Hand Made Padlocks

[NeatGuy]

A friend of mine gave me an old padlock which the shackle had been cut off. I have wanted to make some padlocks for some time, so I opened it up to have a look at what makes it tick. It is quite different from modern locks.

Anyhow I digitized the parts and made a model with Solidworks and thought I would share it and perhaps get some comments from anyone who has made or has had experience with these sort of locks.

There is also an interesting design etched into the cover that some one may know the origin.

I would be happy to supply scale drawings of all the parts and assemblies to anyone that would like make one.

brad

PadLock.PDF

[ianinsa]

Brad,
That design looks masonic.
Seems like you got a great little project there, let us know how it turns out?
I recon it would be neat to have your 'own' padlocks.
Ian

[southernforge]

It does not look like any official Masonic symbol that I have ever seen.

[arftist]

The all seeing eye in a pyramid, as seen on U.S. currencey is thought to be a masonic symbol.

[fciron]

Cool, it's all tumblers and no wards. Thinking about making warded locks hurts my brain.

Donald Streeter's book "Professional Smithing" is about the only place I know to get info on old school locksmithing.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

There was a thread awhile back on making locks with some good references in it.

[Bob S]

It is quite different from modern locks.


brad

called a 'lever lock'.

http://en.wikipedia....er_tumbler_lock

[MattBower]

Talk about fortuitous coincidence. Yesterday I was reading the sections on various locks in Streeter's Professional Smithing, and finding some of it a little hard to follow. I ended up spending a couple hours looking for (and at) old lock mechanisms online. Thanks for posting this!

[Bob S]

Talk about fortuitous coincidence. Yesterday I was reading the sections on various locks in Streeter's Professional Smithing, and finding some of it a little hard to follow. I ended up spending a couple hours looking for (and at) old lock mechanisms online. Thanks for posting this!

you're welcome. More pretty good stuff on locks here...

http://www.anvilfire...s/top_index.htm

[MattBower]

you're welcome. More pretty good stuff on locks here...

http://www.anvilfire...s/top_index.htm

Nice. Thanks. Here's an interesting site I found last night: http://www.historicallocks.com/en/site/hl/Articles/

[CurlyGeorge]

I've had an interest in making a pad lock for sometime, now. Maybe now is the time. Thanks for posting. :)

[Bryce Masuk]

Helmut was friends with donald streeter and donald gave him a lever lock (i think) which he has installed in his home

he also worked with manuel gurrera in equador

if the imbed thing doesnt work skip to here and there is a 9 min video showing making of locks in manuel shop

there are also numerous pictures on the page you would like to possibly look at

http://www.iron-to-live-with.com/iron/MGuerra.php

lock making is pretty cool frank turley helped me learn about the basics of making a lock

[petere76]

Neat guy,

Thanks for your time and sharing the write up.

The mechanism is a style called a lever tumber design. The multi lever design is considered rather intricate for a padloc and most often is found in stationary locking mechanisms. Most padlocks only had one lever and the throw to acomplish the task. Certainly a challenging project because of the small scale. Most of the earlier padlocks I have seen are warded designs, likley due to the limitied number of moving parts and the overall durability of the casing. Any idea as to manufacturer or point of origin on your piece?

I do some antique lock work and have a collection of older lever tumbler designs, (Pauly, Yale, Sargent, Folger-Adams, etc) . The locks are a very interesting pursuit. As an interesting read, google "Mossman", you shoud get a tradesmans museum in NYC. Talk about intricate.

Thanks,
Peter

[NeatGuy]

Neat guy,

Thanks for your time and sharing the write up.

The mechanism is a style called a lever tumber design. The multi lever design is considered rather intricate for a padloc and most often is found in stationary locking mechanisms. Most padlocks only had one lever and the throw to acomplish the task. Certainly a challenging project because of the small scale. Most of the earlier padlocks I have seen are warded designs, likley due to the limitied number of moving parts and the overall durability of the casing. Any idea as to manufacturer or point of origin on your piece?

I do some antique lock work and have a collection of older lever tumbler designs, (Pauly, Yale, Sargent, Folger-Adams, etc) . The locks are a very interesting pursuit. As an interesting read, google "Mossman", you shoud get a tradesmans museum in NYC. Talk about intricate.

Thanks,
Peter

I do not know the origin of this lock. Most of the parts appear to be forged except the levers which are cast brass. The whole lock is a bit crude. I would guess it is from India as there is a large population of Indians in the area where it was acquired.

An interesting aside ...I left the disassembled lock on my desk and my three year old son reassemble it with out my help or even seeing the drawing. I asked him how he knew about the placement and orientation of the parts and he said it was obvious. Maybe I should get him to help out when I have to model other complex devices.

brad

[tomhw]

There are some wonderful photos of 15th-18th century locks, keys, escuteons, and other parts in "Decorative Antique Ironwork" by Henry Rene' D'Allemagne, Dover Publications (1968).
The locks are impressive, inspiring, and intimidating displays of mastery of the craft of the locksmith.
If you are interested in antique, decorative, or domestic ironwork this book is a must have.

[mtforge]

I liked the book The Spruce Forge Manual of Locksmithing by Bill Morrison & Denis Frechette
http://www.oldlocks.com/book_reviews/Spruce_Forge/locksmithing.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Spruce-Forge-Manual-Locksmithing-Blacksmiths/dp/0615118224

[12345678910]

Several beat me to it.

I'd call it a lever lock too.

I'd like to see the dimensional drawings.

[De St Uby]

The videos of Manuel Guerra :

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FUPU7m7hME

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRa_OnlS_kk&feature=related

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5_HhdkawrM&feature=related

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paUZghp1-bY&feature=related

:)

[Ben Hartley]

Hey Brad, can you post a render from another angle that shows the spring mechanism a little better? Does each tumbler have its own spring? Is the bolt sprung too? Can you show how the key engages the bolt?

I would be happy to supply scale drawings of all the parts and assemblies to anyone that would like make one.

I wouldn't mind a set of those drawings if you have them lying around.

[Bentiron1946]

That lock plate looks like one I bought that was made in India that I took apart to see if I could make one like it. Still trying to make mine work as well as the one from India, all it's inside parts are stamped out of sheet metal(old cans?).

[Frank Turley]

The initial entry here dates from 2010, and I missed it somehow. It's true that I helped Bryce with the making of lock parts at one time. Bryce! How are you? I have made a couple of straightforward Mexican styled chest locks. I drew a diagram of the mechanism which is printed in "Southwestern Colonial Ironwork. The Manuel Guerra padlocks are an Hispanic style with the curved bar and hasp. The Spanish name is candado de barra. They have a rectangular cross-section bolt which is thrown sideways not unlike a chest lock nor a door lock. The removable hasp has a These old locks are all warded; no tumblers. The hasp had an attached, tenoned keeper which would enter its slot/receptacle on the face of the lock. The thrown bolt goes through the keeper.

I have no experience with the padlocks with standard shackles.