First let me say thank you to all and those kind words. My knowledge of safes could be written on a postcard so the knowledge I have gained from you all has been most helpful.
Safeman: I think you raise a very valid point regarding blacksmithing, the previous two generations to me were just that. Plus thinking also of traction engines and their ilk, the type of construction, ie dovetails and rivets is not of a different time period to the late 1880’s even though there were obvious progresses before this date, and yes it comes down to capital expenditure and if it was justifiable.
The origin of the lock is an interesting point and I see no reason why it wouldn’t have been bought in. In fact during this era a lot of specialists did just that, one only has to look at clocks during this period to see that there were lots of outworkers doing one specific task.
And, yes by this time they Whitfield were in London as well as their home ground in Birmingham, two cities which at that time were a bustle of activity, however although I tend by association to think of London as The City, there is no means of connecting this safe to London any more than to Birmingham, unless of course someone finds some paperwork one day.
Chubby: Yes it is my intention to return this safe to how it came out of the factory, maybe in some small ways it will be better painted, but no intention to modify it. However again I must add I do not know some of the terminology quoted and AED is lost on me.
Tom: Whilst I truly do blame the EU for a great many undesirable things that have taken place in our country. I am not so sure that the restrictions on chemicals have all been from Brussels, rather more inclined to think they have come from our own. Namely the HSE and our Government in connection with violence carried out here, and of course A&E treatments at hospitals are again recorded and acted upon. But either way it is typical that a few spoil things for the many.
Regarding strippers, of the non female type. I am very reticent about using them anyway, however some are quite viscous and those to my mind are suited, because anything runny will end up in places where you cannot remove it and possibly never neutralise it. This is especially true of safes, because you cannot dismantle them, also of old castings that have blow holes or sand pockets. Which is why I took my safe for a walk in the garden and attacked it in all accessible places with a power tool. The internals were simply impossible that way, so a thick paint stripper was used, I could have scraped it out but it is lead paint and that is a no no in my book. Outside full PPE was the order of the day.
Sadly I am still not one hundred percent recovered from my grandchildren’s virus, but I have now rust treat the exterior of the ‘lump’ bar the top, need to fettle some of the inside before I can really get to grips with some painting.
Steve
