Winfield Bicentric Mortise Lock...

Timothy

As looking into e-Bay found this Winfield Bicentric Mortise lock for Hotel Room. One keyway for operater key and the other one for Maid key. I think this may be wafer lock. First time to see the lock as trying to get information on Winfield Cylinder lock…Timothy

peerless

Neat huh?

I have several of them myself, however not all that much info on them either. What I can tell you is they are indeed wafer tumbler locks, there are about 10 cuts on the keys versus 5-6 on your standard pin tumbler keys. The cuts are bianary(sp?) meaning the cut in a given position is either “up” or “down”. Kinda like those little dip switches in older garage door remote transmitters. Either key operates the cylinder. The user keys are very easy to find as countless people walked out of the hotels without returning them, the maid’s key is not so easy to procure as there were obviously less of them in use and of course were guarded against loss. From what I was told (could not confirm this) they are re-keyable without having to take them apart, both working keys are needed to accomplish this task. Speaking of taking apart… word to the wise… don’t attempt it.

–Vince

peerless

https://www.google.com/patents/US4069694?dq=4069694&hl=en&sa=X&ei=rOZ7U7GRA6ensATOlYHACA&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA

Timothy

Thank Vince for the information and Patent number. 🙁y): Can you post picture of the key here?….Timothy

MacGnG

Here is a picture of my lock with keys for both sides…. i have not found directions on using the maid side key so i can not verify key change procedures

any scans of instructions would be a great help…. THANKS.

Billy B Edwards Jr. CML

MacGnG wrote
Here is a picture of my lock with keys for both sides…. i have not found directions on using the maid side key so i can not verify key change procedures

any scans of instructions would be a great help…. THANKS.

Rekeying was accomplished by inserting the working key, (either side as both operate the same way), and turn it until it aligns with the second position where the key can be withdrawn. Pull the key out, insert the new key an turn it back to the original position, done.

There are only 1024 potential keys for each side and that is why they were typically only found at smaller facilities.

There was a different version without a sidebar offered for the general public via Sears & Roebuck. The lack of a sidebar made it possible to use almost any key to vibrate the lock to the rekey position where it would rekey itself to the key used to vibrate it. Users didn’t much like coming home to find they had been robbed AND their own key didn’t work any more. Vibrating the lock was significantly easier when all cuts were the deeper possibility.
BBE.

[unknown]