AMERICAN LOCK

[piotr]

Awesome content contribution. These locks are exotica for me (an Australian) so this is real cool. Thanks.

Well, we must remedy that my friend. Shall I send ya a couple?

I have a few already but a few more would be great. I would also like to buy some key blanks for them so I can learn to impression them (if they are readily available to you). I'll PM you my address details so you can give me a quote on the shipping.

[Oldfast]

A recent discussion with someone prompted me to post this. A lot of people ask about it... thought it'd be nice for quick reference.
This (and alot more info) is publicly available and can be found in American Lock's 2012 Service Manual.
Here's the pdf version... http://www.americanlock.com/pdfs/A-004_ ... l_2012.pdf

[Josh66]

What year did Master take over? Looks like this 1205 I have was made in April of '95.

[Oldfast]

That's a great question... I'd love to hear from some people with better research skills than I. Anyone??
And more importantly, I'd love to know... when exactly did they start making changes to the locks?

Here's a newspaper article from the Tribune dated March 04, 2004 ...
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004 ... embly-line

"Assembly operations of the 92-year-old company--bought last year by Master Lock, a subsidiary of
Lincolnshire-based Fortune Brands Inc.--will be shifted to plants in Milwaukee and Nogales, Mexico."

"The picnics and parties stopped in 1998, when the majority of the company was sold to a
Minneapolis firm. In April, that firm sold the company to Fortune Brands for $31 million."


Hopefully someone around here will enlighten us?

[keymaster1053]

Where's Riy when you need him? He always knows this stuff

[Alaphablue]

It seem weird American lock one of my favorite brands a leader in inovation in it's early years bought by master lock the company known for it's poor quality. Not bad enough now american lock plants close so they can be opened in Mexico . I will not be buying American locks any more !

[Josh66]

now american lock plants close so they can be opened in Mexico

That's the way of the world these days...

Sadly...

Some of you may know that I'm an aircraft mechanic... A while ago I was working on a lot of Beechcraft Kingair's - they used to be made in America... Lately, they are all made in Mexico now. Now, I know it isn't the fault of the Mexican labor, but rather the CEO's that feel that unskilled labor is good enough - but these 'hencho en mexico' aircraft are substandard quality, to be polite. They are made by unskilled labor, and it shows. I don't blame the Mexican people for this, I blame the American CEO's who refuse to train their Mexican workforce because it would cut into the bottom line. I have no doubt that a Mexican workforce could deliver the same quality product that American workers produce, but the people running the company see to it that it doesn't happen.

It's pretty sad, where the priorities lie for most corporations...

[Alaphablue]

Im not trying to be critical of Mexico but its called American lock . would be like corona beer that is proudly made in Mexico closing it's plants to open them back up in china.

[Oldfast]

So... a video that helps illustrate a couple of the techniques I mention in the article.

The two methods of FINDING the binding pin:

PATTERN TESTING
. . .Just as the name implies, each pin is methodically tested while following a pattern. This insures we don't miss any pins.
That 'perfect threshold' pressure is applied to each pin as we work our way from the back pin, to the front pin... or we might work
from the front to the back. Whatever pattern you prefer, it will likely have to be repeated several times over before the lock opens. . .

SWEEPING
. . .Here, we start at the back of the lock and lightly run/pull our hook over the pins to the front in order to locate the binding pin.
With this motion, our hook tends to kind of catch, snag, and stop at the solid binding pin. Sweeping is a wonderful time saver.
It allows us to quickly zero in on the pin that needs to be targeted, while wasting no time on the pins that are not yet binding. . .

As you'll see in the vid, I tend to use both these methods depending on how things are going. If I've swept through
a lock, and it's not popped after a short time with this method, I'll revert to pattern testing to finish it off.

In regards to the actual LIFTING of pinstacks, I'm 'bouncing' in this video.

. . .2. The other option is to 'bounce' your pick. Using the word bounce to describe this technique is probably not
the best idea, as it implies a sort of 'out-of-control lift'. Quite the contrary. What we're doing here is applying
a very controlled and consistant lifting force to the pin. But instead of the force being continuous, it's delivered
to the pin in a rythmic/pulsating fashion. A more appropriate word might be 'nudging', since that's basically
what we're doing; nudging the pin little by little until we hit the shearline. . .

This particular lock has all serrated drivers... viewtopic.php?p=60752#p60752
This vid runs only 1 min. long & I don't say a word... lol ... but alot happens here.



I first sweep (lightly rake from back to front) through the lock to find and target the binding pins.
As I find em', I use the bouncing technique to lift each one. At 00:45 you'll see I sweep through the lock
twice - feeling no more binding pins, I immediately revert to pattern testing. Starting from the back &
working my way out... it doesn't take long to find the pin I missed during my initial attack.

[blate]

I really enjoyed reading this write-up. The tips on picking the "fun" American pins were very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to write this article!

[Oldfast]

Great to hear it was both enjoyable & helpful for ya Alex. Thank you!

[piotr]

What year did Master take over? Looks like this 1205 I have was made in April of '95.

