Sargent and Covert's 1865 patent "Magnetic" Lock

[Doug MacQueen]

When I first found this patent No. 47,575 of May 2, 1865, I was intrigued at how different it was compared to the earliest Sargent "Magnetic" locks known to exist. It got me to thinking why none of these have been found. So I decided to make (attempt) a working model. It is nowhere near finished and won't be for a good while as I am now learning metal casting to remake some the parts. This design has been hard to duplicate, to say the least, but as this is my first attempt at making a complete working lock from scratch, some of the difficulty is obviously my own inexperience. But not all of it. As I see it , there are, or were two two major problem areas with this lock. First was the permutation wheel design, which definitely left something to be desired. The second and probably more frustrating, at least for me, is getting the proper interaction of the bolt connected side swing gate and the hanging fence. Both of these problems are resolved in the Sargent and Covert 1866 "cheap and simple" lock patent. They were also incorporated in the Sargent 1866second "Magnetic" lock patent, where the roller bolt was introduced. Doug

[Yankee]

Doug, please keep us updated on your progress. It looks like you have a great start. You couldn't have picked a better lock to try and build.

[Doug MacQueen]

Yes I really stuck my foot in with this lock. Hopefully by the end of summer I will casting some parts for it. The "Whaletail Magnetic" lock I included here was to show how different the production lock was from the original patent. The patent dates on the dial for that lock are May 2,1865 (original patent) and May 23, 1865. Since the Jan 9, 1866 patent is not included it is pretty safe to say this lock was made in 1865. The May 23, 1865 patent is quite telling in how the design came to be changed and improved on. I have found 2 patents for a comb lock with that date that might be the one referred to, and neither are by Sargent. After studying the Wm. Hall and Walter Marvin 1865 patents, and comparing them with Sargent's Jan 9 1866, I have come to conclusion that Sargent bought Marvin's patent. In his Jan 9, 1866 patent he refers to another lock twice, but does not name it. In both instances, he claims to have improved on the unknown lock regarding the changeable wheel design and the bolt connected lever design. Marvin's lock fits the bill in both cases. Hope I am not boring you. Doug

[Dean Nickel]

Please! bore me some more.....