Re: LocksportSouth's Stash
It’s an Abloy 250 – so it’s from the older generation of Abloys (200 vs 300 series) and I assume is roughly comparable with the chunky 350 – but rather than having the Classic or (High) Profile core as you’d expect, this one is another Exec! So, yep.... Had to get it .
Shiny!
250 – also look at the dirt in the groove! I guess this lock was stored in the same place as the Rotalok, cos it’s also filled with black gunky stuff – which means another full clean! This time though, fresh out of stripping the Rotalok’s Exec, I’m better equipped and prepared, so the (dis)assembly process should go a bit smoother!
The top of the lock is marked “Hardened”:
Note that the groove is also significantly narrower than in the 300 series – an easy way to tell them apart.
Abloy Finland:
Side hole for grub screw access as per the 300 series:
Looking a bit grimy in there:
Exec keys:
The shackle is marked with “Boron”:
Fun to see something different in an Abloy... Ok it’s still an Abloy key, but it’s an Exec! Different!:
Unlocked:
Down inside the ‘ole:
In terms of disassembly, it’s basically identical the to the 300 series locks. First unlock the lock, then remove the small grub screw from the side hole once the shackle is clear:
That’ll allow you to unscrew the bottom plug:
Seems that the bottom-most profile disk came with it!
Oh no, it’s not the profile disk, it’s a (I assume) free-spinning anti-drill disk:
And there’s the profile disk and the rest of the cylinder:
Removal is basically the same as a 300, just stick the key in and yank it out... Carefully:
The cylinder is basically the same as the one from the Rotalok so I’ll try to avoid going into too much technical detail this time.
Cylinder front and profile disk:
DSS ring (the Disk Steering System, remember that from the Rotalok review?) and the two ½ disks:
½ disks removed:
DSS ring removed. Should have been wearing gloves!:
Various bits so far (including the central alignment rod (for lack of a better term):
And the other half of that pile:
Back to the cylinder:
Like last time, we’ll be placing this in a vice to disassemble. Wouldn’t want to lose these!
Post stripping:
Recall that I mentioned being more wise to this system’s innards and thus taking more care this time? I made absolutely sure to take the disks out and put them all down the same way, realising that flipping them could lead to... problems. I’ll also only be cleaning them one disk at a time, to minimise the risk of mix-ups. On top of that, I took a LOT of photos of all the disks laid out (more than I uploaded here) to give myself a reference point if anything got mixed up.
Is that... Dirt in the disk carrier?
Time to take out the last bits! Glad I kept this photo of the actuator as it helped later.. I’ll get to that!
Slimy:
I really struggled to get a clear shot of this BB for some reason:
Here they are, emptied out:
Actually, after removing one BB, I took the lock out of the vice (it was upside down, so the vice was holding the shackle and I grabbed the body) and forgot that Abloys basically hold the shackle in with the ball bearings and actuator. The result being a shackle and BB rolling all over the floor, lol!
The shackle looks pretty grimy, especially on the end:
All the parts laid out and ready to clean!
Instead of four pots of WD40, this time we’ll be using two:
One of GUNK, one of WD-40. Both to help avoid confusion and also to avoid wasting chemicals, and to ensure a thorough clean by using both types of chemical. I changed the order of these shortly after, since the process was basically:
* Take disk, dunk gently in GUNK
* Wipe thoroughly on paper towel
* Dunk and wipe again 2-3 times, scraping off any dirt or black stuff
* Dunk and wipe in WD-40 1-2 times to try and clear any blemishes
I also cleaned key disks and spacers separately – took a bit longer but I think it’s worth the effort!
Before all that though, I cleaned the larger items as with the Rotalok:
And also dropped the body and shackle into a big pot of gunk to soak while I did this.
Concerningly, after cleaning off the first disk, I found quite a few fragments of copper ‘sawdust’ in amongst the gunk – seems that the key can wear the disks down and chip away at them. It’s hard to see but here’s a pic:
You can just about make out the little golden specs near the top-middle to top-left of the big black smudge in the middle. Eep!
Skip ahead of the boring stuff, and all the disks are clean!
And after the customary cloth-and-screwdriver jabbing-clean on the body and good rubbing-down of the shackle, everything is shiny and clean!
Re-assemble the disk in reverse order:
I did check it with a key 2 or 3 times and all the disks were lined up correctly – seems that forethought paid off!
DSS disk and ½ disks inserted:
Front profile:
Locked:
Unlocked!
Nice:
(Note that the bar is only falling out due to gravity, not ill-fitting-ness )
Lube up those balls
And the actuator and spring:
Put it all back in:
Ready for final assembly!
Hmm, what’s this?
The bottom plug just would NOT screw on all the way. Tightening it didn’t help, I tried flipping the front disk, nothing. Hmm. Finally dawned on me that the actuator must be around the wrong way. Remember how I said earlier that taking that pic of the actuator was probably a good idea? The photo helped me rotate it to line up the way way it was when disassembled. D’oh! At least I didn’t have to disassemble the disk pack! (though I nearly lost it once or twice when trying to pull it out with the key, lol!)
With the bottom plug finally in and fully tightened, it’s time for my next (mini) screw up – why won’t that grub screw go back in? Or, more to the point, it goes in about 80% of the way and then the shackle just catches on it. Hmm. Thankfully I remembered that tiny optic torch I bought. One of my better investments for photography I have to say!
A screw thread... Oh yeah, you can’t fully tighten the bottom plugs. Need to loosen them slightly so that one of the every-one-quarter-turn holes lines up with the grub screw hole, like this:
Pop the grub screw in, and we’re done!
Open (smoother than before, for sure!):
Tagged and ready to go!
I’m not honestly sure where I’ll be able to put these – there’s no more room on the Abloy line on my lock board and I’m already “borrowing” the space for the 656, which is where the 358 will eventually go, so that’s two big Abloys to find a home for. Hmm. I’ll have to ponder that!
In the mean time, thanks for reading along!