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  1. #21
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    Nov 2005
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    Default

    He did design a hard lock to pick. I still can't say I have done it.

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Munich area, Bavaria, Germany
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    Country: Germany

    Default Picking Norman Locks

    Picking should really be difficult. Some decoding techniques come to mind, however. Go between disks and feel for balls, or make a pin and cam style setup key.
    With the little market share of these locks, likely nobody made such tools.

  3. #23
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    Add to the fact that no keys were every uncut from the factory and none from after market sources. So all keys will have to be made.

  4. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dean Nickel View Post
    Add to the fact that no keys were every uncut from the factory and none from after market sources. So all keys will have to be made.
    Well, a few of the key blanks did make it out of his factory. Yes, I have 3. Here is a front and back shot.
    BBE.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails DSCF0093.JPG  

  5. #25
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    Ok.... I am really wanting those right now. I do thank you for the pictures now with the broken keys I have I can maybe make some keys maybe. I knew the tips were broken but the locks still work. You can pull the keys out upside down with the tip broken. Another Locksmith did that and handed me the lock like he had picked it. Good joke really.

  6. #26
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    Sep 2014
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    Munich area, Bavaria, Germany
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    Country: Germany

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    Quote Originally Posted by BBE View Post
    Norman was a very interesting and intelligent guy who passed on a few years ago.
    One never knows which online source is trustworthy, but I just found this by accident: http://www.obitsforlife.com/obituary...ein-Norman.php
    It indicates that he passed away just weeks ago, Jan 23, 2015.

    A great inventor indeed.

  7. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by mhmh View Post
    One never knows which online source is trustworthy, but I just found this by accident: http://www.obitsforlife.com/obituary...ein-Norman.php
    It indicates that he passed away just weeks ago, Jan 23, 2015.

    A great inventor indeed.
    Looks real, a lot of us in the industry had bad info didn't we!
    BBE.

  8. #28
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    Norman Epstein died at home in Kent on January 23rd 2015,
    the 23rd anniversary of his mother's death,at age 83.
    He had suffered a variety of illnesses in recent years.
    He was born in Brooklyn September 22nd 1931 to Louis and
    Rose (Silverman) Epstein.When he was a child the family bought
    the land surrounding the intersection usually shown on maps
    as "Mead's Corners",though the Epstein family has now owned
    the land (which they have named "Twin Brooks") longer than
    the Meads,the Foshays who preceded them,or the Reddings after
    them.He moved there permanently in 1961 with his wife Turid,
    to whom he was married from 1957 to her death in 2011.
    He was a graduate of Tilden High School in Brooklyn and was
    in the Army from 1952 to 1954,serving at Fort Dix.For some
    years he worked for his family's chemical business in Brooklyn
    and New Jersey before selling his shares to his brothers.
    He was a mechanical genius who was awarded patents on various
    locking devices,a tube sheet plug for heat exchanges,and
    surgical replacement joints.Other projects never realized
    included a fly-tying vise and a rotary engine with 70% thermal
    efficiency.He was a longtime amateur magician and a former
    competitive skiier and bicycle racer.For years he was a
    private pilot of single-engine airplanes.His hobbies included
    music,photography,and international cooking.He met his
    Norwegian wife in Paris when lighting a stage production
    (a talent he had first honed in Brooklyn) and they married
    in London.
    He was a founding member and second president of the Kent
    Volunteer Fire Department,and for years managed the family
    rental apartments at Twin Brooks,employing the same skills
    he used to build and design his own home there.Built as a
    summer colony by his father,he converted the bungalows to
    year-round rentals in the 1960s.He was active in various
    local political,environmental,and recycling groups.
    He is survived by his son Louis of Twin Brooks,Kent,and a
    brother Edward of New Jersey and Florida.A daughter died
    in infancy in 1959.
    Balsamo-Cordovano Funeral Home (225-2144) will conduct
    graveside services at 1 PM Friday,January 30th,at
    King David Memorial Gardens,Rose Hills Cemetery,Peekskill
    Hollow Road & Mill Street in Putnam Valley.

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Munich area, Bavaria, Germany
    Posts
    45
    Country: Germany

    Default Norman Lock Replica Key

    I got one lock and one key from Dean, managed to make a nice cutaway, but then I broke the one key... The key seems to be worn down a bit - nowhere near a "tight-fitting curve" as mentioned here: http://goo.gl/Qudem1
    Basically, the key doesn't align the balls very well and a lot of jiggling and force was required to turn the lock.

    So I want to make a new one.
    Looks like it's about time to learn some CAD and try a 3D metal printer like http://www.shapeways.com/
    I'm curious how many iterations this will take...

    Attached is a rendering of the current version, designed in OpenSCAD. At this stage, it's a blank only, but OpenSCAD should also allow for a computer-generated bitting.

    Cheers
    mh
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Norman Key.jpg  

  10. #30
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    Seattle WA
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    IF you get this working I would LOVE to know!

    My keys are no better I am sorry to say.

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