Fortune Brands (www.fortunebrands.com) owns
----Master Lock (www.masterlock.com); and
----AMERICAN LOCK (www.americanlock.com)

Fortune Brands acquired the American lock brand but I don't know when but I could find out with some digging because it will be in the public domain. Strictly speaking Master Lock and American Lock were both acquired by Fortune Brands which owns a collection of consumer brands.

I have included the result of a project -- admittedly still very rudimentary -- commenced by sandman (aka ahab) and myself a few years ago. We never got around to completing it and the document below took many hours to compile and was accurate as at c. 2010.

Even with the list as incomplete as it is is is apparent that the lock suppliers' market is being concentrated into a few large players.

PREAMBLE
------------

What follows is a worldwide list of lock manufacturers and their brands. The
list is organised in a hierarchical fashion with a major entry for the
manufacturer and/or brand owner and subordinate entries for the brands and/or
corporate divisions. We think this is the most useful and logical way to
organise a list of lock manufacturers' brands.

Where the manufacturer/brand owner was unable to be identified
the importer(s) are listed instead.

Defunct manufacturers and brands have been included, usually with explanatory
end-notes identified by [XXX] (where XXX denotes an upper-case three-letter
abbreviation).

Individual lock models have not been included because charting a company's
changing catalogue over time is a distinct and major project in itself.
Further, knowing the brand owner, it becomes a relatively easy task to source
the manufacturers'/brand owners current catalogue (which will be subject
to change).

THE LOCK MANUFACTUERS LIST
-------------------------------------

ABA UFO INTERNATIONAL CORP
----ABA (www.abalocks.com)

A.B.T. ("Ash", "Bates", "Turner") HARDWARE LIMITED (defunct company) [ABT]
----ABT (defunct brand)

ABUS (www.abus.de)

ASSA ABLOY (www.assaabloy.com) [AAB]
----ABLOY (www.abloy.com)
----Adams Rite (www.adamsrite.com)
----Arrow (www.arrowlock.com)
----ASSA (www.assa.se)
----Corbin (Italy) (www.assaabloy.it)
----Corbin Russwin (www.corbinrusswin.com)
----Corni (www.assaabloy.it)
----Dominion (www.dominionproducts.com)
----eff eff (www.effeff.com)
----EMTEK (www.emtek.com)
----FAB (www.fab.cz)
----Fichet (www.fichet-pointfort.fr)
----GATEMAN (www.egateman.co.kr)
----GULI (www.guli.com.cn/en)
----IKON (formerly ZEISS IKON) (www.ikon.de)
----Interlock (www.assaabloy.co.nz)
----JPM (www.assaabloy.fr)
----Keso (www.keso.com)
----La Fonte (www.yalelafonte.com.br)
----Laperche (defunct brand)[LAP]
----LIPS (www.lips.nl)
----litto (www.assaabloy.be)
----Lockwood (Australia) (www.lockweb.com.au)
----medeco (www.medeco.com)
----MUL-T-LOCK (www.multlock.com)
----NEMEF (www.nemef.nl)
----PHILLIPS (Mexico) (www.phillips.com.mx)
----Ruko (www.ruko.dk)
----SARGENT (www.sargentlock.com)
----TESA (www.tesa.es)
----TrioVing (www.trioving.no)
----UNION (www.uniononline.co.uk)
----Vechette (www.vachette.fr)
----VingCard Elsafe (www.vingcard.com)
----Wangli (www.assaabloy-wangli.com)
----Whitco (www.whitco.com.au)
----Yale (www.yalelock.com)

www.bramah.co.uk

Carbine (www.carbine.com.au)

CompX International Inc. (compx.com)
----CompX National (formerly known as "National Cabinet Lock") (compx.com/national.html)
----CompX Fort (formerly known as "Fort") (compx.com/fort.html)
----CompX Timberline (formerly known as "Timberline") (compx.com/timberline.html)
----CompX Chicago (formerly known as "Chicago") (compx.com/chicago.html)
----CompX eLock (compx.com/products-elock.html)

DOM Sicherheitstechnik (www.dom-sicherheitstechnik.com)
----DOM (http://www.dom-sicherheitstechnik.com/i ... /mechanik/)

EURO-LOCKS & LOWE & FLETCHER LTD (http://www.lowe-and-fletcher.com/ENGLISH.HTM)
----Euro-Locks (euro-locks@euro-locks.[fr|be|pl]
----Lowe & Fletcher Ltd (www.lowe-and-fletcher.co.uk)

EVVA (www.evva.at)

Federal Lock Company (www.federallock.com.tw)
----Federal

Fortune Brands (www.fortunebrands.com)
----Master Lock (www.masterlock.com)
----AMERICAN LOCK (www.americanlock.com)

Hampton (www.hamptonproducts.com)
---- Brinks (http://www.hamptonproducts.com/menu.php ... s/padlocks)

Huf Group (aka Huf Hülsbeck & Fürst GmbH & Co.) (www.huf-group.com)

Ingersoll Rand (www.ingersollrandproducts.com)
----CISA (www.cisa.com)
----Legge
(http://www.security.ingersollrand.com/P ... tches.aspx)
----SCHLAGE (schlage.com)

