Thread: Installing a box lock

I have fitted one of these locks into 12mm stock which i think would be the minimum you could use. Regarding the pins, get them right the first time otherwise they will be loose but you could try some glue as well.
I used the router table with a 6mm bit to create a mortice in the box and lid for the lock and set the face plates in by hand.

These locks are i think the lowest on the scale of quality but if you get the fitment right they will work. If i ever have to fit another similar type lock it will be the solid Brass type.

Yes that lock requires the support offered by a full mortise, you can't successfully leave the back of it exposed on the inside of the box. If you did it'd look pretty ugly anyway. I've got a few of these, but have never used one. Most of my boxes have 8mm or 9.5mm sides so too thin to fit these. Your point about the escutcheon pins is a good one, with that in mind 14mm sides may well be the safe minimum.
Let us know how you get on with it, might save us some grief when time does come to fit one.

Hi Double.d and Aldav, thanks for your comments. Double.d, when you said you use your router table to create the mortise do you mean you stand the timber upright on your table and router upwards into it,..?. maybe by continually adjusting your depth, hmm. When you say you used this lock with 12mm timber, the pin protrudes though that plate by about 8mm. It cant straddle the lock due to the placement of the pin holes and the width of the plate. So therefore the pins hit the lock. That would then need the timber to be at least 15mm thick with the lock being about 7mm. Maybe the pins can be cut off and just use the heads as decoration and glue it on. The design just doesn't seem correct. I'll fiddle around with this a bit more but it was only 26 bucks. The hinges are quite good from that supplier and I just tossed this lock in to suss it out.

Thanks again, Paul

Hi Paul, yeah timber upside down, stops on either end and keep adjusting the height.
About the escutcheon (word i was looking for yesterday) pins, from memory i think i found some thicker ones from a picture hanging kit i had and cut them then drilled suitably larger holes in the escutcheon and glued them all in.

Hi Paul

What you appear to have is a full mortice cigar box lock.
Although a slightly different lock, these instructions from Rockler.com http://go.rockler.com/tech/28241.pdf should help you with creating the stepped mortice your lock needs.

Hi Paul,

I use the router table to cut the shallow part i.e. across the whole of the length of the lock. Then I use a brad point bit in the drill press to cut the deeper section for the body of the lock, cleaning up with a sharp chisel.

A tip when cutting the shallow rebates. Cut a piece of scap exactly the length of your box, position the lock upside down in the centre of it and mark where the ends of the lock will be. This has two advantages - one, you can use this piece to hold in place against the cutter and bring your router table stops in to the correct place (remember the scrap is exactly the same length as your box). Slide the scrap piece along in the other direction until the cutter edge meets the second mark and set your stop for that end. Secondly, the scrap can be used as a test piece to get the cut right before letting loose on your box.

To set the fence distance I deduct the diameter of the router from the width of the box front, then divide by two. For example, 12mm box width, 8mm lock width (and therefore cutter) gives (12 - 8) / 2 = 2mm. So in this example I set my fence 2mm away from the cutter to get a centred rebate. I have a series of spacers made from offcuts (1mm, 2mm etc) so I don’t have to measure this every time.

Definitely a job that is best done by making test cuts on scrap first!

Good luck,

Brian

Hi Ian, and thanks for that link. I will print it out and study it closely. And thanks Brian for that very informative reply. I'll give this a test run in the next couple of days, I can picture in my head exactly what your saying.

I guess the other bit is those pins that just don't seem to be either in the right place or too long or too something or other.

I shall report back after my test run, thanks again fellows.

Paul