Locking Mechanism For Heavy Duty Metal Cabinet

[John_Dennis]

I just found a heavy cabinet on Craigslist. I want to put a better locking system on it so I can keep some of my prized possessions locked up but readily available.

The cabinet is a Lyon 21 x 36 x 72 made of .08 sheet metal. It has 2 locking bars and a cast iron handle that accepts a padlock. The second door is held shut by the first. I would like something that would be a little more resistant to a brute force hammer attack.

I added the center divider. It is slightly stronger than the cabinet itself.


Any Ideas?


Thanks

 

[hman]

Not the prettiest solution, but workable ... and it may lead you toward a more elegant solution:

If you can find a way to spread the doors apart ~¼", you can weld ¼" x 1 ½" tabs onto your divider at the top and middle, then add a third one on the bottom. Tabs should stick through the door gap and have padlock holes. Add three ¼" by 1 ½" slots to a piece of ¼" x 2" steel that's long enough to go from the bottom of the doors to the top, covering the door gap. Slots should just be wide enough to allow the tabs to poke through. Close the doors, place the 2" bar across the gap, add three padlocks.

Of course, you'd have to consider the strength of the door hinges, and whether this or the next vulnerable area would negate strengthening the door overlap area.

 

[RCWorks]

Seems like a lot of work for a cabinet you can open fast with a drill and sawsall.

 

[Fabrickator]

Nothing is a**hole proof...but you can slow them down.

 

[pdentrem]

I welded an angle iron steel frame on the inside and then made some bars that swing behind to latch the door. Kind of like a bank vault.

 

[TOOLMASTER]

got to keep stuff locked up ;-)

 

[rock_breaker]

A cover over the padlock to prevent pry bars from accessing the padlock will slow the bandits down. If such a cover is braised or welded to the door it slows the bad guys down even more.
Best locking system I have seen is a 2 key system where a threaded plate is pulled a fixed distance to allow a a key to turn the locking bolt.
Have a good day
Ray

 

[Charles Spencer]

Army Regulation 380-5:

"Secret and Confidential information
shall be stored in the manner prescribed for Top Secret; or in a
Class B vault, or a vault-type room, strong room, or secure
storage room that meets the standards prescribed by the head of
the DoD Component; or, until phased out, in a steel filing cabinet
having a built-in, three-position, dial type combination lock; or,
as a last resort, an existing steel filing cabinet equipped with a
steel lock bar, provided it is secured by a GSA-approved
changeable combination padlock (the padlock described in
subsection 5-101 will be used). In this latter instance, the
keeper or keepers and staples must be secured to the cabinet by
welding, rivets, or peened bolts"

In other words, install a steel angle iron bar across the doors with a separate padlock.

 

[4GSR]

Make it a real challenge, add ten pad locks to the locking bar. By the time the crooks get to the tenth one their bolt cutters are dull or the cordless chop saw is dead.