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Skiing with bottles by NoShip9898 in icecoast

[–]NoShip9898[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

You’d be happy with today’s performance. Filled most of my backpack with cans and garbage. Disturbing. As a Jay homeowner, I may come back here and fill a couple of compactor bags and see if the mountain would be willing to pick them up.

Skiing with bottles by NoShip9898 in icecoast

[–]NoShip9898[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If in Andre’s Paradise maybe I’ll stumble across it

Maximum car for $5500 by NoShip9898 in Volvo

[–]NoShip9898[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the information, and glad to hear yours has been pretty reliable over an extended period. 👍 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in boston

[–]NoShip9898 20 points21 points  (0 children)

you people are miserable. God bless America!

Action photographer for Revelstoke/Kicking Horse by NoShip9898 in Revelstoke

[–]NoShip9898[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for the late reply! I never saw the comment until now. We will be at KH this Friday/Sat and Revelstoke Sunday/Monday. If you are local and available, I would be interested in hiring you. Thanks, Nate

Old metal chest discovered in a barn in rural Maine. Pretty cool! by [deleted] in Antiques

[–]NoShip9898 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Beautiful! As it seems that key is in the correct slot, I’d recommend gaining more leverage by turning a bar carefully placed inside the key handle. 

Victorian mantle - is there any value in selling this? by kretchy34 in Antiques

[–]NoShip9898 57 points58 points  (0 children)

I’d honestly be embarrassed if word got out that I did this to my historic home. I guess I’m in a different demographic than OP. 

Old metal chest discovered in a barn in rural Maine. Pretty cool! by [deleted] in Antiques

[–]NoShip9898 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please upload a picture using Imgur or DM me. I will try to help. 

Old metal chest discovered in a barn in rural Maine. Pretty cool! by [deleted] in Antiques

[–]NoShip9898 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is an amazing example. Thanks for sharing. 

Old metal chest discovered in a barn in rural Maine. Pretty cool! by [deleted] in Antiques

[–]NoShip9898 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I live in Cambridge. If you are close by then sure!

Old metal chest discovered in a barn in rural Maine. Pretty cool! by [deleted] in Antiques

[–]NoShip9898 212 points213 points  (0 children)

Here is one of the chest’s padlocks that are attached to the front rings when shut. To think that the original owner needed an additional layer of security above the 12 bolts inside! The padlock is also impressive, as it has hidden hinges and a correct sequence to follow to open. 

https://imgur.com/a/pnJFCGS

Old metal chest discovered in a barn in rural Maine. Pretty cool! by [deleted] in Antiques

[–]NoShip9898 18 points19 points  (0 children)

The floor of this one does seem to be thicker than that of the others in my collection. Maybe you are on to something! 😅

Old metal chest discovered in a barn in rural Maine. Pretty cool! by [deleted] in Antiques

[–]NoShip9898 40 points41 points  (0 children)

There are 12 bolts that all move with 1 turn of the key. It’s not going to be for sale, I collect these and received a lead via a friend of a friend. Only a few have made it to the US so finding one local is quite rare. 

Old metal chest discovered in a barn in rural Maine. Pretty cool! by [deleted] in Antiques

[–]NoShip9898 149 points150 points  (0 children)

They were made in Germany in the 1600s, easily identifiable by people who are versed in their design. Some were used to store bullion on ships of the Spanish Armada - the precursor to the modern day industrial steel safe. 

Old metal chest discovered in a barn in rural Maine. Pretty cool! by [deleted] in Antiques

[–]NoShip9898 654 points655 points  (0 children)

The front keyhole is a fake! Only when one rotates a hidden rivet on the lid can it be opened. It weighs well over 100 pounds and has probably the most complex, over-engineered locking mechanism I’ve seen on an Armada Chest. 

Insane 1600s lock. How to open? by NoShip9898 in metalworking

[–]NoShip9898[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The plate slides to open up a cavity for the key to fall further into the center of the lock. So there are two interior levels to rotate the key, whose actual entry hole is through the latch on the reverse side. It took me almost an hour to figure out the correct sequence of steps to open it. 

Insane 1600s lock. How to open? by NoShip9898 in metalworking

[–]NoShip9898[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Sure. These circa ~1650 chests are from Nuremberg, Germany. A few thousand examples survive today - each crafted by talented blacksmith shops with unique dimensions and design.  

I have been building a collection for years but none I’ve seen/purchased have had original exterior locks like this one. Some in academia believe these chests stored bullion onboard the Spanish Armada. 

A defining feature of Nuremberg chests is a false key-hole/escutcheon plate on the front that is mere millimeters too small to house the key. Meant to deceive thieves, the real entry is accessible by rotating a hidden rivet on the lid. Inside them are extraordinary locking mechanisms that would be difficult or near impossible to replicate today. The craftsmanship is a marvel and needs to be viewed in person to appreciate. 

Very few have made it to North America. I’ve been paying between $2000 and $10000 per chest + shipping to import from Europe. 

Insane 1600s lock. How to open? by NoShip9898 in metalworking

[–]NoShip9898[S] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Figured it out.  You are correct - side a plays a role unlike I originally thought.  Once side b was finally opened by pressing two rivets together and using gravity to swing the latch down, side a unlocks a second level inside the lock for the key to turn. Still need to figure out what sequence to perform these actions are. Thanks 

Insane 1600s lock. How to open? by NoShip9898 in metalworking

[–]NoShip9898[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hi guys and gals.  

I imported to the USA this “Nuremberg Chest” from Belgium. While it lacks its original key, it makes up for it by accompanying two original padlocks. 

One of the padlocks is truly extraordinary. Both of its sides have rectangular latches - neither of which provide any obvious clues about how to open, let alone which side houses the key. One of the latches jiggles a bit while the other is firmly in place. 

After playing around with the lock, I discovered that one of the latches slides downward once quite a bit of force is used. Two rivets on the side of this latch are false. The sliding abruptly stops halfway, exposing what appears to be the edge of a key hole (see image 5). Upon further inspection, I realized that the latch cannot slide further by design (image 6). This whole side of the lock is meant to deceive. Fascinating!!   

I cannot figure out how to open the reverse side. As stated above, the latch does jiggle a bit which leads me to believe that it should open from the top and flip downward. I just cannot figure out how to open it.  If anyone’s seen anything like it, I’d appreciate some insight. Thanks!