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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Posts
    6
    Country: United States

    Default Bought round vault door. Too much to chew?

    I bought this. Still wondering what to do with it (man cave, etc)

    Has anyone installed one of these in residential?
    If anyone has information on these in particular (this model or round vault doors in general), I would be curious. I like reading, learning.


    Were these commissioned as one off builds? Or a model they built a few of? 100? 1000?
    Ideas of cost, back then? This original bank was opened in 1910, so guessing this was built around then.


    Time locks: easy to disable, to make this more friendly for users?

    I was lucky enough to get the original combination: said to be working (waiting on delivery)
    Removal and delivery has been an experience...as you can imagine...
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails s-l400 (1).jpg   s-l400 (3).jpg   s-l400 (2).jpg  

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Cleveland, Ohio USA
    Posts
    1,433
    Country: United States

    Default

    Here is another York door of the same type. Round doors were fairly popular in the early 1900's and York was a big maker at that time.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails some dupsps 043.jpg   IMG_0001.jpg  

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Posts
    184
    Country: Great Britain

    Default

    Any pics of the removal 'experience' ? How you would install that is waaay beyond me, any idea as to the approx weight of that beauty ?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    1,485
    Country: United States

    Default

    Are you intending this door to be a display/novelty, or do you intend that it provide solid security to a home-made vault? In either case it is heavy enough you'll want a darned strong, well-braced chunk of concrete for mounting the frame, especially if you intend to swing it open and closed. Hiring an engineer sounds like a good idea.

    The simple way to disable the time locks is to never wind any of them. Assuming the two outer glass doors can be locked, keep them locked. A more thorough way might be to remove part of the linkage between the door and the lock. I'm sure others here will have suggestions as well. The time lock is not original, it is a contemporary replacement from Diebold; the original is missing, probably replaced because it could no longer be serviced. Assume that somebody will figure out a way to lock it, or at least the pressure system, and if it's just for display be sure it is not the only way out of a room. Talk to your insurance agent.

    Round doors have had quite a bit of discussion on antique-locks over many years. Your door appears to be a York, of a style I call a "cam plate" mechanism, possibly the most common in the US. I don't believe there is a common name for the mechanism and I call it that simply to distinguish it from other mechanisms. You could try a search on antique-locks for "round door" and/or "round-door" (without the quotes), and narrow the search at first by using Advanced Search and check the Titles Only box.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    1,485
    Country: United States

    Default

    Here are a couple of post cards relating to your door:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    The first one claims the door is 25 tons and shows the door hinged on the wrong side. Either the printer flipped the image for some reason or it's just a stock image from York and that was an unimportant detail.

    Another good source of information and imagery of vault doors, but note that many of his albums deal with doors that can be very different.
    Last edited by Huw Eastwood; 06-05-19 at 12:03 AM. Reason: Flickr link removed

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Posts
    6
    Country: United States

    Default

    Both replies: thank you (very neat)
    That post card is incredible - thank you very much. I'll be printing those for a display, if I can get this down to Charlotte NC

    Intended use: to look cool. I weld/fabricate in spare time and appreciate the complexity of these pieces. I think I could grab a bourbon and simply stare at these, for a while

    I'm hoping that 25 tons is an exaggeration. Removal starts on Wednesday. We were thinking 12-15 tons
    Maybe I'm optimistic, that I'll be receiving it :)

    Good info on the timelocks. Plan is to put it into a welded I-beam frame for time being. We'll figure out where to install it, later
    We buy/sell/renovate a few houses in Charlotte. This will be a personal project, so I'm committed to it. A buddy owns a concrete company. I'll make sure it doesn't move, wherever we put it :)

    I'm going to ask for more removal pictures and will post :)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    1,485
    Country: United States

    Default

    I would not be surprised if 25 tons included the frame and hinges. I don't believe "truth in advertising" was such a big deal in 1910. The driver will need to weigh the truck at least once during the trip (state line ports of entry), and should have an accurate weight empty. About 525 miles.

    A purely-metal support might also work without concrete.

    Post some pictures and I'll see if there's any bourbon around here

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Posts
    137
    Country: France

    Default

    a pure beauty, for your bedroom, don't give the code to your wife.
    congratulations.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Posts
    1,755
    Country: Wales

    Default

    Congratulations OP this could well be one of the largest doors to be removed and installed in a residential setting, the largest I think we've seen on here.
    I know of a rectangular crane hinged Diebold imported to Wales and installed very near me, amazingly up on a residential first floor, but it's no where near this size or weight.

    It's worth considering a fabricated base frame like an inverted 'T', obviously need a huge footprint area for the base plate to cover the doors centre of gravity when swung through its full arc, but probably the easiest diy option by far. Obviously grade of steel and thicknesses, bracing, integrity of built-up welds etc would all be critical.

    It could be painted, covered or clad to look like a vault of the period or made to blend into a theme or the rooms setting. If you're a collector of safe and vault locks, timelocks or keys etc it would certainly make a unique display for them on the upright supports.
    Look forward to seeing how it goes, good luck with it all and keep us updated whenever you can.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Posts
    6
    Country: United States

    Default

    I've been hiding from these forums...due to my failure.

    I had a team ready to go, paid for. Long story short, renovators for the woman convinced her that the place might fall down if it was removed. They thought the building was built around it.
    Longer story (and a few months) shorter: engineers disagreeing on how to remove it and they got cold feet and moth-balled the door. They're covering it up and renovating around it

    Highly disappointing. I was looking forward to an 'epic' project. It took too long for me to convince the wife, to give up now!

    I'm looking for another one, if anyone finds one available :)

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