Tiny Rabbit lock

[bylocks]

Has anyone ever seen this sort of lock?
What would it be used on?
Does it have a history?

The key has 3 pins (which i didn't bother trying to pick yet) it can only be removed in the locked position.
Apparently it locks things up by turning the key to open the gap in the post, putting whatever is getting locked up in between the stationary post and the turning hub and then turning the key back to the locked position

[jeffmoss26]

That's a rotary phone dial lock.

[bylocks]

Wow that was quick. Thanks for that info
once you said what it was, here is what i found

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjD4OI6cl_0

[bylocks]

Also what exactly is it locking up?

[Riyame]

The rotating part of the lock would go in the holes of the rotating part of the phone and it would prevent it from spinning.

[oldbiscuit]

First, you have to be old enough to remember what a rotary dial telephone is My grandson wanted to know what our land line phone was when he came for a visit. He's 4 yrs old, but my son and his wife both have cell phones and no home phones. My first remembrance of a wall phone was at my grandparents and it didn't have a dial. You just lifted the hand set and pushed the cradle up and down several times to get an operator to place your call for you. Life is changing at a super fast rate and things now are obsolete way before you get a chance to break them in or wear them out. Mark

[bylocks]

Thanks for all this info, as far as the picking goes i opened it about 10 times in 45 seconds with a snake rake, really easy.

[Neilau]

Ha Ha.

I got one of these to put on our phone when our son was a teenager going through the "endless babble with people he just spent all day with" period.

No one could contact us.

We still have an (now) antique phone with a dial. They still work but have no # or * on the dial.

Thanks for the pic. I had forgotten all about them.

[GWiens2001]

Grew up with the rotary phones. Remember dialing numbers and hating it when they had several 7's, 8's, or 9's in the number, especially if I had to dial in a hurry. It seemed to take forever for the dial to get back to the starting point again so I could enter the next number. Still remember the family getting our first push button phone!

Gordon

[oldbiscuit]

Do any of you remember the party lines ? When I was a kid our phone was on a party line, which meant that several people on our block could pick up their hand set on the phone at the same time and talk to each other without dialing. It wasn't unusual to pick up the phone and hear your neighbor talking to whomever. If any of us kids were on talking to our friends and the neighbors wanted to use the phone, the neighbors(old ladies) would start coughing. If that didn't work, they would come over and complain to our folks. Man those were the good old days. Mark

[mastersmith]

Mark, how about learning your exchange as letters instead of numbers. My first phone number started 299-****, I was taught to memorize AX9-**** and AX stood for "Axminster". Why? I still don't know!

[1mrchristopher]

Huh, I've read about rotary phone locks, but I'd never seen one before. Thanks for sharing this. Even though I work in IT, I'm an anachronistic kinda guy. Here I sit typing away on my laptop, sitting in my easy chair, with a rotary phone on the table next to me. I love the bell ringer, and they have the clearest sound. We've got one hanging in the kitchen too. The house was built in 1951, and to my mind it just made sense to put a rotary phone on the wall. Now I think I have to find myself a rotary phone lock - not because I need to lock my phones, but simply to have one. As an aside, you can dial a rotary with the hook. If I wanted to dial 911, I would pick up the phone, and upon confirming dialtone, depress the hook 9 times, pause, 1 time, pause, 1 time and the call would go through.

[GWiens2001]

Huh, I've read about rotary phone locks, but I'd never seen one before. Thanks for sharing this. Even though I work in IT, I'm an anachronistic kinda guy. Here I sit typing away on my laptop, sitting in my easy chair, with a rotary phone on the table next to me. I love the bell ringer, and they have the clearest sound. We've got one hanging in the kitchen too. The house was built in 1951, and to my mind it just made sense to put a rotary phone on the wall. Now I think I have to find myself a rotary phone lock - not because I need to lock my phones, but simply to have one. As an aside, you can dial a rotary with the hook. If I wanted to dial 911, I would pick up the phone, and upon confirming dialtone, depress the hook 9 times, pause, 1 time, pause, 1 time and the call would go through.

Dialing using the hook was a game my sister and I used to do.

I do not personally remember party lines, but enjoy when my dad has talked about them.

Gordon