New coin door locks

Lite · Post by **Lite** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:17 pm

This is my first time restoring an arcade cabinet and I've had no trouble so far up until I got to dealing with the locks on my coin door.

I have no keys to the locks, so as you can see I removed the top lock and took some measurements on the hole so I could replace it. The hole (see 2nd picture) doesn't seem cut right to me... but the measurements I came up with on it are 16.5mm high & 19mm wide. These are old locks and I have no idea what would fit the holes as they are.
I'm assuming these sizes are pretty standard for locks: http://excellentcom.net/e/product/produ ... brand_id=8

The 2nd lock is still on there because, well, it's locked and I don't have the keys. After being unsuccessful at picking it and reaching it through the slit in the coin box I think my only solution is to drill it out and I was just wondering if any of you had an opinion on it from your own experience.

Once that is all done, are there certain locks I can order in a quantity of 3 or more and be able to use the same key in all the holes? That would be great if I could use one key for both front and back of the cabinet, and possibly another cabinet I may have.

jonny5 · Post by **jonny5** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:28 pm

go here:

http://www.arcadeotaku.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3

better site for cab questions

Lite · Post by **Lite** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:41 pm

Thanks. I'll look around and see what threads they have on the subject. (or just copy and paste my question there...)

dpful · Post by **dpful** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 1:15 am

Those holes look fine- if you gto a hardware store and look for cabinet locks, you'll find stuff that will fit in there.

As for the bottom, I take two flat heat screwdrivers/prybars, whatever, and just pry the door open. You end up with a bent up door edge, but you can bend it back a bit. The metal piece that holds the door closed is easy to bend with the above method. That way, you could see how that lock works and get some perspective.

I think all my cabs have wrinkled dor edges from when I've bought the cabs or lost the keys.

jonny5 · Post by **jonny5** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 1:52 am

dpful wrote:Those holes look fine- if you gto a hardware store and look for cabinet locks, you'll find stuff that will fit in there.

As for the bottom, I take two flat heat screwdrivers/prybars, whatever, and just pry the door open. You end up with a bent up door edge, but you can bend it back a bit. The metal piece that holds the door closed is easy to bend with the above method. That way, you could see how that lock works and get some perspective.

I think all my cabs have wrinkled dor edges from when I've bought the cabs or lost the keys.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 5:40 pm

dpful wrote:Those holes look fine- if you gto a hardware store and look for cabinet locks, you'll find stuff that will fit in there.

As for the bottom, I take two flat heat screwdrivers/prybars, whatever, and just pry the door open. You end up with a bent up door edge, but you can bend it back a bit. The metal piece that holds the door closed is easy to bend with the above method. That way, you could see how that lock works and get some perspective.

I think all my cabs have wrinkled dor edges from when I've bought the cabs or lost the keys.

Best to keep the candy cab keys handy at all times or better yet, keep them with your vehicle keys -- problem solved. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Lite · Post by **Lite** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 7:15 pm

Thanks for the tips and help, guys, but I eventually got it off using a different method and I thought I'd post it in case anyone else with an American style cab runs into this problem.

After inspecting the back of the coin door from inside the cabinet back, I realized I had just barely enough space to undo all the bolts mounting the entire framework of the coin door. Once I got it out and had access to it from any angle, I was able to slip some needle nose pliers in the side slit and unscrew the nut holding the lock up against the door.

dpful · Post by **dpful** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:42 pm

Nice,
After seeing that, I'm reminded that I've had to do that, too. It was such a pain in the ass that I must have blocked it out and started prying the doors open (I've really only done it a few times- If I buy a cab without the keys, or the one time I lost my whole arcade game key ring).

Lite · Post by **Lite** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:30 am

Yeah, it did take forever to get to all the screws, and even once I had access with the needle nose pliers, the nut on the lock was still at an odd angle and took awhile to work loose too. Not to mention the latch arm itself was screwed on from inside and had no nut to where I could take it off, so I still had to bend the actual latch a bit.

At least it didn't cause any damage to anything but the lock! Besides, I needed to get it off anyways so I could touch up the paint on it and paint the inside of the cabinet as well
...though my real satisfaction will come once the paint is all done and I have new locks on it all.