Let's look at a couple Moslers...

[00247]

It has been kinda quiet in this section so I will contribute some safe porn.

Last fall I picked up a Mosler screw door safe to partner with my Victor cannonball. Some like to lump these in the cannonball group but with the square body I prefer to keep them separate and labeled as Mosler intended; a screw door bank safe.



This Mosler turned up after I ran a wanted ad on Craigslist. After a phone call I decided to pass on it as the price was to high and the time lock was missing. About a year later I ran across the phone number and called again but the story was still the same. Over another year passed and I happened to be passing through the town where is was and recalled the owners name so I tracked him down. The timing was right as he now wanted the safe out of his way and a deal was made.

While watching Ebay a while back for a time lock, I spotted another Mosler not far from home. It also turned up on Craigslist but the price was ridiculously high. It was an odd one so I had to inquire.



A double screw door safe! I had never seen such a beast. Even though it too was missing the time locks I was interested. The seller had bought an old bank building and had moved it out and over to his business shop. He had a number of inquires and soon learned the value was diminished without the time locks and those who did want to buy it had no way to haul it. Soon he was calling me with a 80% discount just to get it out of his way. It was time for a road trip with the equipment trailer. This safe is heavy! I am used to safes that run 1500 to 2000 lbs but this one is around 3000 lbs and takes a good sized machine to move it. The seller had a large New Holland skid steer with counter weights and it just barely could keep the rear wheels on the ground. I usually use my Bobcat 773G with forks to unload safes but there was no way it was going to handle this bad boy. Luckily, my neighbor's son was home with a new Cat 299 track loader and was kind enough to run over an take it off the trailer. Even the large Cat was light in the rear so maybe it weighs more than I think. I had to update to better lifting in order to run this through the shop. Craigslist to the rescue again.



There are a number of differences in the two Moslers. Although they share similar construction, the double door is wider, deeper, and the doors are larger. They both have "trap" doors that mount the combination day locks. The small Mosler's door has the dial offset as there is not enough room to center it.



The lock fits in two cast supports on the door, four mounting screws, and a nut under the dial. Both locks seem to be different versions of the same model. Hopefully some of the experts can tell us more about them.





The double door has a larger "trap" door which allows the dial to be centered. It is mounted through a screwed on support that has the lock bolt passing through it. There is also a nut under the dial and that is it, not the most secure mount. The combinations were just day locks, the real security was provided by the time locks inside.





I'm not sure what model these locks are? There is an older thread that mentions a 502 model? Both have the lever mounted on a pivot bolt along with gear that is driven by another gear on the drive wheel. While all combination lock are entertaining, this one has a little more action to please the eye. It is interesting that all three wheels are set to the same number on both locks. Someone was lazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azJLKceW ... e=youtu.be





At some point this safe had been decommissioned. The time locks had been removed and the combinations disabled. I knew something was up when the seller said he could spin the dials but still open the doors. My heart sank when I inspected the safe to find that both bolts that hold the lever and gear in the combination case were missing. Thankfully, both lever/gear assemblies were still in the lock case. A search inside the safe found one of the bolts under the door jamb in the top section along with a rusty paper clip and an old penny. Once I got it home, the elusive jamb under the bottom door insert coughed up three rubber time lock cushions, couple more screws for the time lock linkage covers, more paper clips, and a 1899 silver dollar. That made my day! If any one has one of these bolts for the lever please let me know. It's a long shot as the bolt is specific to this style case. Otherwise one will have to be made.




Like a cannonball, a crank is used to spin the door. These doors are very heavy and take quite an arm swing to rotate them. Mosler came up with this really cool ratcheting crank. The knob on the hub lifts and rotates to reverse the ratcheting action. This crank will be quite an item once it has new nickel plating. Even the "plain" Victor cannonball crank is a work of art with new plating.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPfpQ2BT2LM

Some how I couldn't get the videos into the post. There are a few more details but I better get this posted. After losing it once. I don't want to push my luck. If anyone has information on these Mosler safes or the locks, please add to this thread.

[bitbuster]

The Mosler 5-H was used on many of their cannonball and day lock safes. Last turn on dial is left to stop.

[Oldfast]

Let's look at a couple Moslers...

Yes, yes, yes... lets ....and that's all I have to say about that.

