Skirting scribe

[ayjay]

I've got an old lock out in the garage which has a couple of interesting and pertinent features, I'm off out there soon and I'll take a piccy.

Here you go, more clenched nails.

This came out of a building that dates from 1748, I can't attest to the age of the lock, but it ain't modern!

It was attached to an old ledged and braced door that was laying prone in the attic.

Old lock1.jpg (600.95 KiB) Viewed 4534 times

Old lock2.jpg (622.59 KiB) Viewed 4534 times

Old lock3.jpg (517.01 KiB) Viewed 4534 times

[Dave54]

I've got one similar. I bought it for a quid from a car boot, probably 20 years ago. No key, so I thought I'd file one up for it.
I walked on, and at another stall the bloke had a key that looked the right size. I tried it in the lock and it turned and worked the lock.
I asked the bloke where he'd had it from, he said he'd had it for years!
Weird coincidence.

[dewaltdisney]

In the picture of the old lock I like the little bit of décor scribed on by a mortice gauge

Simple but effective

DWD

[ayjay]

I've got one similar. I bought it for a quid from a car boot, probably 20 years ago. No key, so I thought I'd file one up for it.
I walked on, and at another stall the bloke had a key that looked the right size. I tried it in the lock and it turned and worked the lock.
I asked the bloke where he'd had it from, he said he'd had it for years!
Weird coincidence.

I'll bet you haven't still got the fixing nails though................

..............but that's either one hell of a coincidence, or a reflection on how poor the locks might have been: a bit like some old car door locks that you could open with a screwdriver.

I've just been doing a bit of digging around the net and it looks like it could be either Georgian or early Victorian.

There's some quite similar on ebay, they don't fetch that much though, (£25 - £50) I'll hang on to this one.

[ayjay]

In the picture of the old lock I like the little bit of décor scribed on by a mortice gauge

Simple but effective

DWD

I can only agree: it wouldn't take more than a few seconds to do, and is still there some 200 years later.

[Grendel]

wonder what the idea off the housing is for
with wood shrinking across the grain a housing could hold it off the wall with shrinkage or i suppose the housing is designed to hold it even tighter iff it swells slightly

I've encountered this form several times in the past and have fitted new to exsisting so in effect recreating this joint. I've always understood the idea was to keep the internal joint neat and square. A cupping section of skirting ( and it's commonly in relatively deep skirtings) isn't that noticeably along its length but does show on corners , something that the housing tends to reduce.
On the mention of cut and hand forged nails I've collected loads in my time along with several other bits and pieces of ironwork some of which I've reused. I also use these types of nails for re-enactment furniture , nailing on hinges and clenching the nail points.