Lock duplicator

[PhDBrewer]

Hello all,
I came across this item and it appears to be a duplicator! I picked it up at an estate sale of a ML builder. I did not know what it was at the time and I figured I wanted to build some ML at some point in my life so I purchased it and anything else that was related to gun building (<- maybe not a good idea) thinking maybe I would need it. I would figure out what everything is over time. It fit my Foredom 1/4" hand-piece perfectly. It is very solid and appears to be well built. There is virtually no slop or movement in the pivot points. I have not tried using it yet.

On the left side is the piece to be carved, on the right is the pattern. I put the pattern holder on the left side to test out my theory. It has mounting holes on both sides. It has other "patterns", blocks of wood that are inlet for different lock styles, that fit into the holder. I need to figure out how to set up the "pattern" piece so that the cutting depth matches the piece to be inlet.
Not sure that I would ever use it. I inlet my first lock and it went really well.
Anyone build anything similar and could offer suggestions for use?

Thanks in advance,

William

 

[sheriff john]

Thanks for posting. Interesting bit of ingenuity and craftsmanship.

 

[William Lincoln]

That looks to be an inletting jig for the lock inlet.

 

[necchi]

Welcome to having, learning and understanding your first duplicator.
It is an interesting modern made piece of 200yr old technology isn't it?
It kind of proves that CAD,, ain't all that huh?

 

[Phil Coffins]

I used a pantograph to rough out stocks to build custom rifles years ago. Didn’t take long to figure out that to get the quality that was required that the follower had to be larger then the cutter. Then for the outside shape the follower was set up so it left extra wood for finial shaping. Got the blank quickly to shape and allowed a very close fit of all part. That machine was cast iron and steel but even that wasn’t ridged enough to go right to size. Making the patterns was the time consuming part. You have a nifty device that may be helpful if used in a prudent way.