Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Shangas, post: 49723, member: 360&quot;]Thanks folks. </p><p><br /></p><p>I almost gave up on this box at one point. I was one step away from shoving it in a cupboard and forgetting about it! Or, sending it to a locksmith to fix the lock and key. </p><p><br /></p><p>But to send it to a locksmith would mean having to haul it there. Explain the situation. Wait two or three weeks. Go and check on it. Pay the guy, haul it back... </p><p><br /></p><p>I wasn&#039;t going to waste $30, $40, $50 on something I can do AT HOME. </p><p><br /></p><p>I studied how these old fashioned lever-locks operate and how they&#039;re put together. I unscrewed the lock, levered it apart with a screwdriver, and then I gave it a slosh around in the ultrasonic cleaner to try and scrape off any old crap that was stuck on it. </p><p><br /></p><p>Once that was done, it was a matter of finding a key that fits over the post. And then testing it over and over again on the spring-bar and lever. Then I&#039;d take it out, mark the spots on the key, get out my set of files, file down the key-head, stick it back in. Test it. Take it out. File it. Stick it in. Test it. File it. Test it. </p><p><br /></p><p>Over and over. Until I finally got the key into the shape where it would turn the lock back and forth, reliably without jamming or skipping and jumping. </p><p><br /></p><p>Then I reassembled the lock, clamped it together to stop it falling apart, slotted it back into the box, screwed it back down and tied the key to the handle to stop it being lost. </p><p><br /></p><p>...this is the first time I&#039;ve ever done that. But at least now I know how to cut antique keys.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in