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

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 18

Thread: Chatwood safe

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    3
    Country: England

    Smile Chatwood safe

    Hi,
    we have recently come into possession of an old chatwood safe. I never thought I would say this but it is a thing of beauty and I was wondering if anyone can help identify it and give a little more information on value and the safe in general.

    Thank you in advance
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails IMG_4060.JPG   IMG_4059.JPG  

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Aberdeenshire
    Posts
    697
    Country: Great Britain

    Default Your Chatwood.

    Quote Originally Posted by Loverofold View Post
    Hi,
    we have recently come into possession of an old chatwood safe. I never thought I would say this but it is a thing of beauty and I was wondering if anyone can help identify it and give a little more information on value and the safe in general.

    Thank you in advance
    Some more information is required, in particular the letters and numbers stamped on to the top edge of the door plate near the hinge such as shown below with the serial number which should coincide with that painted on the top hinge.
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Chatwood List 5.JPG 
Views:	23 
Size:	55.4 KB 
ID:	20345 As yours is a very early model this code may be missing. At a guess though it could be a List 2 made 1870'ish but let's see what you find.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    3
    Country: England

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by safeman View Post
    Some more information is required, in particular the letters and numbers stamped on to the top edge of the door plate near the hinge such as shown below with the serial number which should coincide with that painted on the top hinge.
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Chatwood List 5.JPG 
Views:	23 
Size:	55.4 KB 
ID:	20345 As yours is a very early model this code may be missing. At a guess though it could be a List 2 made 1870'ish but let's see what you find.

    My other half as had a look at the safe but cant find any numbers in the places stated 😕

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Aberdeenshire
    Posts
    697
    Country: Great Britain

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Loverofold View Post
    My other half as had a look at the safe but cant find any numbers in the places stated 😕
    It may be that your safe pre-dates the stamping of data on the top of the door but just in case I attach a clearer illustration (arrowed).

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Chatwood List 3.JPG 
Views:	25 
Size:	310.0 KB 
ID:	20352 Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Chatwood List 3 (2).jpg 
Views:	23 
Size:	43.4 KB 
ID:	20353 If you let us have the serial number as painted on the top hinge this at least will confirm when it was made.

    What might also help are photographs of the interior of safe with the door open at 90 degrees to more clearly show the lock case details as photo above left. This might help distinguish whether it's a List 2 or 3.

    There's also a possibility that this is a 'plate' safe i.e. without fire-resisting linings intended for the safeguarding of non-inflammable items such as Silver Plate.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    3
    Country: England

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by safeman View Post
    It may be that your safe pre-dates the stamping of data on the top of the door but just in case I attach a clearer illustration (arrowed).

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Chatwood List 3.JPG 
Views:	25 
Size:	310.0 KB 
ID:	20352 Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Chatwood List 3 (2).jpg 
Views:	23 
Size:	43.4 KB 
ID:	20353 If you let us have the serial number as painted on the top hinge this at least will confirm when it was made.

    What might also help are photographs of the interior of safe with the door open at 90 degrees to more clearly show the lock case details as photo above left. This might help distinguish whether it's a List 2 or 3.

    There's also a possibility that this is a 'plate' safe i.e. without fire-resisting linings intended for the safeguarding of non-inflammable items such as Silver Plate.

    Hi,
    thanks for the pic you sent. We have found some numbers which are 21185, not sure if this helps at all. He's going to forward some more photos later on 😊

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    33
    Country: Netherlands

    Default

    A question: is it possible to get to the lock with Chatwood? I can buy a chatwood but no key. Door is open but the lock closed.
    Will the back cover of the door come off?

    Quote Originally Posted by safeman View Post
    It may be that your safe pre-dates the stamping of data on the top of the door but just in case I attach a clearer illustration (arrowed).

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Chatwood List 3.JPG 
Views:	25 
Size:	310.0 KB 
ID:	20352 Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Chatwood List 3 (2).jpg 
Views:	23 
Size:	43.4 KB 
ID:	20353 If you let us have the serial number as painted on the top hinge this at least will confirm when it was made.

    What might also help are photographs of the interior of safe with the door open at 90 degrees to more clearly show the lock case details as photo above left. This might help distinguish whether it's a List 2 or 3.

    There's also a possibility that this is a 'plate' safe i.e. without fire-resisting linings intended for the safeguarding of non-inflammable items such as Silver Plate.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Aberdeenshire
    Posts
    697
    Country: Great Britain

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Harrishawk View Post
    A question: is it possible to get to the lock with Chatwood? I can buy a chatwood but no key. Door is open but the lock closed.
    Will the back cover of the door come off?
    The chamber containing the fire-resistant composition is set into the angle frame of the lockcase holding the moving bolts and held by countersunk screws at the sides (maybe even top and bottom) These screws will have been concealed by putty filler before painting but should be quite east to reveal.

    The keylock inside will simply be bolted on to the backplate of the door inside.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Aberdeenshire
    Posts
    697
    Country: Great Britain

    Default Correction.

    Quote Originally Posted by safeman View Post
    The chamber containing the fire-resistant composition is set into the angle frame of the lockcase holding the moving bolts and held by countersunk screws at the sides (maybe even top and bottom) These screws will have been concealed by putty filler before painting but should be quite east to reveal.

    The keylock inside will simply be bolted on to the backplate of the door inside.


    I've just realised that there seems to be no angle lockcase in which case the chamber containing the boltwork is connected directly to the back of the door.

    There do not appear to be any visible fixings in which case it will most likely be attached through the sides by concealed screws as before.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    33
    Country: Netherlands

    Default

    So, if I understand right:
    With every standard chatwood safe you can get by the lock. Only remove some consealing on the screws.
    I’am I right?
    It is this save we are talking about:
    nd43qdtgehn6png 1

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Bulgaria
    Posts
    686
    Country: Bulgaria

    Default

    With any safe of this type access to the lock can be gained by removing the back lock pan. The pans are secured in a number of different ways, but they all involve some sort of screw or bolt. It was the fashion to fill the slotted heads of the screws and paint over them so that they were no longer clearly visible.

    A word of warning. When the manufacturer put in countersunk screws, they would often grind the head to get it flush with the surface. This can leave a very sharp edge on the screw head. So be careful.

    I have been castigated on the site for the next bit of advice. The screws are generally different lengths and the heads are dissimilar. If you want to keep it all original, then mark where each screw belongs and put them back in the correct holes. If you are not bothered about it remaining original, tap them out to the closest metric size and put some new bolts in. I had a large stock of allen head countersunk screws and used to use those, simply because I had them, but they do do a very good job.

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
  •