ITW Proline (www.itwproline.com.au)
----Lane (www.itwproline.com.au/Lane-Home/default.aspx)

Jacksons (www.jacksonslocks.com.au)

KABA (www.kaba.com)
----ilco (www.kaba-ilco.com)
----GEGE (http://www.kaba.com/cylinders-locks/en/ ... dware.html)

Kensington (www.kensington.com)

Kirk Key Interlock Company (www.kirkkey.com)

Lenlock (formerly Lenlok Hales) (www.lenlok.com.au)

MIWA (www.miwalock.com)

MOTTURA (www.mottura.md)

Norton (Australia) (no official website found) [NOR]

RiteFit (www.ritefit.com.au)

Royal Guardian

SafeCorp Security Group
----Australian Lock Company (www.bilock.net)
--------ALCOM
--------BiLock
--------Galaxy
--------Series Six

Scorpion

Stanley Black & Decker (www.stanleyblackanddecker.com)
----Baldwin (www.baldwinhardware.com)
----BEST (www.bestaccess.com)
----Kwikset (www.kwikset.com)
----National (www.natman.com)
----Sargent & Greenleaf (www.sargentandgreenleaf.com)
----Stanley (www.stanleysecuritysolutions.com)
----WEISER (www.weiserlock.com)

Suzo-Happ Group (www.suzohapp.com)
----

The Eastern Company (www.easterncompany.com)
----CCL (Corbin Cabinet Lock) (www.cclsecurity.com)
--------CCL
--------HUSKI
--------Sesamee
----Eberhard Manufacturing (eberhard.com)
----Illinois Lock Company (www.illinoislock.com)
--------Royal Lock Corp (www.illinoislock.com/index.php/royallock_landing)

Wilson Bohannan Padlock Company (www.padlocks.com)

Taiwan Import Co Pty Ltd (aka TICC PTY LTD) (www.ticc.com.au) (apparently defunct)
---- XPT

END NOTES
-----------------

[AAB] See http://www.assaabloy.com/en/com/About-A ... ll-Brands/

[ABT] See http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/ ... /gazg.htm;
http://ukdata.com/company/01468383/A.B. ... RE-LIMITED

[LAP] Acquired in 1997 by ASSA-ABLOY and disolved in 2006;
see http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/erm ... t_7278.htm

[NOR] Norton (Australia) is distinct from Norton (USA) which is a brand of door closers now
owned by ASSA-ABBLOY

[s1deshowmick]

That's a real good read. I wish i had been able to read this before my first American Padlock headache.
I now love to pick my American locks, They make a big difference to my usual picking stack of Lockwood and Gainsborough (Tesa) locks.

Thanks for the excellent post, a lot of work has gone into that spread, and I'm sure it will be used by many.

[piotr]

That's a great question... I'd love to hear from some people with better research skills than I. Anyone??
And more importantly, I'd love to know... when exactly did they start making changes to the locks?

In 1970 Fortune Brands (then known as American Brands) acquired Master Lock. In April of 2003 Fortune Brands (via Master Lock) acquired American Lock Company. In 2004 they went on to acquire Dudley Inc., a Canadian producer of school locker locks.

I'm guessing that because Fortune Brands has owned Master Lock for such a long period of time, aspects of American Lock Company are being assimilated into their Master Lock operations, i.e. because Fortune Brands already had manufacturing plants in Mexico in relation to Master Lock it was an easy decision for the board to also move American Lock Company manufacturing to Mexico. The SEC report shows that in 2007 the "Home and Hardware" segment of Fortune Brands -- i.e. that under which Master Lock was organised -- owned three and leased one manufacturing plant in Mexico.

When exactly did Fortune Brands start changing American locks? That I don't know and that level of detail doesn't appear in the 10-K annual reports. Again, I can only guess. It wouldn't have happened straight after the acquisition but shortly thereafter. If you compare the 2007 and 2009 10-K forms you'll see that the number of US manufacturing plants in the "Home and Hardware" segment has shrunk but the Mexico number stays the same (with only the leased plant being dropped). This suggests a consolidation of their manufacturing operations, and the product changes are likely to have coincided with these large scale restructurings (a divestment of eight US manufacturing plants). Towards the goal of achieving larger economies of scale and maximising the utilisation of their plant and machinery I would expect them to try and converge the manufacturing processes of the two brands.

Sources:
---------

US SEC 2007 Form 10-K Annual Report of Fortune Brands Inc. http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AMB/0x0x199314/bc3f9124-9005-4116-b0a6-b325c6320dbb/2007_10K.pdf

US SEC 2009 Form 10-K Annual Report of Fortune Brands Inc. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789073/000119312510038294/d10k.htm

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/12/09/us-fortune-timeline-idUSTRE6B807T20101209

[Oldfast]

DAMN Piotr!! You have some insane digging skills my friend! I on the other hand DO NOT.

So the time you took to find this info and present it is greatly appreciated
and it certainly helped clear up some of the questions I had. Thanks you!!



@ s1deshowmick; Thanks! And very nice to cya around