Help! Missing key for the back panel of my P.O.W game

[ddaniels]

I just purchased a P.O.W game and the owner did not have the key for the back panel.  What options do I have so that I can access the inside of the cabinet?  Is it possible to drill out the lock and replace it with a new one?  I don't want to ruin the wood.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[severdhed]

you might be able to drill it, i've never attempted it though. I am assuming this lock is near the top of the back panel, so reaching through the coin door to disassemble the lock is out of the question...

i dont know, but good luck.

[SavannahLion]

Check around inside, like inside the coin door itself. I thought I didn't have a key and the person before me didn't have one either. So as I'm pulling my coin door apart to clean and inspect it, the key to the back door was hanging on a small coil spring on one of the coin mechs. Go figure. 

The forum has a number of posts similar to mine. Make sure you don't have the key before you drill out the lock.

Does Saint allow us to explain how to drill out these locks or is it left up to the poor guy to figure it out?

[ddaniels]

Unfortunately there is no way to reach in the cabinet and have access to the lock as it is located in the upper back panel.  How would I drill this out?  What size bit would you use?  Where could I order online or purchase locally a replacement lock?  Is this "lock" known as a single bitted lock?  I'm new to this arcade stuff and not sure about the terminology.

Thanks

[ddaniels]

I checked the inside of the coin door area to see if the key was hanging around but no luck.  Thanks for the suggestion.

[torez]

You could try to pick it.  Might be fun, if you succeed:).  There are many places you can start on this online.  This will be less messy and less extreme.

[Stobe]

Add me to the list of those that have drilled out a lock, just to find the key at the bottom of the cab.  

I went through a few drill bits in the process.  But the main premise is you only need to mangle the lock enough to get the latch to slide past the wood its hitting.

Also, if you think about whats holding that latch onto the backside of the lock, its usually a short screw.  I ended up shoving a flat blade screwdriver into the keyhole, and turning it back and forth until I finally loosened the back screw and the latch wiggled enough to get the door open.

Hope some of this helps.

-Stobe

[Doughbroz]

I've had pretty good luck drilling straight through locks with a good quality 1/4 inch bit.  First, feel all around the inside front of the cabinet in case a key is hanging there, and open the control panel for a look inside if applicable.  Try tilting the cabinet backward in case the key is in the bottom, then look around with flashlight and mirror.  Sometimes its pretty easy to remove the monitor glass and reach around or over it to get to the lock and unscrew the hasp. 

[saint]

Explain away Every arcade collector sooner or later runs into this.

Check around inside, like inside the coin door itself. I thought I didn't have a key and the person before me didn't have one either. So as I'm pulling my coin door apart to clean and inspect it, the key to the back door was hanging on a small coil spring on one of the coin mechs. Go figure. 

The forum has a number of posts similar to mine. Make sure you don't have the key before you drill out the lock.

Does Saint allow us to explain how to drill out these locks or is it left up to the poor guy to figure it out?

[FrizzleFried]

Drill the lock...insert flat-head screw driver...twist like a mo-fo!

[NightGod]

As for replacing the lock, Lowe's and Home Depot (and many other hardware stores, I would imagine) carry them, they call them "Mailbox locks". Easy to find and cost under $5.

[SirPeale]

As for replacing the lock, Lowe's and Home Depot (and many other hardware stores, I would imagine) carry them, they call them "Mailbox locks". Easy to find and cost under $5.

I also carry them.  7/8" length and 1 1/8" length, double bitted, keyed alike.  $4.00 each shipped.

[ChadTower]

If you have a decent drill it is easy to drill a lock.  Just takes a little longer than wood but is not at all difficult.  I have no idea why you'd mangle drill bits in the process unless you're either using the wrong bit or excessively cheap bits.  The tumblers are pretty soft and drill right through with patience.

[SithMaster]

Is there an air vent on the top of the cab you could slip your arm through to try and loosen the lock?  On my defence command i removed a block of wood off the top and was able to wiggle the cam so i could remove the door.

Of course this was after i tried drilling the lock out only to find the key on a hook inside the coin door which had a lock on it but it was missing the cam so it wasnt locked.

Or you can try a ball point pen to pick the lock.

[ChadTower]

Just drill it... it's a cheap item and you don't even need it in home use.

[SithMaster]

? But Chad if the guy has a pet or a child it could find its way into the cab from the back if the door isnt in place and locked.

[severdhed]

my cabinet has plastic handles that are used to tilt the cabinet back and roll it.  they are directly above the removable back panel and are held in place by a few screws...if you have something like this, you could probably remove them and get your arm inside enough to remove the screw and disengage the latch

[ChadTower]

? But Chad if the guy has a pet or a child it could find its way into the cab from the back if the door isnt in place and locked.

That's true, but given that they're up against the wall most of the time, that is very unlikely.  I'm not saying leave the back open, I'm saying you don't need the barrel lock.  Some velcro or any other method works just as well, as does a $3 replacement lock.

