Antique time lock with pictures.

[Altashot]

I have had this time lock for more than 15 years. It has been on display in my living room, wherever I lived, ever since. I never knew too much about it other than it was a Diebold. The company I worked for at the time, was upgrading the time locks of a major Bank throughout Canada. I came across this one in an old small Branch in a small town. I had a few, but this is the only one I kept.
The other day, my wife suggested I take it to work to see if my safe tech colleagues knew anything about it. Everyone in the shop thought it was beautiful and no one (other than in pictures) had ever seen one like it.
It turns out that it is a Diebold Type 3. The floral/deco pattern is acid etched and it was likely fabricated in 1900-1910. It's heft is surprising upon picking it up, it weighs almost 20 pounds. They were cast, machined and fitted by hand, so they were not produced in large quantities. Mine is number 332. Every part on it has that number. The 3 movements have consecutive serial numbers but are not original. Some one in the past fitted Swiss movements made for a Yale and Towne Co. time lock. In addition to being a locksmith/safe tech, I'm also a watchmaker/jeweler so, naturally i did a full service on it. It is complete and works very well. I did not clean the outer case, I thought it had developed a very nice patina from 80 years of dust and dirt and history encrusted in the etching. It is an antique and I wanted it to look as such while being functional. This time lock is that old and could still be relied upon today.

http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/Altashot/library/Type%203%20Diebold

M.

[Riyame]

You need to use the URL tags or the forum will break the links. Cant wait to see the pictures.

EDIT: Fixed your link for you.

Wow, that thing is amazing. Ones like that are getting harder and harder to find.

[escher7]

Link is not working.

[Altashot]

Thanks Riyame.
Rescuing my post again!

M.

[MBI]

I said it over on lp101, but it's a nice enough lock to say it again here.
That is an amazing example of craftsmanship. Sometimes I wish stuff was still made like that. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

I've seen some nice time locks over the years, some day I'm going to try to get one or two for my lock collection.

[rzr800]

Very impressive. I bet that lock is worth a lot.

[Altashot]

Very impressive. I bet that lock is worth a lot.

I really don't know what it's worth...
I took it to an antique shop in Montreal and I was offered $1000.00 for it.
Either in cash or in store credit...I considered a banged up Louis XVI clock but, I didn't think it was a fair trade, I didn't need the money nor did I need another clock, so I kept the time lock instead. Sure glad I did, my interest in locks AND clocks are both emulated with this piece...

M.

[PhoneMan]

Very cool! I've been in some banks where they still use the etched brass time locks. Usually the door of the vault has a glass panel on the inside so you can see all the workings and boltwork.
Next time I'm in a bank that has one, I'll ask the head teller or manager if I can get a pic of it. (some can get suspicious if you don't ask)

[TheAdvancedNoob]

A local pawn shop building used to be a bank and when ever I'm there I usually look inside the vault it has a time lock on it too but its not as pretty.

[Medecopen]

That is nice I never even seen one before, pictures or in real life...
What a conversation piece I wouldn't trade it or sale it either... We'll within reason of course..

[CPT1911]

Very cool, thanks for sharing. It is too bad that things aren't made that way anymore. What is the approximate vintage, Altashot?

Also, how does it interface with the rest of the lock? I assume there is some kind of "output" from the clocks on the back of the box?

Got a kick out of the background....let me guess....357?, .44?, .223?, maybe a 30-06 and a 280 Rem? 30-30? on the far right?

[Riyame]

If you look at the 5th picture there is a slot in the bottom of the side of the case. A bar went here that retracted/extended to allow the boltwork to open. Since this was separate from the combination lock it can block the safe from opening until the correct time.

[CPT1911]

Ok cool...thanks for explaining I had always wondered how that worked. And I assume that each lock could independently open the mechanism in case one or more failed?

[keymaster1053]

Ok cool...thanks for explaining I had always wondered how that worked. And I assume that each lock could independently open the mechanism in case one or more failed?

Yep, that's why there are three. two can fail and it will still open as long as any one works.

[Altashot]

That time lock was made around 1900 to 1910. This is an estimate, based on the age of the bank it came from and on the art etched on it.

The slot on the lower side is blocked until the time is up. When one or more of the movements reach 0 hour, the dial(s) move a mechanism that opens the slot, allowing a "bar" attached to the boltwork to enter the time lock. Even if the comb lock is opened, the boltwork will not retract until the slot is cleared. I have seen time locks with 4,5 and 6 movements. Love the way things were over built, Metal was cheap and so was labour.

People sometimes ask: -Why? Why a time lock? Why is this on the door?
Even Bank people don't always know.
Nowaday, they mostly prevent after hours "inside jobs" but originally, time locks were invented to discourage kidnapping.
Bankers would sometimes be woken up from their beds by robbers and kidnapped, then, forced to open the Bank and the safe...
Banks would put signs up, telling of the timing device in their safes, instilling confidence to their patron and warning would be robbers.
Cool stuff!

Good call on the bullets in the back ground, a bit of everything, minus 1...
...I was vacuuming the living room when I picked up an object with the vacuum's power head. It rattled in there for a couple seconds then......POWWWW!...I immediately turned the vacuum off, my wife was like: "WTF was that???"...
...Then, I realized what I had picked up, as the familiar odor of gun powder reached my nose.
It was a .22LR. I looked everywhere and I can't find a hole, not even in the vacuum. All I can find is where the explosion occurred, singed hair on the rotating brush and blackened burnt plastic, but it still works fine.

M.