Jackson 3-lever Restoration

The last thing I like doing is having to dismantle a riveted antique padlock. But when things appear to be broken, there often seems little choice. Rebuilds are time consuming, risky, and riveting the shell back together is no easy task. Personally, I no master at making rivet heads, especially when the lock body is soft brass material. Brass has a mind of its own; over-hammer the rivets and watch how fast the project is finished. The original rivets were made from .125" staight brass wire, without stop material in the center. I used silcon bronze to make my rivets. This material is harder than brass, and harder to stamp. The lock body will deform before the rivets do, so careful strikes of the hammer are critical to keep things tight and alligned. I replaced the rusty bolt with a bronze version (that was fun). This bronze piece is strong, and I don't have to worry about a stamped fence breaking off or distorting like the original part was doing. I made the flat riveted components out of beryllium bronze. The key is made out of the same material. Wow! This stuff is strong. If I had used regular brass, the key would have been broken off in the lock by now. You'll notice I made the bit cut on lever two at an angle to improve surface-to-surface contact between the key and the lever tumbler. The beryllium bronze will never wear out the lock as the key rotates between parts, a big advantage. It's like a self-lubricating metal. Those who follow my work probably know that I like my keys to fit tight within the lock. I made no exceptions with this key. The spring was replaced using stainless steel .051", spring tempered. The shackle opens with a nice thud, and closes with a crisp snap. The edges of the lever tumblers have false gates. If I ever had to make another key for a lock like this one, I learned that null cut tumblers can be seen through the key-way when the barrel is turned to the ten o'clock position, and my lock has two null-cut bits on the key.

Jackson 3-lever https://imgur.com/a/MePK7nz