The Technique of FURNITURE MAKING

Locks and locking actions

The Victorians fitted locks to everything, even their whisky (hence the whisky tantalus), but the modern tendency is to dispense with them wherever possible, while the cheap pattern single-lever pressed-steel locks often fitted to mass-produced furniture can only be regarded as catches or securing devices, for they offer little or no protection. Thus if locks must be fitted for protection they should be the best of their respective kind.

Locks are made to require different keys by increasing the number or the position of the levers or gates which must be lifted by the key before it will shoot the dead bolt; by enlarging the diameter of the pin; and by shortening the pin socket in the key. Thus four good four-lever brass locks taken from the same dozen box and requiring different keys can often be adapted to accept one master key by rearranging the order of the levers, or drilling out the socket in the key to fit the different pins; and as delivery of special 'differs' or master keying can often take up to 12 months, some adaptation (including taking out one or more levers if they do not fit) is sometimes necessary, although not to be recommended if it can possibly be avoided. Purpose-made individual locks of beautiful workmanship can still be obtained and, although obviously much more expensive than the one-, two - or four-lever brass lock with cast riveted cap, are not out of proportion to the total making cost of a good piece of furniture. If maximum protection is required Yale-type locks with projecting cylinder nozzles can be obtained from stock which will give an infinite number of differs, with master keying up to 200 differs if required.

TYPES OF LOCK

Figure 263:1 shows the straight cupboard lock screwed to the inner face of the door, and with a through bolt shooting right or left as required; 263:2 shows the cut cupboard lock which must be bought right or left hand, as the case is, cut into the door and the bolt can only shoot one way; 263:3 is the mortise cupboard lock, again in right and left hand versions. The standard cut till or drawer lock is shown in 263:4, also obtainable in mortise form, while two - or three - way keyholes as 263:6, 8 are often obtainable in both cupboard and till locks, which give a measure of changeability. Striking plates as 263:6, 7 are standard throughout and usually bought separately, but the box lock (263:5) requires its own striking plate as the twin bolts shoot up and sideways to lock the lid. Figure 263:6 is the usual form of mortise-type sliding door or hook lock, again right or left handed, and also obtainable as a cut lock, while 263:7 is another type in which the hook dead bolt is at the back of the case and can be used in the centre edge of the outer sliding door instead of separate locks to each door. A cheap alternative often fitted to production furniture with sliding doors is the cylinder type (263:9), in which the key and barrel shown at the back of the lock are inserted into the cylinder to engage in a socket in the rear door, and turning the key releases the barrel which remains in the body of the lock. A combined latch and dead bolt lock suitable for roll-top desks and known as such is shown in 263:8, while 264:1 is the brass piano mortise lock, and 264:2 the link plate lock for doors closing over the cupboard sides (A). A typical slam or spring lock and striking plate are shown in 264:4,5 which can be closed without a key but requires unlocking to open it, while 264:3 is a till lock with projecting nozzle which forms its own escutcheon plate. The fitting of the latter requires very careful laying out, as a suitable hole for the nozzle must be bored through the face of the work exactly of the right size and in the correct position, and the laying out should be done from a cardboard template. The traditional bird's-beak lock beloved of the old school of craft examiners, which was used for roll-top desks, has lately been reintroduced in a

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264 Locks (2)

streamlined form for television and radio cabinets. With this type (264:6) twin bolts shoot out either side to engage in the striking plate. Figure 264:7 shows the usual form of lock chisel for cutting in bolts, etc.