Thanks for sharing! And congrats on the additions.
Man, you were awfully patient in order to get that one.

[Riyame]

Very nice. I saw that double door one and thought it was cool. Glad somebody that will appreciate it got it.

[00247]

Both of these Moslers have been progressing along with one nearly finished so here is a teaser. I recently did the gold leaf artwork and since this was my first time working with gold I made up a sign duplicating the safe artwork for practice. This was after a number of trials on an old car hood. The pinstriper was pleased with my novice attempt although it is not perfect. I'm also working on a sign to match the artwork on my Victor cannonball.



Gold leafing, while not hard, is a very tedious process and I have learned a lot. The safe turned out great and I will do a feature on it once final assembly is done. Now to get that heavy door back on with out scratching the paint...

[Oldfast]

Ha! You never cease to amaze me with the shit you tackle. Way to broaden your horizons!
Sounds like there was a bit of a learning curve... but even more so a lot of patience required.

Looks like it turned out pretty damn good from where I'm setting. To be honest, I had kinda
forgotten about these beauties you so generously shared with us awhile back. It's great to
see you're still at it. Can't wait to see some more photos!

As to the locks, I'd agree with bitbuster; Mosler 5-H likely. The one I'd say almost for certain.
The other one though (painted) I'm not so sure. Seeing the four screws (one in each corner)
is what throws me. I've not seen that before. Not that I've seen much, lol, so I dunno. Good
chance that one too is a Mosler 5-H. Although most of 'em were 4-wheel, some were 3.

.....I'm not sure what model these locks are? There is an older thread that mentions a 502 model? Both have the lever mounted on a pivot bolt along with gear that is driven by another gear on the drive wheel. While all combination lock are entertaining, this one has a little more action to please the eye.....

I agree, entertaining and interesting locks indeed. Kinda mesmerizing to watch the pieces turn each other, lol.
They're one of my favorite types of locks... maybe not to manipulate, ha... but favorite nonetheless. I use to call
these geared roller fences, and all sorts of other things, none of which were correct. A very knowledgeable fella
kindly corrected me not long ago. Properly referred to as a friction-fence lock. Yale first came out with these as
an improvement to the gravity-driven lever. And they're resilient little bastards. Many, many of 'em still around.

[00247]

The locks are Mosler 5H, just two versions of it. The smaller one is a 3 wheel and the larger 4. I have been told by a very knowledgeable fellow that the 5H was made for Mosler by Yale. I have seen a Yale that was identical to the 4 wheel Mosler other than the Yale lettering on the dial and a different pattern for the knurling on the wheel pack cover which also had two screws instead of one. Supposedly, Mosler did not start making their own locks until they opened the Covington, Kentuky plant in 1918 which was for manufacturing combination locks.

Here are the locks ready to go. The missing bolt for the friction fence was located in Ohio. (Thanks Doug!) The safe with the 3 wheel lock is from 1915 and the double door with the 4 wheel locks is from 1891 according to the Mosler serial number ledger.



Here are the two different sizes. The 3 wheel has a smaller case and each lock mounts differently.



The larger 4 wheel lock has an extra long bolt that fits through a mount bolted to the safe. It also mounts with a nut on the spindle tube. The smaller 3 wheel lock mounts with the 4 screws at each corner and also has a nut on the spindle tube. Note that this lock has an external bolt extension that is moved by a screw on the lock bolt and has a slot that fits over the spindle tube. Here is a close up.



Here are the wheel packs.



On a different note... Here is one of the ratcheting cranks for the screw door in it's new nickel plating. These were an available option. In all there were three styles of cranks available.

[Oldfast]

Thanks for confirming the 5-H along with the additional info/history. I didn't know. Very interesting.
And the lock-porn!!? Those are in gorgeous shape! I'm assuming you brought them back to life?

[00247]

I picked up the sign that matches the Victor today. I had some of the left over paint laying around so painted a panel to match. At first I thought to put gold leaf around the border like the Mosler sign but then decided it might clash with the gold paint. The pinstriper lettered to match his previous work. The idea of signs came to me when I was dismantling an old freezer with a saws-all. The lid had such a nice panel of sheet metal... I had to repurpose it. Out with the plasma cutter and a body file to make some panels for wall art.