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A hidden non-electric "keyless" catch or an alternative hinge.

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MonMotha:

Yup, I think what you want is a spring set, magnetically retracted "dead" bolt.  They make them for childproofing cabinets, amongst other things.  The biggest challenge I would see is that, in order to keep the magnet actuation reasonable, the springs are pretty weak.  They often can't even hold the bolt in place against gravity.  That may not be a problem in your case.  You'll also have to make sure it can't bind up, otherwise you'll have to be able to get to the back to open it.

Note that the spring weakness don't imply that the lock is weak.  Designed right, you'd have to shear a bar of metal to get it to break.  It just restricts the mounting orientation (and makes it susceptible to vibration, to some degree).

PL1:

If you have a coin door located  close enough to where you can reach up you might be able to mount several latches like this, this, or this on the underside of the CP.

You could also put several bolts that stick up through the CP and use a threaded knob that holds the cp closed.

The out-of-the-box answer may be getting some round aluminum stock, thread the end to accept the threaded knob and run it from the back of the cab through several supports and into the back side of the CP box. Spring load it to keep it normally closed.

+1 on pics being helpful. Include a shot through the coin door if available


Scott

drventure:

There's also something like this (a latch for boats/rvs)

http://www.southco.com/product/class.aspx?cid=7622

SavannahLion:

Thanks for the ideas, A couple I thought of, a few I hadn't. They're worth a looksee anyways.

It's a WIP. I created a SketchUp model and I'm using it as a template for my pieces. Took me hours to figure out how to print the SketchUp components at scale.  :dizzy:

I had planned to go down this week to some local shops downtown for the raw materials for the cab but I drained my entire cab budget on un-budgeted and necessary repairs. Apparently, vehicles require working batteries, to be registered, smogged and a whole host of nonsense details. Ain't that the  :censored:? There's always an excuse, isn't there? Enough of that, Here's the portion of the model that counts. I'm stuffing it with parts so everything that's irrelevant is hidden away in SketchUp. I had a brilliant epiphany today so there's gong to be some minor changes, but the basic principle is going to remain the same.

And yeah, there's no coin door in this one. I'm not sure if I want to add a coin mech on this one. My choices are kind of anemic on alternate coin slots. It's either a traditional and HUGE front loader, annoying top slot or  annoying angle.

About the only coin mech that seems remotely interesting is the 40-0023-00P Single Front Plate Assembly. It measures about 3.03"H x 9.26"W. My only gripe is it measures 4.47" from plate to rear which, according to my measurements, might cause problems. What I would really like is a mech where the coin is slipped in sideways, like the early Midway cabs that's as big as the mech I linked to above.

But enough of that nonsense now. Here are the requested pics.

drventure:

So is the idea here that this is, like, a wall mount unit and that flip down part will have buttons and a stick on it?

Are those going to be buttons on sides of the flip down part?

If that will be the CP. I'm guessing you'll definitely want o use a piano hinge for strength.

It looks like your best bet will be a barrel lock of some sort mounted just above the flipdown part, with the catch swinging down to engage a latch.

http://www.thehardwarehut.com/cabinet_locks.php?start_no=1

hmmm, that'll mean the flip down part will have to either fit up slightly inside the top, or you'll have to have a latch sticking up from the surface of the cp slightly (which would be a bit ugh...)



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