The Dale C. Maley Family Web Site
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Giant Antique Lever Lock for Church Group
A gentleman asked me on June 21, 2014, if I could build a giant antique lever lock for a church event on July 7th. Since it is for a worthy cause, I decided to try to build it.
I normally use Titebond 2 yellow glue on my projects, but it takes a least 2, sometimes 4 hours of clamp time before I can start working the wood. I am going to try to use Nexabond 2500 medium set on this project, because of the short deadline. It is supposed to set up within 1 hour.
I found my old paper template for the front face, that I saved from the last time I built these locks. I had printed it from Google Sketchup on multiple sheets of paper, then taped them together. I also have some 3/4" oak buttons which are required.
I had a 10 foot long 1x12 pine board in stock, and had some oak for the shackle as well.
Latch Bolt
I made a temporary jig with a clamp so I could scroll saw the latch bolt......
Preparing Pine Blanks
I cut 12" pieces from the 10 foot 1x12.....where there were no knots. I glued up the 2 pieces that make up the center piece of the lock......
Key
Here is the key glued and clamped up......
Shackle:
I glued up 4 red oak boards each 12 inches long, to make the shackle. I used a 1/2" drill to rough out the mortise hole......then cleaned it up with a sharp 1/4" chisel....
Guts are Assembled
Middle Section Glued to Bottom
Staining the Red Oak Pieces
I used Spanish oak stain........
Main Lock Body Glued Up
Sawing out Lock Body on Band-saw
I used the band saw to saw out the main body of the lock. I had to cut off the 2 bottom corners first so it would even fit into my band-saw.
1st Coat of Varnish
I glued the key-hole cover to the main body. I also used masking tape on the key to keep from staining the birch dowel, and only stained the oak part.
Finished Lock
Closing Thoughts
To cut the slot in the key for the round washer shape, I clamped the dowel in my small vise, then fed the dowel into the band-saw. To cut the half-shape out for the bottom key piece, I clamped the dowel in the bench vise, then sawed it out by hand using a back-saw. I was careful to make sure the slots were cut correctly so the key looks good when done. I have not found a better way to make these key cuts yet.
When I made the back piece, I accidentally sawed out the marked top section. You are supposed to not saw it out, but wait until the final band-saw of the outer shape of the completed lock assembly. It does not really hurt anything on the final lock assembly.
The Nexabond glue seemed to work well on this project. It definitely allowed me to make this lock faster because I only had to wait 1 hour for this glue to set, versus 4 hours (better over-night) on the yellow Titebond 2 glue I normally use. When using this glue, make sure your first contact of the two mating surfaces is very close to the final position you want. The keyhole cover slipped a little on me when I clamped it, and I was unable to move it anymore.
Make sure the locking assembly works fine before you do the final glue-up of the assembly.
For more info on building this lock design, see my other web page tab where I built the first 2 giant locks.
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