Back when I was figuring out how to build locks before, I found this lovely resource that got me going in the right direction. This first version of the lock mechanism is based on what I recall doing last time, but I don’t think it’s the way I’ll be going in the end. Still, it was a good exercise.
So here we have the key I bought. In the past I cut the bit down on my keys, but this one is small enough that I plan to leave it intact. I hate to cut up old things if I don’t have to, so this makes me happy.
Here I have the back plate of the lock mechanism, with a hole drilled for the post of the key going all the way into the board behind so the key will go in to just the right depth and remain stable. The plate is a piece of stainless cut from leftover bits of the toaster over shell I used for my Jedi belt.
I secured the back plate temporarily with carpet tacks, and marked out the path of the key.
I left the steel rod I planned to use at my parents’ house, but fortunately I had another one lying around. It was a bit smaller, but actually not a bad size for what I needed. I flattened it into a rectangular cross section on the anvil.
A bit of filing made a serviceable notch in the bolt.
I cut a couple of brackets to hold the bolt, and tacked them in place to test them.
A couple more tacks and a piece of a hair clip made a tension spring. You can also see a piece of cardboard behind the bolt serving as a spacer, so there will be room for the hasp to go around the bolt.
The brackets are permanently secured using small pieces of copper wire as rivets.
Here is a metal spacer riveted in place behind the brackets.
While this lock would probably work, it is awfully fiddly and was not the easiest thing to fabricate. I have another method that I plan to try soon…