Oldfast Impressions

[Oldfast]

Ok Jeff... here's #2 of 3.

I KNOW how much you love your Sargents... so I have to say, I was a little nervous going into this one. lol

After picking it, I eyed and felt through through the pins. I could see pin#1 would be very shallow.
Turns out a zero cut for Sargent is no cut at all, eh? I also knew the other pins would be fairly shallow
as well... but it still surprised me when this key turned after only a dozen or so strokes with my file. lol



I was really hoping to create a nice 'factory' looking key from the first one, but only succeeded in
wasting one of your blanks :/ With such shallow cuts, it threw me for a loop and I cut pin #4 too deep.
What can I say, they can't all be winners lol. I was tempted to try again... but with only one blank left,
I decided to play it safe; better to have a working key with round cuts than no key at all.

Anyway, this one works in both directions (left & right). There's still the slightest bit of catch when
turning right. But this is due to a cut that is too high rather than too low... so it should work itself out.
I've tweeked it quite a bit already to tryn' alleviate this. Thought I'd just stop before really regreting it.

Lemme know on Sargent's zero cut if you would. I'm curious just for future reference.
If it IS actually a depth... then apparently I reached it when prepping & sanding the blank.

[GWiens2001]

Yes, a zero cut on a Sargent is no cut at all.

[jeffmoss26]

Great job as always!! Sargent depths are 0-10, with 0 being no cut, as Gordon said.
Thanks!!

[Oldfast]

Thanks guys. That's VERY good to know on the zero cut. Had that cut been further back to
where I couldn't see it... I probably would've cut too deep from the very start with my
first couple starting strokes! Definitely something to be cautious of on the next Sargent.

[Oldfast]

Here's the last one friend. I'll post em' on my way outta town early tomorrow morning.
You can see the original impressioning was done with a round file.
The second, a pippen for a more refined look.

A couple of things with this one though....



It could use some lube, but I'm not sure what your preference is... so I'll leave that to you.
Not to mention, there's a cute little rust-cloud that's produced each time the shackle's closed. LOL
Might do well to get most of this dry rust out before putting any liquids in. So again, I'll leave it alone.

The lock is a 4-pin, so the key is a bit long. Both keys work smoothly and properly though. So you could
certainly leave them as is if you decide not to mess with em'. I wanted to shorten one of them for you, but
figured it's better to get them in the mail... as I'm not sure when I'll get another chance to within the week.

And lastly. On the factory lookin' one... I missed my mark on the last cut. So much so that the pin
actually sets on the angle rather than in the bottom of the cut. Not a huge deal, but because I'm
freakishly maticulous, things like that just seem to bug the shit outta me LOL. I suppose if I ever
stop prancing around impressioning as just a "fun thing to do" and really get down to business...
it would serve me well to look into the specs (spacing & depths) for various brands.
I'm sure my work would become far more precise.

Once again I thank you for allowing me to help out, while at the same time, gaining experience.
Lookin' forward to your next package MossMaaaAAAAaaan!!

[jeffmoss26]

Wow, a 4 pin lock...interesting! I thought for sure it was 5 pins!
I will definitely clean it up when I get it.
Thanks again!!!!

[Oldfast]

....I thought for sure it was 5 pins!....

Well, if you decide to cut one shorter, and find it doesn't work anymore...lol...
we'll know I was wrong. But I'm pretty certain of it though.

You know, another interesting discovery with the 2 Corbins (I didn't know anyway);
I thought there was a ball bearing used in every pinstack, but it's only the first pin.
The rest are regular keypins. Since the first pin sees every bitting on the way in &
out, I'm assuming its' purpose is to reduce wear over time. And possibly for easier
insertion as well. But I dunno. Anyway, guess I had never noticed this before.

[jeffmoss26]

Yep...ball bearing, a regular pin to make up the difference, then a top pin...I have seen that in ALL chambers of some mortise cylinders/master rings.
It was to reduce key wear, similar to how Sargent pins are rounded.

[Oldfast]

More keys for the MossMan

A small 5-pin Reese. The small, tight keyway and the face of the plug flush with the lock body; reminds me of a Waterbury.
Got her with a SouthOrd slimline gonzo hook. As far as decoding the pins prior to impressioning, I've a long ways to go yet.
But I am able to get a very general idea before starting. I knew pins 2 and 3 were deep, and 1, 4, and 5 were shallow.



And a 6-pin Wilson Bohannan. On the flipside; "CONOCO ELEC". A beautiful lock really.... I've always liked WB's.



Thanks SO MUCH Jeff for the additional extras for me! Free locks just NEVER gets old

[jeffmoss26]

Those look great!!

[GWiens2001]

Like how you matched the notches on the lock to the key. Extra points.

Gordon

[xeo]

Like how you matched the notches on the lock to the key. Extra points.

Gordon

Agree, that is awesome.

[jeffmoss26]

BONUS!!

[Oldfast]

I'm pretty happy with em'. My only regret is that I've not quite refined my method for 'aging' keys.
The last couple batches of Jeff's locks would've looked really nice with 'vintage' looking keys.

I'm still experimenting with some different homebrews (there's ALOT of options). I'm also waiting on a
product that's on it's way to me. Gonna doctor it up a bit and see what happens. With some luck I'll be
producing some 'old keys' within a couple weeks here. ALOT of research & trial & error invovled though.

[femurat]

I sanded my old house keys to remove the chrome plating, they came out cool... not sandpaper, an air sand blaster.

Cheers