old roll top desk lock

sobway

hi –
i recently acquired an old roll top desk (apparently turn of the century) which has a side locking mechanism for the roll. the lock is brass with brass flat bars which extend to the sides of the roll where attached to spring loaded pins that lock into the sides of the desk. the side brackets and the key are missing but the rest of the mechanism is intact and great shape. attached are a few photos of the lock and locking mechanism. CBX1 is stamped on the back of the lock. i’m looking for any information on this type of desk lock (who made it, when, etc.) and whether replacement parts might be available (the side locking brackets in particular). photos of the side brackets would be helpful. I’d appreciate any information anybody might have regarding this lock. thanks.
sobway

Tom Gordon

What country are you in? I havent seen that type of lock on UK rolltops like that.

sobway

hi tom,

i’m located in colorado, usa. thanks for the response.

sobway

Dean Nickel

If I had to guess it is a lock made by Eagle lock Co.

Now the bad news… they are long gone.

The other option is Corbin Cabinet Lock Co. or CCL. I don’t remember seeing a current offering from anyone other than Timberline that has anything close. It would change the footprint if you were go with Timberline.

http://www.compxnet.com/images/june2009-timb-oem-catalog-lo.pdf

The only other option is to make by hand replacement parts.

Trex

Hello,

Thank you for posting pictures of your lock assembly. I have that same eagle lock, but I cannot open it. I would like to know the mechanics of the lock so I can unlock it and open the roll top that I have. Here is the issues that I have so far.

I am brand new to lock picking, I am researching and learning, but I just turned on the fire hose so my apologies in advance.
I know this is the lock and style, I do not know what kind of tumbler or locking mechanism this is.
This same lock, spins freely with any key that will fit into the keyhole. I know that it is a bar type that slides the bars out to lock it as there is nothing coming down the center. I can not open the roll top portion to access the mechanism.
This desk is a very important to our family and drilling out the lock is an absolute last resort. If I scratch, use any power tools, or just yell it at because it won’t work; cockroaches won’t survive!
Things I have done: researched, scratched my head, jumped for joy when I found these pictures, and sprayed wd-40 in the mechanism to see if the wafers, tumblers, pins, or spring where stuck; if it has these parts!

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again for the pictures, those are the only reference I have found that resembles the one I have.

billdeserthills

Trex it is too bad You can’t impression a key to your desk. You can likely hire a locksmith to make a key by hand to fit it

Pschiffe

billdeserthills wrote
Trex it is too bad You can’t impression a key to your desk. You can likely hire a locksmith to make a key by hand to fit it

I checked my historical Corbin Cabinet Lock Co. 1928, Yale & Towne 1929 and Eagle Lock Co. 1938 catalogs to no avail. No matter, it is l-o-n-g obsolete; whoever made it. A competent locksmith can easily fit a key to your lock.

Pete Schifferli

[unknown]

Richard Phillips

Looks like a German cabinet lock, early 20C.