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Thread: Mersey Lock

  1. #11
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    Hey Doug,

    Sure go ahead! Looking forward to see pictures of your cutaway here

  2. #12
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    I will start right now, Can't promise I wont pass out first though.

  3. #13
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    Hindsight is not always 20-20 Doug MacQueen

  4. #14
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    I look forward to seeing a cutaway, I can't recall ever seeing one of these done before...


  5. #15
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    I've got one I cut and shaped the cover to see the stumps and lever gatings somewhere but haven't come across it in years. I'll have a look for it when I can

    The Mersey is a lock I spent a lot of time with over the years. Al mentioned his lock having sticky keys- they were common for grease/lube to work in from the locking mechs of 5' and 6' security cabinets. A strip-down and clean up often gets them working like new. Even ones removed off a plain locking bar will benefit from a good clean.

    The older WLN 10 lever versions are always smoother than the later 14 levers. The first pic that wylk posted perfectly shows the common problem when Merseys were fitted to locking bars or styles. User opens the lock, leaves the key in, stands the bar up against a wall, and then it slides over or gets knocked and falls flat on the floor, punching the key into the lock and denting the back cover. I've had a few classics where the key actually broke through the back- the cover is quite thin at that point because of the recess for the plastic curtain.

    They made countless changes to the design over the years- some are so minor they pretty much go unnoticed. I think my favourite was one of the early 10 levers which had a spiral moulded into the nylon curtain- this drove a small steel pin with an angled groove on it. It drove the pin in and out of a small hole in the back-plate- a bit like a miniature live relocker. It prevented movement of the bolt when locked, although it's effect was questionable alongside the main anti-picking features they had. Oddly, this version always seems to be one of the smoothest working- despite the fiddly little spiral and moving pin it never gave any real trouble and the keys were always smooth when lifting the levers to their final height- something the later 14 lever versions always suffered on- the arc of the key makes for an extreme point of contact at the final fraction of lift- they always seemed to have a 'catchy' feel to them even when new.

    Something which might surprise you is the number of component parts to a 14-lever Mersey- the bolt is made up of several laminations and has anti-X-ray and anti-drill layers- when you totally strip one down to individual components there's about 48 parts from what I remember

  6. #16
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    Here you go Adrian. Not quite finished. Doug
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails IMG_0984.jpg   IMG_0985.jpg  

  7. #17
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    I have only seen this lock once Max and that was with my friend who is in the safe business as far as I can remember. I also believe that the plastic back cover makes it vulnerable to such malfunctions as you stated out.

    The detail with the bolt is very interesting, I will pay attention to detail when I get my hands on one someday

    Doug, that cutaway looks beautiful!
    Really nice work my friend!

    Adrian

  8. #18
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    It's looking very promising at the moment.

    Please could a Mod or Admin change the title of the thread so that it correctly says "Mersey" instead of mercy? Many thanks.

  9. #19
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    Default Mersey Lock

    As Milner (or was it Chatwood-Milner) opted for punning names, such as the "Manifoil", perhaps they reckoned that "Mersea"-mercy! would be what a polite picker would utter when confronted with one, unless it was first specified for use in that area. Any ideas?

    Also, was it ever patented, and, if so, would the numbers be known.
    I have failed to locate any.
    Thanks,
    Martin.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sprockets View Post
    As Milner (or was it Chatwood-Milner) opted for punning names, such as the "Manifoil", perhaps they reckoned that "Mersea"-mercy! would be what a polite picker would utter when confronted with one, unless it was first specified for use in that area. Any ideas?

    Also, was it ever patented, and, if so, would the numbers be known.
    I have failed to locate any.
    Thanks,
    Martin.
    The Mersey was named after the river it would seem.

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