Our products

 

D. R. Lock Restoration and Repair:  For all your lock restoration, repair and bespoke requirements.

 

Historic, rare and collectable lock restoration/repair

We have an extensive knowledge base, experience and skill in restoring and repairing many manufacturers of antique, obsolete and newer locks from rare items of historical significance to more common patent safe locks in service today.

 

Manufacturers of lever and slide locks that we work with include:

Chubbs. Milners. Tann. Chatwood. Hobbs. Tucker and Reeves. Barrons. Whitfield.

Cotterill. Mapins. Bramah. George Price. Ratner. Marr. Gibbons. Aubin and more.

 

Manufacturers of combination locks that we work with include:

Diebold. Mosler. Yale. Sargent and Greenleaf. Halls. Milners. Chubb and more.

 

We specialize in sympathetic antique lock restoration as well as cut-away, embellished and mounted display locks for collectors, museums and education.

 

Bespoke keys

We are specialists in bespoke key making, from highly elaborate ornamental keys for presentation purposes such as a family member/friends 21st birthday, or other special occasion; to functional keys for rare/antique locks where the keys require building up from scratch to suit the lock. We are specialists in making multi-bit keys, ornamental bows and ornate turned detailing. Our bespoke keys can be made to the customers own design or specification.

 

Our other services and products include:

 

  • General metal polishing.
  • Grinding work.
  • Soldering, brazing and welding.
  • Ornamental metal work manufacture.
  • Lathe work.
  • Special tool making.
  • Used approved serviced safe locks for sale.
  • Ornamental door hinge repair and restoration.
  • Traditional portrait painting and drawing. Fine Art Portraiture





Bespoke made replacement parts

We make replacement parts for locks and associated door hardware, specialist safe and door locks. Below illustrates a couple of examples of replacement parts manufacture. 

 

1) To reproduce a spring Detector in a Victorian Chubb rim door lock for a collector of patent locks

2) The bespoke manufacture of a selection of ornate Brass hardware such as escutcheons and keeps made to look like original Gibbons hardware.

 

All parts are made to look authentic and function correctly. We pride ourselves in producing only the finest replacement parts.

Bespoke made specialist keys

Below high quality bespoke made box of wards keys made entirely from scratch x3 parts each: Stem recreation of original design, Bow and bit.

Below: 100% bespoke handmade Bramah style keys to an old French rim lock.

 

See examples below of our specialist key making services for rare and unique locks; including presentation keys for special occasions such as 21st birthdays.

 

Below:

We feature a rare Solomon Henry desk lock c1779 which required a replacement key and rear flap spring. The key is a folding/drop bit design with very fine wards. Not an easy key to make by any means; manufactured traditionally be hand with gravers, saws and small specially made files. It comes with a spring clip to secure the bit for carrying. The key is inserted in the lock in the straight position.

Bespoke made keys for antique rim door locks. Keys made entirely from scratch x3 parts each brazed.

Bespoke manufacture of Chubb 57 St. Pauls.. New Patent style key blanks. Made entirely from scratch x3 parts each. Recreation of original Chubb design made for a large rim door lock.

Below:

Large Antique Trick Padlock Bespoke key manufacture. Made from 4 individual parts brazed together this key was skillfully crafted by hand. To add extra depth and finesse to the bow design all edges were bevelled. Notice the black marker lines on the rough bow ready to be filed up in the above photos. The bit is an "S" shape with bush/wheel ward cuts. Approx. 7-10 days work to make this key.

All brazed joints were filed up meticulously to give the appearance of a one piece key. This was made for an American collector.

 

Presentation key specialist: Birthdays and special occasions

 

"There is nothing quite like a custom designed and made presentation key, to express quality, personality and the true essence of the special occassion. Why buy a mass produced product which is not as unique and special!?"

 

Our keys are made traditionally by hand, either from rough cast 'blanks' or made from scratch for a totally bespoke design. Keys made from blanks (see below) are restricted more by the shape and proportion of the blank. Bespoke keys (made from scratch) can be many sizes, proportions and shapes. Just simply provide your ideas and our expert will provide a sketch sheet of concepts to choose from. For more information please feel free to get in touch via our contact form.

Specialist repair and remanufacture

Worn or broken cast Brass parts can often be welded and remanufactured. The example below is a "Follower" part from a rim door lock that operates the spring latch. This was badly worn top and botton bearing surfaces were built up in layers of weld and machined/filed to desired diameter. Square hole re-cut to receive spindle for handles.

We can manufacture replacement parts for antique and obsolete locks/safes. An example of a specially made safe handle spindle for an antique safe is featured below. The safe engineer who commissioned this, specified no shear point on the new spindle for added strength due to its purpose.

From light sympathetic refurbishment of antique locks and keys, to major repairs and full restoration, to display locks for collectors and public museums; we offer expertise and skill that is second to none.