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Mills operator bell question

PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 7:23 pm
by 1949
Just a quick question I`m sure someone can answer easily. On one of the post I noticed that someone asked about a 1920s Mills operator bell and they were told that they thought the base had been replaced, because there where no nails in the front. Since then I`ve noticed that there are some of them I saw without the nail in the front, I believe they are in the back. Is there an answer to this? Appreciate your time.

Re: Mills operator bell question

PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:17 pm
by mechanic
The reason for the nails was so no one could take a screw driver or pry bar and crack the wood base to gain access. The base is made up of multiple pieces of wood and some of the seams are close to the end and easily broken. However this helps having the seams close to the end now especially when you need to break the base to open the back door when the original key is lost. Better to crack the base then to drill an expensive Mills lock. The base can always be reglued and refinished.

Re: Mills operator bell question

PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 8:46 am
by 1949
So if the nails are in the back does this mean that they are a newer base?