Couldn't find anything on Google, so does anybody know how the keyway in the cylinder of a typical Yale-type lock is made?
How is the keyway of a Yale lock created?
Oct 03, 2010
6 Replies
I'd always assumed that it would be broached and possibly made in long lengths as the profile runs right through.
Bob
When I worked for Yale as a machine tool fitter nearly forty years ago they were turned on B&S autos,washed then tipped into a vibratory bowl feeder which fed them to a rotary transfer machine which drilled the countersink on the face then the holes in the side for the pins.From there they were fed to a broaching machine which put the keyway in.The broach was horizontal and stationary and the cylinders were carried past it in fixtures on an endless chain.Can`t remember how many night latches we made a day but it was thousands.Every one stamped Made in England when in reality they were made at Livingston in Scotland. The broaching m/c had been built by Yale at Willenhall and was a POS from which either me or my oppo was never away from until I rebuilt it. Tonight Magnus,my specialist subject is the manufacture and assembly of Yale night latches,door furniture and door closers. Mark.
Anything like this?
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Presumably, it must have taken some toolmaker a hell of a long time to make the broach?
Thanks guys, I reckon I understand it now.
Similar,but that machine appears to have been built by professional engineers and not a bunch of Willenhall blacksmiths. :-) Mark.
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