Students will forge, file, and assemble parts for a spring-loaded lock with a tubular key. This style lock has all the parts mounted on a back plate and the works are visible when the door is open. Students will roll and braze the tube for the key and fit it with a bit at one end and a collar and bow at the other. A simple ward box will be made with a center pin to support the key in its rotation. The bolt will be forged and front and back staples made to hold the bolt. The spring will be forged and heat treated. Parts will be joined by tenons, rivets, or brazing. Anyone wishing to make the lock a passage door lock can do so by adding a handle to the back of the bolt so it can be drawn from the interior.

This project should be doable for a hand woodworker used to driving chisels with a mallet. Smiths with some experience watching the result of every blow, assessing whether the result is accomplishing the goal, and adjusting accordingly before the next blow will be able to handle this process. More advanced smiths who want to try some lock-work can challenge themselves by adding wards in the ward box or more decorative file ornamentation of the back plate and lock parts.

Unique Instructor Tom Latané

Click to discover more about Tom!