Mattatucks

Hey all;

I read close to every post in the archive and new forum concerning Mattatucks. My eyes are about ready to fall out! I recently bought a pair and are unfamiliar with them. It seems that the bows are open but will not close. I was wondering if they could be out of timing from the previous owner. The key does not want to go in far enough under the face plate to turn.

If they are out of timing, what are your suggestions?...serious suggestions only please! If anyone could give me a detailed description of the inner working of the cuffs, I would greatly appreciate it. If I had a better understanding of the mechanism, I might be able to figure it out. Thanks to anyone who can assist.

You say "bows are open, but will not close." Do you mean that they swing into and through the lock housing and pawl, but aren't engaged by the locking mechanism? In that case, if they are like mine, they need to be cocked first. This can be done by pulling the swing arm back as far as it will go. The result will be a single click sound and the cuffs are ready for securing. If trying this doesn't produce the result needed, unlock the cuffs w/ the key and try this procedure again.

Or, do you mean they are prevented from entering the lock housing and clicking securely? If that's the case, they may be double-locked and need to be unlocked in order to re-set the cocking mechanism to allow the swing arm to enter the lock housing.

Hey all;

I read close to every post in the archive and new forum concerning Mattatucks. My eyes are about ready to fall out! I recently bought a pair and are unfamiliar with them. It seems that the bows are open but will not close. I was wondering if they could be out of timing from the previous owner. The key does not want to go in far enough under the face plate to turn.

If they are out of timing, what are your suggestions?...serious suggestions only please! If anyone could give me a detailed description of the inner working of the cuffs, I would greatly appreciate it. If I had a better understanding of the mechanism, I might be able to figure it out. Thanks to anyone who can assist.

Monica;

Thanks for the message. The bows are open and it seems that the cuffs are double locked with the bows in the open position. The only problem being that I cannot get the key down far enough to clear the face plate in order to turn the key. I did get the key from Cannons Great Escapes. Is it a possibility that the key might need to be altered a bit?

Hey all;

I read close to every post in the archive and new forum concerning Mattatucks. My eyes are about ready to fall out! I recently bought a pair and are unfamiliar with them. It seems that the bows are open but will not close. I was wondering if they could be out of timing from the previous owner. The key does not want to go in far enough under the face plate to turn.

If they are out of timing, what are your suggestions?...serious suggestions only please! If anyone could give me a detailed description of the inner working of the cuffs, I would greatly appreciate it. If I had a better understanding of the mechanism, I might be able to figure it out. Thanks to anyone who can assist.

Frank,
Do you see the hole in the plate that the tip of the key is suppose to engage when you insert and push down? I sit lined up with either side of the keyway? Are you inserting the key with the tip going into that hole in the plate?

-Dorson

Hey all;

I read close to every post in the archive and new forum concerning Mattatucks. My eyes are about ready to fall out! I recently bought a pair and are unfamiliar with them. It seems that the bows are open but will not close. I was wondering if they could be out of timing from the previous owner. The key does not want to go in far enough under the face plate to turn.

If they are out of timing, what are your suggestions?...serious suggestions only please! If anyone could give me a detailed description of the inner working of the cuffs, I would greatly appreciate it. If I had a better understanding of the mechanism, I might be able to figure it out. Thanks to anyone who can assist.

My Mattatucks have a spring-loaded device which requires a push and turn motion with the key for unlocking. On the upspring, it actually spits out the key after the cuff has been unlocked. Perhaps you need to push down harder (just checking) or you may have something - like a key bit or old nib - lodged in the cuffs. I discovered this on both bracelets while they were locked on my wrists. In fact, I posted a long thread about "the incident," which kept me cuffed in my Mattatucks for over 24 hours.

Hey all;

I read close to every post in the archive and new forum concerning Mattatucks. My eyes are about ready to fall out! I recently bought a pair and are unfamiliar with them. It seems that the bows are open but will not close. I was wondering if they could be out of timing from the previous owner. The key does not want to go in far enough under the face plate to turn.

If they are out of timing, what are your suggestions?...serious suggestions only please! If anyone could give me a detailed description of the inner working of the cuffs, I would greatly appreciate it. If I had a better understanding of the mechanism, I might be able to figure it out. Thanks to anyone who can assist.

I see the hole that the tip of the key is supposed to go into and it is lined up with side B as Steve Cannon would say...the side nearest the entry for the bow, not nearest the chain. I push down and it is spring loaded but yet the key will not turn. I have one type of strenth in my hand, and it seems to break everything...that is why I have not tried harder to turn the key.

Hey all;

I read close to every post in the archive and new forum concerning Mattatucks. My eyes are about ready to fall out! I recently bought a pair and are unfamiliar with them. It seems that the bows are open but will not close. I was wondering if they could be out of timing from the previous owner. The key does not want to go in far enough under the face plate to turn.

