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  • 1.  Antique lock and key repair or replacement

    Posted 09-12-2018 05:57 PM
    Hi, we have an antique cabinet with glass-front doors. It has an old skeleton key lock on the doors, and the key is no longer working to lock the cabinet on some of the doors. Our Maintenance manager took the key to see if it could be replaced, and seems to have lost the key.

    Can anyone recommend someone who does historic lock repairs, in the Midwest? The piece is valuable as an antique, but more valuable as part of our library's history. We'd like to repair or replace the lock with something consistent with the period (1880s - 1920s).

    Thanks for any advice,
    Sherry Best
    Alice C. Sabatini Gallery, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, Kansas


  • 2.  RE: Antique lock and key repair or replacement

    Posted 09-13-2018 12:24 PM
    Hi 
    If you can remove one of the locks you could take it to a locksmith and they should be able to make a new key. I suspect the other locks just need cleaning and/or lubricant to get them functional. At least in my former small city (Eureka CA) a local locksmith was able to make a new key for a "skeleton" key for under $50. 

    Rich

    ------------------------------
    Richard A. Paselk,
    Professor Emeritus, Chemistry Dept.
    Curator and Webmaster,
    Robert A. Paselk Scientific Instrument Museum
    Humboldt State University
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