Old J&J Taylor Safe

[kenneth_v]

Had the chance to grab a big old J&J Taylor safe that is in pretty rough shape. Safe not much good to me but I wanted to salvage the lock and dial.

Cleaned it up a bit and it looks pretty cool inside!

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All the parts are stamped with 52

What do you recommend to clean and lube

[kenneth_v]

More pics

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[kenneth_v]

More

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[Ikonic]

There's a ton of those around here (Ontario), as they were made in Toronto.
The craftsmanship is fantastic.

[MartinHewitt]

Nice! I have the same, but an original S&G 50-number dial. It could be a No. 5 or a 6810. No. 5 is S&G's earlier numbering scheme. Because it doesn't have movable flies I think it is from pre-1900.

Btw. the lines of the nuts should be aligned with the lines on the wheels to lock both parts of the wheels together.

[kenneth_v]

thanks for the heads up, never checked the alignment.

Nothing more than a quick wipe before the pics. Was pretty gummed up with old grease. What's the best cleaning procedure and lube for these?

The spindle has a little wobble in it that I will need to straighten out as well, I think someone gave the dial a whack or two

S&G change key work in these?

[MartinHewitt]

For cleaning I wipe everything of first. Then I use most of the time boiling water and soap. If it is still hot, when removed, the water evaporates quickly. That is often good enough. Another option is to soak it in oil and wipe it of again. And an option is break cleaner. Bought one recently, but haven't tried it yet.

With a big enough vice it is not that difficult to straighten a spindle.

Yes, an S&G change key works in these, but not the modern one. Most likely you will need to make one yourself, most likely from steel.

[kenneth_v]

Any idea on how to date these things or the safe?

[L4R3L2]

To clean I spray with Tri-flow and wipe the parts down. This leaves a protective and minimal lubricating film of Teflon on the parts that is not supposed to attract dirt. If a wheel locking cam seems loose, I would avoid getting the spray into the locking parts.

[MartinHewitt]

Any idea on how to date these things or the safe?

As I wrote I think the lock is pre-1900, so maybe 1880s, 1890s. Dating a safe you haven't shown is pretty difficult. But even if you would have shown it it would have been pretty difficult. For very few main manufacturers exist lists with serial numbers and their manufacturing dates. Other than that dating can be done very roughly only on the style of the safe.

[kenneth_v]

Thanks

I missed that in your earlier post.

Didn’t have any safe pics handy to post. The front has been repainted and there isn’t much for original paint or markings.

That gives me a good idea of the date.

Thanks again

[kenneth_v]

Any idea what the #52 is?

Serial number?

It is stamped on all the parts including the case and the case back Neat to see all the original parts from soooo long ago!

G112 is written in gold paint on the case back and stamped on the face of the ?roller?

Every pic I’ve seen on the internet has a different number

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[MartinHewitt]

It is normal for old locks to have the serial number or part of the serial number stamped into multiple parts, so it is clear which parts belong together in one lock. The production quality of that time was not so good, so all parts had to be fitted by hand and were not interchangeable. Often even screws were marked to show into which hole they belong.

[kenneth_v]

Thanks for the education.

This old thing has been a learning experience. I will have to give manipulation a go once I get the spindle straight and get it mounted plus a little more practice on my other newer locks

Definitely different than my 6741’s and 6730’s

[MartinHewitt]

You might want to have a discussion with webpirate.

viewtopic.php?f=100&t=13258