Registered mail padlock

[gnarus8429]

Just bought one that looks like this but is an A series:
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Brass-US-RegD-U-S-Mail-Rotary-Counter-Mailbox-Pad-Lock-Box-Letter-RegD-/400849780416?nav=SEARCH

I can pick it easy but I want a key. I saw a video on youtube by pharmer but there were no specs for the key. My understanding is that these locks are all keyed the same and the post office frowns on their distribution. I can cut the key from a blank I made doing some photogrammetry on a still I pulled from the video. It may not turn out as the best still is not perfectly aligned with the camera. So if anyone can help me out that would be great if not its down to calipers and a bit of luck.

[Lauren]

I believe this site won't support key bit information for government padlocks, obsolete or not.

[tpark]

Just bought one that looks like this but is an A series:
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Brass-US-RegD-U-S-Mail-Rotary-Counter-Mailbox-Pad-Lock-Box-Letter-RegD-/400849780416?nav=SEARCH

I can pick it easy but I want a key. I saw a video on youtube by pharmer but there were no specs for the key. My understanding is that these locks are all keyed the same and the post office frowns on their distribution. I can cut the key from a blank I made doing some photogrammetry on a still I pulled from the video. It may not turn out as the best still is not perfectly aligned with the camera. So if anyone can help me out that would be great if not its down to calipers and a bit of luck.

Out of curiosity, why is the lock in the link you provided so expensive? 130 bucks seems like a lot of money for one of these locks.

[MBI]

I believe this site won't support key bit information for government padlocks, obsolete or not.

My own philosophy on it is that if it's not illegal information to disseminate, and they're not even in use anymore, I don't see the harm in sharing it.

[GWiens2001]

They are still in use. Have seen them at the post office this afternoon. Have also recently seen some mail collection boxes that still use the Arrow lever locks.

Gordon

[gnarus8429]

It is alot of money for one of these lock the one pictured is not the one I bought. I got mine for $24 off of ebay and that seemed pretty fair. The curious part was it was an A series lock with only 0084 on the counter. That seemd low. The counter still works perfect though. Thanks to all that PM resources that maybe helpful in my quest for the key.

[tpark]

It is alot of money for one of these lock the one pictured is not the one I bought. I got mine for $24 off of ebay and that seemed pretty fair. The curious part was it was an A series lock with only 0084 on the counter. That seemd low. The counter still works perfect though. Thanks to all that PM resources that maybe helpful in my quest for the key.

Since the counter is recorded each time the lock is opened, it may be that the lock only had a limited number of journeys because it was at a post office that didn't get much registered mail traffic. Since that expensive lock has been on eBay for a while, it may be that they are asking a lot for the lock but no one is biting. All the registered mail padlocks I've gotten have been good, as opposed to the Champion locks, which seem to be about 40 percent good.

[GregWhitney]

The A, B, L, M, R, S, and V series of these locks are pretty common and without a key should fetch about $25. These all take the "regular" key as well so if you have one key you should have a key for any in of them. These locks are also repairable so the lock may have been repaired at some point and the counter reset.

I have also had very good luck with these locks from ebay and, knowing that they are repairable, you are only risking the chance to tear one apart. I hope to post steps for doing disassembly here shortly.

As Gordon notes above, these locks are still in use but many got "into the wild" through excess equipment sales as post offices were closing and once gone, the USPS kinda lost control of them. This information came to me from two ex-postal employees with knowledge in this area.

[femurat]

I hope to post steps for doing disassembly here shortly.

Yes please. Mine is working perfectly, but I'm curious to see how it could be disassembled, just in case.

Thanks

[bitbuster]

The A, B, L, M, R, S, and V series of these locks are pretty common and without a key should fetch about $25. These all take the "regular" key as well so if you have one key you should have a key for any in of them. These locks are also repairable so the lock may have been repaired at some point and the counter reset.

I have also had very good luck with these locks from ebay and, knowing that they are repairable, you are only risking the chance to tear one apart. I hope to post steps for doing disassembly here shortly.

As Gordon notes above, these locks are still in use but many got "into the wild" through excess equipment sales as post offices were closing and once gone, the USPS kinda lost control of them. This information came to me from two ex-postal employees with knowledge in this area.

Yes, many, many postal locks got "into the wild" through postal auctions and equipment sales. As a retired USPS employee, some of those locks found their way to me.

[spuds]

Please do post more info thanks.

The A, B, L, M, R, S, and V series of these locks are pretty common and without a key should fetch about $25. These all take the "regular" key as well so if you have one key you should have a key for any in of them. These locks are also repairable so the lock may have been repaired at some point and the counter reset.

I have also had very good luck with these locks from ebay and, knowing that they are repairable, you are only risking the chance to tear one apart. I hope to post steps for doing disassembly here shortly.

As Gordon notes above, these locks are still in use but many got "into the wild" through excess equipment sales as post offices were closing and once gone, the USPS kinda lost control of them. This information came to me from two ex-postal employees with knowledge in this area.

[GWiens2001]

The A, B, L, M, R, S, and V series of these locks are pretty common and without a key should fetch about $25. These all take the "regular" key as well so if you have one key you should have a key for any in of them. These locks are also repairable so the lock may have been repaired at some point and the counter reset.

How are these locks repairable? How do you disassemble them?

As for low counters, I have had several with very low numbers, but they looked pretty new.

Gordon

[GregWhitney]

In reverse order, the counters probably do look pretty new. It is my understanding that the earlier counters deteriorated over time and were replaced with the newer, brighter ones "plastic" ones.

I will post pictures of disassembly soon but have a full plate at the moment. At a high level the locks can be disassembled as follows. Note that older lock have three screws (one on each side plus on on the bottom) while later locks will only have the screw on the bottom (and it is hard to spot).

Drill screws with 7/32 drill bit
Drill down about an 1/8th inch
Use #1 square easy out to remove screw
After the screws are removed, lay lock on bench with dial down
Start to wiggle case off
Springs will be on top and need to be retained
last tumbler has cardboard "cable staple" to prevent reversing of key rotation (and fudging the counter)
Slide case off
Bottom of lock has washer that engages counter.Remove with turnstile and counter wheel
Pull out tab with pliers
Remove each washer/turnstile/counter

Assemble in reverse order

Replace screws with 10-32 brass flat-head screw
Mill off head when done

Greg

[tpark]

Thanks for this information - It's nice to know how they come apart. Since this requires drilling and the locks I have work, I think I'll wait until I have a lock that needs work before disassembling one.

[macgng]

these padlocks were NOT meant to be serviced. when the counter hit 9999 ,they were scrapped (sent back to the mail equipments shop) and replaced.

if you want a working key... send me a pm. i still got a few left.