Pressure Bar Reduction Gearing

[VaultDoors]

On massive doors like One King West or the Cleveland Fed, the surface area of the tapered plug closing into the jamb is immense- we've seen the paper clip imprint in the Cleveland Feds jamb, so one things for sure- with the tolerances of fit as tight as they are there'll be scuff and abrasion marks everywhere if the pressure bar system has been continuously overcoming any binding points.

Speaking of door jamb damage...I noticed the One King West door jamb steps/rebates are dinged where the door pins line up:



This leads me to believe the door may have entered the jamb at a slight angle (not parallel to the jamb) and the door pins grazed the jamb. I suppose this could be avoided if the operator stops the door when it is just outside the jamb and pivots it slightly (using the pressure bars), then continues pushing the door straight in. Conversely, when the door opens the operator would pull the door straight out first then use the door handle to continue opening the door in an arc.

I reached out to Wylk on vault door open/close procedures and he shared his thoughts which I combined into the Vault Door Open Close Procedures document. I've never open/closed a vault door but this is my/our best guess at all that must occur in these transactions. As always, any corrections are gladly welcome.

[VaultDoors]

Notice on the One King West door the upper door pin collar is damaged (indentation). I'm guessing this is due to misalignment when the door was decompressed BEFORE attempting to retract the locking bolts:



This is perhaps why the Capital Grille door has door pin blocks instead of pin collars to ensure alignment and prevent broken/bent pins:

[VaultDoors]

After closer inspection I noticed a ding and deep scratch leading up the door pin collar which was obviously caused by the upper jamb pin. I imagine this happened as the result of someone losing control of the door when attempting to close it:


The upper jamb pin appears to be dinged up too:


We could devote an entire thread to vault door damage...

[VaultDoors]

Apparently, the upper jamb pin must be retracted before attempting to close the door so there must be three jamb pin positions:

• Top jamb pin extended/Bottom jamb pin retracted - retracts bolts when door is closed
• Both jamb pins retracted - when opening/closing door
• Bottom jamb pin extended/Top jamb pin retracted - extends bolts after door is closed

[VaultDoors]

I would have thought that whether the pressure bars were positioned behind or in front of the crane hinge would be determined by the actual diameter of the bars

I guess if you run out of space you could always 'bubble over' the pressure bar...

[VaultDoors]

Those last two pictures were of unidentified vaults so if anyone knows their identity, please share. I found another 'bubble job' on none other than the CFR's emergency door. Glad they didn't use that technique on the main door...

[VaultDoors]

Here are few examples of the Diebold.

Here's a picture showing what appears to be individual horizontal pressure bars on a 4 point system:



Perhaps the vertical pressure bars are separate too?

[Huw Eastwood]

I'd forgotten about the channels on the emergency doors. Good point that, shows how tight that gap is even where the crane is a fair way off the door on large diameter pivots.

[Doug MacQueen]

Regarding damage, one of the dial knobs on the Fed door got clipped off while they were doing a video several years ago.

[VaultDoors]

I guess if you run out of space you could always 'bubble over' the pressure bar...

This emergency vault door and its main door are the only triple custody remote combination viewers I am aware of but their identity is still a mystery: