i need to build a wooden combination lock. i have search the net and found some basic wheel pack designs. i was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this kind of thing and could point me in the right direction. anything helps! thx

5/31/2007 4:40:31 PM

i'm guessing this is for a class or something to show the design? cause i doubt you'd be building your own to secure stuff with

5/31/2007 4:41:48 PM

no, im building my own

5/31/2007 4:55:21 PM

but i guess as a display piece or something? you don't intend to use it to actually lock up valuables do you

5/31/2007 4:56:25 PM

thats correct

5/31/2007 4:59:26 PM

i really like woodworking and i just want to try my hand at something kinetic with the minimum (preferrably no) metal parts

5/31/2007 5:00:18 PM

how big do you want this to be?

if you are going to try a design with wooden gears, they need to be big, or you need to be using plywood.

I'd get some birch plywood with 1/16" plys, or something with smaller ply's if you can find it (1/24" would be great, but good luck finding any: maybe if you find a retail product you can scrap for the wood).

Next you are going to need access to a CNC milling machine to route the gears. You *could* print the gears and try to jigsaw/sand them to size yourself, but its going to be a disaster because of how many gears you will need to work flawlessly together.

That should be the only really machining intensive part. everything else you can probably get by with a drill, chop saw and maybe a table saw.

5/31/2007 5:06:45 PM

yeah i have access to all that in the design school shop in the basement of leazar. you wouldnt believe the equipment they let the grads use.

i just need help with the mechanizing part, i need 7 gears (one attached to the face dial, so really 6) and the box cant have a door. when the lock opens, itd be great if the mechanism came out of the box to reveal space inside.

so, upon immediate inspection of it, there doesnt seem to be a way to get in, so you must interface with the lock - with is actually a coded decal - i have plans and everything on how i want it to look and work, i just need help with the device part

oh, and size, maybe a little smaller than a shoebox, made from very thick, solid hardwood, stained and polished. not as rectallinear as a shoebox, but not a cube either

[Edited on May 31, 2007 at 5:48 PM. Reason : size]

5/31/2007 5:46:37 PM

bttmft

5/31/2007 7:57:28 PM

one of the first hits on google
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Working-Wooden-Locks-Detweiler/dp/0941936600

There are a lot of ways you can do this without using a CNC machine. If you're doing it because you really like woodworking I would think you would want to stay away from anything CNC. If you just want a working (and complex) lock, sure use a CNC machine. But going straight to CNC isn't wood working, it's not even machining... it's just CADD.

5/31/2007 8:50:25 PM

^ I agree. Using a milling machine is the cheater's way out. in the end you show it to me and I say, "who fucking cares" just save yourself some time and buy a fuckin masterlock

5/31/2007 9:09:10 PM

The nemesis of the wooden lock:

5/31/2007 11:28:00 PM

anyone else?

5/31/2007 11:43:34 PM

http://kyspeaks.com/2005/12/05/ky-teaches-how-to-make-a-wooden-lock/

i dont think the link is what you're looking for...its more of an aesthetic thing on an existing lock i believe

[Edited on May 31, 2007 at 11:48 PM. Reason : .]

5/31/2007 11:46:42 PM

nah, still looking for mechanism info

6/1/2007 1:01:58 AM

this is a little basic info on combination locks in general...cant hurt

http://home.howstuffworks.com/combination-lock.htm

6/1/2007 1:26:44 AM

Quote :

"yeah i have access to all that in the design school shop in the basement of leazar. you wouldnt believe the equipment they let the grads use"

Do you know Kent Marshal?

6/1/2007 8:54:51 AM

i cant say that i do, but I'm in the arch. dept, so we don't see very many people in other disciplines. what does he do? student? personnel?

6/1/2007 10:05:00 AM

He is in MAE and just got his masters. He is currently working on his PHD, but I don't think he is teaching next semster. He kind of has a reputation, so thought you may have heard of him. He would probably trade his left nut to have his own cnc machine and is in Leazar quite frequently.

6/6/2007 11:24:57 AM