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  1. #31
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Bransgore
    Posts
    45
    Country: England

    Default No new dates

    Chubby, to understand my point about bending hinges etc you need to read Safeman's earlier comment. Which was what I was replying to.

    I have now stripped the bolt work door and the cartridge that contained the fire damping material. There was nothing under the sticker bar the original paint, so no new clues to its age other than the dates on the sticker.

    Of course there is no reason why this safe could not have been in store for a number of years prior to being sold and on that date it got a lick of paint and a fresh sticker.

    So date wise we are stuck with what we have, and theories that contradict it, who can say.

    Steve.

  2. #32
    Huw Eastwood's Avatar
    Huw Eastwood is offline
    Moderator
    Safes Strongrooms & Vaults
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Posts
    1,753
    Country: Wales

    Default

    I'm late to the party on this one so welcome Steve and beautiful work on making that key. Please show us all the in-between stages, my techniques for making them seem quite different so I'm intrigued to see how you did yours.

    The safes a beauty btw, can't remember ever seeing a Whitfield with 4 way boltwork.

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Bransgore
    Posts
    45
    Country: England

    Default Hi Huw, no other photos

    Quote Originally Posted by Huw Eastwood View Post
    I'm late to the party on this one so welcome Steve and beautiful work on making that key. Please show us all the in-between stages, my techniques for making them seem quite different so I'm intrigued to see how you did yours.

    The safes a beauty btw, can't remember ever seeing a Whitfield with 4 way boltwork.
    Hi Huw, sorry to say I didn't take photos of the various stages. It didn't occur to me that anyone would be that interested. I have made a lot of keys over the years and a few locks too. I could write up a brief outline if you want, would need to be thought out or it would take up pages rather than lines. Let me know.

    I finally got the lock box, the damping chamber and the bolt work all stripped down, cleaned up and rust proofed today, nice not be up to my ears in muck after this point. The engagement bolts have all been on the buffing wheel so they will look a bit more presentable in future. Rather amused me that they painted it all inside with tar, but my paint stripper sorted that easily.

    I can only but agree regarding the safe, its special, I looked around for a long time to find one that appealed, this just presented itself one day. Nice to find one with a complex bolt work and even nicer that it hadn't been abused or painted over oh and not too big either. I am a great fan of the Chatwood diamond safes, but they seem only to come in the large economy size.

    Steve

  4. #34
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Carlisle, England.
    Posts
    272
    Country: England

    Default Patent paragon ?

    Hi all, has anyone got any idea what this Cotterill part is from? It says Edwin Cotterill patent paragon spring I think.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 075C9048-2718-4944-91E8-7CB08B121FE3.jpeg   264D00DD-26D5-421C-8A0B-8E9109EB6153.jpeg   8B463F35-6BD8-4DEE-B320-D92D55AD6C57.jpeg   0CF88F23-2451-4063-A307-E38F126E3DD7.jpeg   09AD47DB-F2F3-4893-ABA6-52DE63C2FF08.jpeg  


  5. #35
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Bulgaria
    Posts
    686
    Country: Bulgaria

    Default

    Looks to me like part of a door closer.

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Bransgore
    Posts
    45
    Country: England

    Default Stripped for action

    I got laid low by a virus, but managed with a sunny day to strip off all the paint and rust, ready for some treatment......
    Oh its upside down right now as I intend to paint the bottom and back in this position first.
    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	19855
    Front
    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	19856
    Back
    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	19857
    Bottom
    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	19858
    One side
    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	19859
    Minus the lock box, the internals I stripped out with paint stripper, the outside with a power tool.
    Nearly finished the lock box, when ready I will include a shot or two of that.

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Posts
    147
    Country: United States

    Default

    Nice to see I'm not the only fool restoring old safes. It is always a daunting time once they are in their naked glory and now the reconstruction work begins. Keep posting pictures of your progress.

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Bransgore
    Posts
    45
    Country: England

    Default Are we fools? Or eccentrics

    Quote Originally Posted by 00247 View Post
    Nice to see I'm not the only fool restoring old safes. It is always a daunting time once they are in their naked glory and now the reconstruction work begins. Keep posting pictures of your progress.
    Although I am perhaps the last person to be politically correct, I think in England we tend to think of those following a different path as eccentrics. I will indeed keep posting, until the end - well hopefully so.
    I actually wanted a safe, for good reasons, but it had to be one that was a little bit special, and I am confident this "City Safe" is definitely of that class. No one else seems to have seen its like, and nothing on the internet covers it either.
    But eccentric of whatever, there is a lot of satisfaction in bringing something back to its former glory and use, and from what I have seen many of these old safes are sought after these days irrespective of insurance companies condemning them.

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Aberdeenshire
    Posts
    697
    Country: Great Britain

    Default

    Steve, I hope that you are now well on the road to recovery.

    Purely for interests sake I am attaching a picture of what appears to be a heavier bodied version of a Whitfield of a similar age.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Whitfield dovetail.JPG 
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ID:	19860 I regret that I have no further information than this and I cannot even remember from where I copied it. From the tenon joints it appears to have body plates about ½ inch thick.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Bransgore
    Posts
    45
    Country: England

    Default Thanks, interesting to see

    Quote Originally Posted by safeman View Post
    Steve, I hope that you are now well on the road to recovery.

    Purely for interests sake I am attaching a picture of what appears to be a heavier bodied version of a Whitfield of a similar age.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Whitfield dovetail.JPG 
Views:	13 
Size:	59.6 KB 
ID:	19860 I regret that I have no further information than this and I cannot even remember from where I copied it. From the tenon joints it appears to have body plates about ½ inch thick.
    That is certainly different and heavier, mine is without doubt boiler plate on the outer skin and about five sixteenths of an inch thick, but with heavier framing that does appear to be wrought iron. Oh and a whole bevy of rivets. I still find this type of construction to be out of keeping perhaps with 1885 it simply strikes me as an earlier form of construction based on so many things I have worked on and seen over the years.
    Thanks for posting your photo though, all these things help to build a picture. I suppose too that even if there were advances in technology not all companies were up to date in their methods or able to achieve them due to financial constraints.
    Steve.

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