Yale 101-1/2 comb lock

[Doug MacQueen]

Adjusting for fly and drive pin wear in Yale hand change locks can be a challenge. This wear can also cause difficulty with a comb change on the 101-1/2. When new, the wheel spline teeth should align properly, allowing the outer wheel to easily re-engage the inner wheel. Difficulty in getting the change key to return to vertical is a good indication the teeth on one or more wheels are misaligned. Before tearing into the lock to see what the problem is, experiment with positioning the wheels slightly off the index mark, starting with the 3 rd number. Identifying this type of problem is virtually impossible with the lock disassembled. Once the key turns back to to vertical, find the centers of the wheel gates through dialing diagnostics and live with the fact one or more numbers of the comb may work best at half numbers.

[Doug MacQueen]

Yes, not surprisingly, Wylk is correct. A few more pictures to take and the lock will be back together, so if there are questions, ask them now. It will be several months before the lock is installed back into the safe, but I am making up a mounting stand so the lock can be checked for proper operation. On the safe , one dial was hard to turn, so checking it on the mounting stand will help to locate where the problem is. And so far it looks like it was a mounting alignment problem in the safe.

[00247]

Seeing that you are going to mount it up, how about making a video of the lock in action? I know it can be a challenge to make one but maybe you can round up a family or neighborhood teenager that could whip it up and edit it in minutes on his phone?

Most of us could never hope to see one in action.