Printable View
18th century Mortice Deadlatch with 5 hammer Bell
Artifact No: 1648.
Attachment 17095
Sz: 167 x 368mm (excluding extended privacy and latch bolts). Mt: brass, copper, iron. Wt: 4.428kg.
A double throw deadlocking latch with 2 gear driven privacy bolts. The main feature being a 5 hammer bell driven by the follower spindle. Decoration on the tumbler lever of a serpent.
4.5 Kg - wow!Quote:
Originally Posted by HoL
Why did it have 5 hammers instead of one? Surely one heavy hammer would give a nicer, clearer sound?
It's probably the largest mortice lock I have seen, can you imagine the door it would have been fitted to. The bell though, with its 5 hammers is a mystery and hoped that we could all speculate a bit about this feature. The forend is pierced as if to allow the sound to escape.
Attachment 17096 Attachment 17097
Wine cellar?Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Morland
hareem?
That is certainly an interesting lock. It would be even more so if pictures were included of it disassembled. Understanding how it worked may lead to a clearer picture of what is was used for. Not to mention the usual curiosity of an old locksmith...me!
What an amazing lock, my initial reaction (or hope!) was it might be some sort of grande sonnerie which indicates when each of the different functions are being used with a different strike, but if only the follower spindle triggers the hammers, and they are all released together then that fantasy has gone out the window!
If the follower releases them onto the bell all at the same time then I guess it's got 5 hammers simply in order to produce a very particular combined sound. In the same way a chime whistle works with steam, steam released in one blast but having several different sized chambers produces a particular combined note overall. I would love it to be each hammer released independently by a different function though...
Can you tell us more on what happens with the different actions on it Brian?
This lock is on our list to write up, so at some point this thread will have that report added it will also be published in the newsletter. Its to be exhibited in Nottingham (UK) shortly and Telford (UK) later in the year so for the moment Doug a full strip down, which wont be an easy task will have to be done later. But I can take some close up pictures of the hammers and other details. Its a very tired lock after a couple of centuries or so but still functions well although the bell chimes sound a little muted. In response to Huw's comments, the hammers strike separately almost as in a rift rather than a regular one after the other. The forend piercing seems to suggest a religious context, and certainly it has to be a very heavy door but haven't found anything yet to back that up.
So they do strike separately, wow, I did wonder if there's more to it as the pierced cover over what is presumably the release mechanism to the left of the follower, does look intriguing- there are two distinctive vertical lanket slots one above the other, both with the guides visible for the sliding mechanism within, each about halfway down in each of the slots. It looks quite a lot of intricate mechanism compacted in the follower area...
BTW, I have a nice Union 2295 with original key immediately available for swaps...:P:
Is it a mortice lock?
How is that fixing lug on the faceplate meant to be used on a mortice lock? Steel door?