Welcome to our world exploring the Historical, Political and Technological aspects of Locks, Keys and Safes

Page 6 of 7 FirstFirst 1234567 LastLast
Results 51 to 60 of 68
  1. #51
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    1,485
    Country: United States

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Warren63 View Post
    Thanks for taking the time to share your work with everyone.
    You're welcome. I uploaded an updated version that's about 20% larger. Just more of the same.

  2. #52
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    1,485
    Country: United States

    Default

    So, who made the San Diego door? My impression is that it's a Hollar based on the geometry of the steps on the door. Hollar tended to use more shallow steps than the other makers. Plus, the roller bearings on the bolts look like Hollar's. Somewhat unusual is the use of combination locks and a time lock, most Hollar doors were automatic. This might be a later door, after automatic operation started falling out of favor.

    These are just my own semi-educated guesses

  3. #53
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    1,485
    Country: United States

    Default

    Nearly all the vault doors I discover are in the US, usually made by Mosler/Diebold/etcetera. I don't know if that's because Google is skewed or what. But sometimes I run across doors in other countries and even discover manufacturers previously unknown to me.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Komercni-Banka-Headquarters-in-Prague 1.jpg 
Views:	20 
Size:	88.3 KB 
ID:	12434 Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Komercni-Banka-Headquarters-in-Prague 3.jpg 
Views:	21 
Size:	141.9 KB 
ID:	12435

    Prague, Czech Republic: This stock image, and other images of the same door, are purportedly taken at the headquarters of the Commercial Bank in Prague. It’s an impressive door similar in boltwork to Fichet (also York and Chubb). In this case the maker appears to be A. Ippen which was located in Hradec Králové. Note 16 bolts instead of the more common (in the US) 24, as well as the huge single glass plate with beveled edge. There seems to be four combination locks and no time lock. This *might* be in the building at Václavské náměstí 42, 114 07 Praha. As for A. Ippen, a little history from http://translate.google.com/translat...96%26bih%3D865
    "In 1908, Alfred bought out the other partners Ippen and founded a new company A.IPPEN. In 1913 the plant produced the first steel structure. During the 1st World War, the company carried out partially and arms production (grenades), but continue to be manufactured steel structures. After the First World War is coming into the race several experts - Mostar from Vienna, so that the factory could also take foreign orders, as orders for the Czechoslovak Army. Production is mainly focused on bridges and also the products of mechanical engineering at the expense of the foundry. Since 1920 he also produced and Treasury vaults, which the company famous."

  4. #54
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Posts
    1,755
    Country: Wales

    Default

    yes, the Ippen door is a nice unusual variation wylk- I actually posted it ages back in response to your thread on offset bolt patterns, but I don't think there was ever any response. I would think it's probably several pages back down the board by now. Great when you come across a 'new' discovery though- the fact the massive Italian Parma door at Banco Chiavari escaped my radar for years still amazes me and has remained a strong favorite ever since!

  5. #55
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    1,485
    Country: United States

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MaxVaultage View Post
    I actually posted it ages back in response to your thread on offset bolt patterns ...
    Cool, I had forgotten where I obtained the original image which I filed away as an "unknown location." Yesterday I ran across it again and started digging further with Google Images and came across a couple of other images including the central close-up which led to the maker's history, as well as the connection to Komerční banka and the probable location.

  6. #56
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    1,485
    Country: United States

    Default

    Here's an interesting detail about the Prague door. Notice that each slot in the drive plate has a small jog at each end:

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Komercni-Banka-Headquarters-in-Prague 1.jpg 
Views:	28 
Size:	61.8 KB 
ID:	12442

    I'm speculating here, but this would allow a kind of "lost motion" between the operating handle and the boltwork. If the handle is bumped slightly, the boltwork will not move. Plus it helps if the slots and bolts are not precisely machined and installed relative to each other.

    There's another thought I've had about this style of mechanism. A very obscure (and extremely unlikely) attack is to gain access to a bolt from the side and then put great pressure on it. This will put pressure on the rest of the boltwork mechanism if it is the rack-and-pinion style (Diebold or Mosler for example) or the simpler plate-and-slot style (York for example). The Emil Strauss boltwork and the Herring-Hall-Marvin "twisty" is somewhat immune to such an attack in that pressure on a single bolt only impacts that one bolt. This "cam plate" style would be at risk because pressure on a bolt would try to rotate the plate. But a jog on the closing end of the slots would mitigate this.

    Here's the only other example I could find, the Chubb door at the HSBC bank in Hong Kong. The jog is more apparent but it's only at the opening end.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	HSBC Hong Kong 5.jpg 
Views:	25 
Size:	21.1 KB 
ID:	12443

  7. #57
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    St. Louis (63031), Missouri
    Posts
    69
    Country: United States

    Default Vault Locations

    I just downloaded your dissertation. It is very interesting to see how many of these doors are still around. After spending many years rebuilding them in the shop and our limited area of service, this is really amazing.
    I have always been fascinated by the unusual mechanics, keeping doors in good working order. If any of you get SAVTA magazine, take a look at my article in the current issue.

  8. #58
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    1,485
    Country: United States

    Default

    I've been experimenting with a Google Earth .kml file of placemarks based on my vault locations list. I'm not sure it's really too useful, and it may need some more work. In particular I can't decide if the placemark tag should refer to a building's original name or original bank, as opposed to listing it's current name or occupant. So far I've tried to use the original/historical name.

    It's available via http://w3.uwyo.edu/~jimkirk/locations.html in case anybody wants to try it out. So far I've only added California and Colorado.

    Comments are welcomed.

  9. #59
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Devon UK
    Posts
    3,117
    Country: UK

    Default

    Also there is a problem with many bolts being shot by one handle, that any machining error would lead to one or more bolts not being fully retracted when others are fully in. That jog means that every single bolt will be fully retracted even after a bit of wear.

    Quote Originally Posted by wylk View Post
    Here's an interesting detail about the Prague door. Notice that each slot in the drive plate has a small jog at each end:

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Komercni-Banka-Headquarters-in-Prague 1.jpg 
Views:	28 
Size:	61.8 KB 
ID:	12442

    I'm speculating here, but this would allow a kind of "lost motion" between the operating handle and the boltwork. If the handle is bumped slightly, the boltwork will not move. Plus it helps if the slots and bolts are not precisely machined and installed relative to each other.

    There's another thought I've had about this style of mechanism. A very obscure (and extremely unlikely) attack is to gain access to a bolt from the side and then put great pressure on it. This will put pressure on the rest of the boltwork mechanism if it is the rack-and-pinion style (Diebold or Mosler for example) or the simpler plate-and-slot style (York for example). The Emil Strauss boltwork and the Herring-Hall-Marvin "twisty" is somewhat immune to such an attack in that pressure on a single bolt only impacts that one bolt. This "cam plate" style would be at risk because pressure on a bolt would try to rotate the plate. But a jog on the closing end of the slots would mitigate this.

    Here's the only other example I could find, the Chubb door at the HSBC bank in Hong Kong. The jog is more apparent but it's only at the opening end.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	HSBC Hong Kong 5.jpg 
Views:	25 
Size:	21.1 KB 
ID:	12443

  10. #60
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    1,485
    Country: United States

    Default

    Here's a neat discovery, the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Milwaukee (611 N Broadway, http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/e...DGI/index.html) has a nice old Hall's vault door. Unfortunately it's missing a few parts. I can't tell if the hotel is using the vault itself for anything, or if the door even opens. The image is from the Hilton's facebook page.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Halls - Hilton Downtown Milwaukee.jpg 
Views:	22 
Size:	1.04 MB 
ID:	12552

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •