Thread: Historic vault door unearthed in El Paso USA

Could we get a progress report on this restoration? Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by wylk

Could we get a progress report on this restoration? Thanks in advance.

I am very sorry to state that not much has been done recently. We have had to have many gears, bolts, bolt covers, and plates machined to match the original missing parts. Most of the parts are back and the restoration should resume pretty soon.

I promise that as things start moving, I will get photos and info available.

It's unfortunate that so many parts were missing. Can you speculate why? Did people remove them as keepsakes before the door was rescued?

Were any parts damaged or worn? These were great big mechanisms built for brute strength and I've never heard anything about how well they held up to decades of operation.

Originally Posted by wylk

It's unfortunate that so many parts were missing. Can you speculate why? Did people remove them as keepsakes before the door was rescued?

Were any parts damaged or worn? These were great big mechanisms built for brute strength and I've never heard anything about how well they held up to decades of operation.

This vault door was stored in the basement at another building for many years. Some of the parts were probably taken as repair/replacement parts on another one. The time locks were missing. The flip out step in the walkway is missing. The inner glass door was broken. Someone tried cutting the inner door frame probably thinking it was brass and planning to sell it. The rest - who knows. There is very little wear showing anywhere. It is funny that there are impressions in the bottom side of the door and frame of paper clips that were complessed.