[SirPeale]

Two sheetrock screws driven into the upper corners works wonders.

[Malenko]

Two sheetrock screws driven into the upper corners works wonders.

thats what I was using until I got replacement locks from you Peale   Just drill it out then replace them, I got new locks for my MAME and MKII machine from Peale so that all the keys matched I got a few more cabs lined up so I'll be hitting him back for more.


Also to note, my Pengo cab had a lock on the back and before I tried to drill it out, I used a cat's paw to put a little distance between the 2 pieces of wood and the back popped right off.

[rockin_rick]

Sometimes you can unlatch the CP, and then remove the monitor bezel and then reach around the monitor without touching the HV circuit and get to the latch.  Or remove the monitor, too.

Rick

[ChadTower]

That's a good way to fry your arm on a charged up monitor HV circuit.

[ddaniels]

Well, I ended up drilling out that lock last night with no problems whatsoever.  I used a 1/4 bit and it took maybe 30 seconds.  I didn't damage the bit.  I had a replacement lock and key that I purchased from a local arcade vendor which installed really easy.  Thanks for all the comments that helped out.

[FrizzleFried]

...the Joust I had had a backdoor lock that some genius attempted to use a HOLE SAW to cut out around the lock.  Dumbass didn't realize there is a METAL PLATE the lock is attached to and he failed miserably.  When i got home,  30 seconds with a drill IN TO the lock and it was off...

Some people just try too hard.

[JeepMonkey]

Was this lock the type like a car key or was it one of the round keys like on a deep freezer/bicycle lock?

[u_rebelscum]

Was this lock the type like a car key or was it one of the round keys like on a deep freezer/bicycle lock?

Yah, the former type is easy to pick once you practice, the later pretty easy if you have the tools (and sometimes a hollow ball point pen is the tool).  The cab I bought had two of the former (one front, one back), and it came with the key key to the front one.  I couldn't reach the back one (above the monitor) from the open coin front of the cab, so I practiced picking the front one with online instructions, and the back came off far quicker than the time it took to do the front one while I practiced. 

Smallish slot screwdriver and a long thin metal shim (street sweeper "hairs" are supposed to be great), stick the screwdriver in while leaving space for the shim to fit, gently but firmly put turning pressure with the screwdriver, and rake the shim against the tumblers (back to front) (twice for me with the back) and bingo.  The biggest problems I had while practicing was learning the correct pressure to use with the screwdriver, and more important, which direction to turn.

I saw another large wood box with the same type lock got into by just brute force turning the lock; the part that caught the wood gorged the wood, leaving nothing to catch onto.  After that the lock, still in "perfect condition" and "locked", was like a nonlockable turn latch on that box.  It was replaced with the same type lock, but with the catching teeth a different distance from middle, with no problems.

[SavannahLion]

Smallish slot screwdriver and a long thin metal shim (street sweeper "hairs" are supposed to be great), stick the screwdriver in while leaving space for the shim to fit, gently but firmly put turning pressure with the screwdriver, and rake the shim against the tumblers (back to front) (twice for me with the back) and bingo.  The biggest problems I had while practicing was learning the correct pressure to use with the screwdriver, and more important, which direction to turn.

When you don't have the key, what's the point? Not saying it's not a useful skill. My own bicycle lock was one of the first ones I ever picked. But without the key, on these types of locks, you're better off just mangling the lock and throwing it away.

BTW, auto ignition keys are rarely ever picked. Speed is the key and most people who um... practice on ignition keys usually don't have a good skill basis anyways. 

[Ninten-doh]

Okay fellas.   As fate would have it, I too recently acquired a P.O.W. with no keys.  However, my attempt at drilling out the lock in the back door was unsuccessful so far.  I don't know whether I just haven't drilled far enough in or what.  Will the lock just sorta fall apart when I drill through far enough or at some point do I need to stop and jam a screwdriver in there and try to get the thing to turn?   I feel like such a dope.   

[SirPeale]

Sometimes you can drill out a lock in just a couple minutes and yes, it'll just fall apart.  And sometimes, the damn thing is just a PITA, and you'll have to drill more and more, sometimes even to the point of drilling thru the screw holding the cam onto the back.

[u_rebelscum]

When you don't have the key, what's the point [of pincking the lock instead of drilling]?

Besides these posts?

Check around inside, like inside the coin door itself. I thought I didn't have a key and the person before me didn't have one either. So as I'm pulling my coin door apart to clean and inspect it, the key to the back door was hanging on a small coil spring on one of the coin mechs. Go figure. 

The forum has a number of posts similar to mine. Make sure you don't have the key before you drill out the lock.

Add me to the list of those that have drilled out a lock, just to find the key at the bottom of the cab. 

-Stobe

How about I'm a wuss?