If they are out of timing, what are your suggestions?...serious suggestions only please! If anyone could give me a detailed description of the inner working of the cuffs, I would greatly appreciate it. If I had a better understanding of the mechanism, I might be able to figure it out. Thanks to anyone who can assist.

whatever you do - DO NOT turn the key CLOCKWISE as it may get stuck....... if the metal brushing is stuck to far down, then the bit of the key will not go in far enough to catch it..... so if that is the case, stick ??? something - a pick, a slightly bent heavy duty piece of wire in the keyway & try to LIFT up the brushing....... or try turning it COUNTER -CLOCKWISE till you get the HOLE SLOT end to the brushing to the PROPELLER key slot CLOSTEST toward the hinge.... once there, hopefully you can insert the key & push down hard while turning the key a FULL TURN..... the key may want to come out at the 1/2 turn point, but DON'T LET IT...... just keep turning till you get back to the start point at the PROPELLER facing/closest to the hinge.... joe

Hey all;

I read close to every post in the archive and new forum concerning Mattatucks. My eyes are about ready to fall out! I recently bought a pair and are unfamiliar with them. It seems that the bows are open but will not close. I was wondering if they could be out of timing from the previous owner. The key does not want to go in far enough under the face plate to turn.

If they are out of timing, what are your suggestions?...serious suggestions only please! If anyone could give me a detailed description of the inner working of the cuffs, I would greatly appreciate it. If I had a better understanding of the mechanism, I might be able to figure it out. Thanks to anyone who can assist.

whatever you do - DO NOT turn the key CLOCKWISE as it may get stuck....... if the metal brushing is stuck to far down, then the bit of the key will not go in far enough to catch it..... so if that is the case, stick ??? something - a pick, a slightly bent heavy duty piece of wire in the keyway & try to LIFT up the brushing....... or try turning it COUNTER -CLOCKWISE till you get the HOLE SLOT end to the brushing to the PROPELLER key slot CLOSTEST toward the hinge.... once there, hopefully you can insert the key & push down hard while turning the key a FULL TURN..... the key may want to come out at the 1/2 turn point, but DON'T LET IT...... just keep turning till you get back to the start point at the PROPELLER facing/closest to the hinge.... joe

Hey all;

I read close to every post in the archive and new forum concerning Mattatucks. My eyes are about ready to fall out! I recently bought a pair and are unfamiliar with them. It seems that the bows are open but will not close. I was wondering if they could be out of timing from the previous owner. The key does not want to go in far enough under the face plate to turn.

If they are out of timing, what are your suggestions?...serious suggestions only please! If anyone could give me a detailed description of the inner working of the cuffs, I would greatly appreciate it. If I had a better understanding of the mechanism, I might be able to figure it out. Thanks to anyone who can assist.

Thanks for the input Joe. When I got the key from Cannons Great Escapes, they had a letter along with it explaining the same thing about not turning it colckwise. I have been very careful not to do so. So far everything looks as if it is aligned correctly. I really believe now that the rear part of the key that clears the face plate might be about 1/32" too long...not the tip. I am inclined to file this down a bit. Any suggestions?

Hey all;

I read close to every post in the archive and new forum concerning Mattatucks. My eyes are about ready to fall out! I recently bought a pair and are unfamiliar with them. It seems that the bows are open but will not close. I was wondering if they could be out of timing from the previous owner. The key does not want to go in far enough under the face plate to turn.

If they are out of timing, what are your suggestions?...serious suggestions only please! If anyone could give me a detailed description of the inner working of the cuffs, I would greatly appreciate it. If I had a better understanding of the mechanism, I might be able to figure it out. Thanks to anyone who can assist.

I would file it down if it looks like the top of the bit is against the faceplate of the lockcase. As long as the key is strong enough after it is filed down, the bit can't be too narrow (top to bottom). I made a key to rotate the disc on the mattatuck by filing down the back of the bit (the part closest to the head of the key), and I've used it dozens of times to rotate discs to the correct position from any place it happens to be. I used an original key and they are very strong.
Stan

Hey all;

I read close to every post in the archive and new forum concerning Mattatucks. My eyes are about ready to fall out! I recently bought a pair and are unfamiliar with them. It seems that the bows are open but will not close. I was wondering if they could be out of timing from the previous owner. The key does not want to go in far enough under the face plate to turn.

If they are out of timing, what are your suggestions?...serious suggestions only please! If anyone could give me a detailed description of the inner working of the cuffs, I would greatly appreciate it. If I had a better understanding of the mechanism, I might be able to figure it out. Thanks to anyone who can assist.

Stan;

Thanks for the info. It is the back of the key near the faceplate. I believe that it is catching on the faceplate and is a little too long...maybe 1/32 of an inch. Also, great advise on using an old key just for rotating the disk. I wouldn't have thought about it. I will try filing it down and if I have problems, I will post again. Thanks for the advice all. I really appreciate it.

Hey all;

I read close to every post in the archive and new forum concerning Mattatucks. My eyes are about ready to fall out! I recently bought a pair and are unfamiliar with them. It seems that the bows are open but will not close. I was wondering if they could be out of timing from the previous owner. The key does not want to go in far enough under the face plate to turn.

If they are out of timing, what are your suggestions?...serious suggestions only please! If anyone could give me a detailed description of the inner working of the cuffs, I would greatly appreciate it. If I had a better understanding of the mechanism, I might be able to figure it out. Thanks to anyone who can assist.

Thanks to Everyone who replied. I filed down the key and the cuffs work perfectly. Along with filing down the key, I had to exert pressure on the bows against the pawl in order for the key to turn. If it weren't for the filing, the key would never have gone down far enough. I just wawnted to say thanks again to everyone who place posts on this.

Frank