Well, I know I said in my last post that I would probably just leave the lock alone now. But, it has become an obsession and I couldn’t. I started thinking about why I was having to give the lock a tap to make the lever move up or down. If it was supposed to be spring loaded, it would only suppose to move in one direction, up or down, not both. So why was I having to tap it down at one point, and up at another? I was wrong before when I was using a 4 digit combination and getting it to open with a little wiggling. Maybe I was still wrong with the 5 digit combination and my tapping!
This was exactly the case!! Last night I read very slowly and carefully Miller’s explanation of how his invention worked. Between this and the diagrams, I learned a lot more. This morning I was able to completely remove the back plate from the lock. To do this, once you open the lock, remove the screw from under the shackle, the one side pops up, you pull the remaining side of the shackle up, then turn the backing plate counterclockwise. Off it comes! Once off, I could then see everything work as I turned the dial.
The lever is supposed to move freely. Freely, but not loosely. It is never suppose to fall down at any point. It is loose, but there is a piece of spring metal attached to the inside of the backing plate. This piece holds pressure against the lever to hold it in place. This is necessary as the pin on the lever is not always resting on the ridges on the disc. One ridge may push the lever up a bit, then once that ridge runs out, the lever stops right there in place. Nothing holding it there other than the spring metal. Then, once you begin turning the disc in the opposite direction, another ridge will eventually make contact with the pin on the lever, pushing it a little further up. Until you finally make it to the top, press the flange, move the tumbler, and release the shackle. Presto, it’s open! I was actually cheating, not even knowing it, by tapping the lock, making the lever move at points it shouldn’t. Now, I am 99.9% certain, I am doing it right! Nothing is broken, everything is working properly as it was designed to, no tapping the lock, not hard to open, just a simple 3-digit combination, and it’s open!
I guess this may be hard to understand without seeing it in person and being familiar with the type of lock. But I hope I have made a little sense trying to explain it. Maybe someone has learned something and maybe it will help with someone else’s lock. I will post some pictures of the inside of the lock once I am at a PC again. Maybe a video of me opening it as well.
