohn]

yep, that method looks awfully familiar! Did someone miss a “credit to XXX for the idea?”

[GWiens2001]

yep, that method looks awfully familiar! Did someone miss a “credit to XXX for the idea?”

Used that method a while back, too. That lock is now hanging over my desk.

Gordon

[tpark]

I have a number of these locks. Most of these are decodable, however there are some that won't work because the levers are stuck together with glue. A large number of these locks have a bad shackle spring. My interpretation of "No Key" is now "I have the key, but the lock is broken, so I'll let you figure that out". Having said that, about 25 percent of the locks I bought without a key worked like a charm once I decoded them!


==Ted

[Gantry]

Hey Ted, What method do you use the most to decode these locks? The other 75% you don't open, do you just crack open or keep as wall hangers?

[tpark]

Hey Ted, What method do you use the most to decode these locks? The other 75% you don't open, do you just crack open or keep as wall hangers?

I use a thin brass wire to go between the levers and measure the depth of the gates - this works really well, and you can decode most locks pretty easily. Lauren Arndt describes his techniques in his book "The Extreme Antique Padlock Collector" for this lock, but the wire measurement method also works. The typical problem you encounter with this lock is a busted shackle spring - the lock can be opened, but the shackle doesn't pop up. The usual problem isn't that the spring is broken, it's just out of place, so it can't push the shackle up. If the lock is totally corroded or has been subjected to a fire, it isn't going to work. Most of the locks that have had defects I've made into cutaways or sent on to other people - The lock still opens with the key, it just doesn't pop open like it should. I've made keys from safe deposit blanks and ebay blanks for these locks.

[billdeserthills]

Robert Dix sells a similar looking tool with 6 pieces of spring steel wire that he uses to pick these pancake
locks open with, after picking you simply decode the heights of the wires and file a key