Reconstructing Locks by Chris Crevelt

Unlocking some fundamentals to reconstructing door locks.

You can learn how to forge and restore locks by doing it a lot. The easiest way to discover how old locks work is by observation. These antique locks can be found on castle doors, doors of old farms, cathedrals, cloisters and so on. You can distinguish between the so-called rim-lock and open-face-lock. Many locks Chris observed were made of wrought iron sourced from all corners of the world.

When you start working on an antique lock, work cold. Most parts are cold forged and by working cold you will not make any mistakes with the heat machining that will certainly affect the old parts.

The most notable skill is your ability to file the dimensions. Accurately measuring and documenting parts requires a lot of time and patience. But it is necessary to ensure the precision operation of these old locks.

When you draw the conclusion that the old locks were often made haphazardly, you can hardly imagine that our modern locks are based on these first techniques.

A very enthusiastically presented lecture. Chris found 26 very engaged listeners from 8 countries, with whom he shared his experiences and answered just as many questions.

Thanks to the new cooperation with ABANA we will be publishing the recording of this Treff in not too far future.

The next Treff is on April 22 with Steve Rook.
Start: 19.00 CEST
Room Open: 18.40 CEST