For a person to build a lock it would take a lot more than a tutorial to end up with a high performance product. You better have skill sets in machine tool operation, heat treating, filing, threading, as well as the equipment to perform all the operations. You need to apprentice under a master lock maker and get the hands on training and acquire the skills vs. reading a treatise.
David
David just nailed it.Thank you,sir.
Bob Roller
What master lock maker did you apprentice under Bob?
I didn't apprentice under anyone. I got ideas from antique locks,some of poor quality
like commonly seen on American muzzleloaders and then there were superb ones like seen
on top of the line English and European guns.
Glen Napier and Bill Large encouraged my interest and critiqued the things I made and that
helped a lot and they also gave me small tools like files. I had the use of a lathe,the 12x36 Atlas that I
bought in 1958 and still own and use for some jobs. E.M.Farris and Wes Kindig also encouraged me and Wes talked me into making double set triggers.
Finding suitable material to make locks and triggers was an early problem. Spring steel was not
easy to find and I made mainsprings from automobile hood and window regulator springs. I also
bought "Swedish Spring Steel" from Frank Mittermeier in NYC and later located American sources
for good quality spring steels. This was YEARS before anyone ever thought of the computer or any
thing other than a big ATT&T phone book.My mother was a supervisor and trainer for Bell Atlantic phone company and I had a free ride on long distance calls to anywhere in the USA that made locating material
easier to find. Bill Large suggested 1144 Stressproof for tumblers and it worked and worked well and I still use it
for tumblers. It machines like 12L14 and will harden like drill rod and seems to be very durable.
I suppose what I am saying is that with encouragement from interested people and such natural ability that I have,I have been able to do what I do in shop work and later in cars. My strong interest in the Duesenberg cars
is well known and I still,recently got inquiries about specific cars and work I did as a teen age mechanic.Later on I also helped a friend with his European Motors repair shop specializing in cars ranging from Rolls Royce to the little MG's and similar little fun to drive cars.Mercedes Benz was a specialty and Jaguar was as well.
Getting back to locks and triggers,it takes TIME and a lot of it to get to the point where a marketable item can be made.If a job doesn't turn out right,try again. Nobody turns out perfect work and never will. I will hit 80 on EasterSunday and am fading. I have done 2 small jobs since 23 December due to the most severe bronchial infection of my life. I am weak and haven't the stamina I once had from this episode and it is a vexing thing to say the least.
Bob Roller
