History & Heritage
Steel salvaged from a Chatwood Milner vault door
The bow design
Cutting a Key to a Bridgeward Lock
» THIS VERY LARGE EARLY 18TH century lock was given to me in 1972 by a family friend and was the spark that set me off on my career as a locksmith . In 1974 I started a 5 year apprenticeship with E Smith & Co Locksmiths based in Reading . Upon completing my apprenticeship I joined the Master Locksmiths Association and have been a member now for over 40 years . I currently sit on the board of directors with an aim to put back into the industry my 40 years of locksmithing experience .
It wasn ’ t until the first national lockdown that I had time on my hands to finally cut a key for my cherished lock .
The finished key is photographed to the right with a standard Yale cylinder to give scale . The key measures 13 ” long .
The 1st step was to cut out a lump of steel which will create the bow of the key . This piece of steel was salvaged from a Chatwood Milner vault door we removed from a Barclays bank .
We designed the bow of the key on paper alongside the lump of reclaimed steel which is ¼ ” thick solid steel .
The paper pattern is cut out and glued to the steel . We then used an aerosol spray paint to overspray the paper template . The paper is then removed to reveal the design .
The steel is clamped into a pillar drill vice and we began to chain drill around the circumference of the shadow left by the paint .
Steve Underwood , Abbey Gate Locksmiths
The finished key
After cutting the external shape out , we then carry on with the process on the inside of the bow .
From the same vault door , we reclaimed steel bar from the inner gate . This is being used to make the main stem of the key ( before machining ).
We began to chain drill around the circumference
66
JAN / FEB 2021
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