Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 1963-present keys)

[TimeyWhimyStuff]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Finally found some free time/access to a table sander, to do some of my JMA's up. Going to get some 400 or higher this weekend to polish up. You do have to be super careful to keep them even.

 

[Terrasolo]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

They're looking really good! Why are you considering plating these keys? They are silver to begin with yes? Did they plate the other key because it was brass under-neigh? Either way I think your keys look great, plated or not, they work well.

 

[Straker]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Finally found some free time/access to a table sander, to do some of my JMA's up. Going to get some 400 or higher this weekend to polish up. You do have to be super careful to keep them even.

Very nice! Did you just blank the heads on these?

They're looking really good! Why are you considering plating these keys? They are silver to begin with yes? Did they plate the other key because it was brass under-neigh? Either way I think your keys look great, plated or not, they work well.

Weeeell, there's a question as to whether these are stainless keys or if they are regular steel. If they are regular steel they will eventually discolor and rust. That is probably why they are nickle plated to begin with. I'd prefer not to have to clean them and keep the rust off. Also, it's what they did on the real keys if ASP9mm is correct so at the vey least I'm going to try it. if it's cheap enough.

 

[TimeyWhimyStuff]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Very nice! Did you just blank the heads on these?

Yessir! The table sander I had used had a vertical sanding wheel, so just took a pair of clamp grips & went to town. The lighting on the pic is kinda low, they do need some touching up (kinda unevenish around the edges), but going to scavenge for all the perception filter parts this month. Probably eBay for the sim cards & radio shack for the other stuff.

Your 2nd one's looking good! (the one w/the blue transistor)

 

[Straker]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Yessir! The table sander I had used had a vertical sanding wheel, so just took a pair of clamp grips & went to town. The lighting on the pic is kinda low, they do need some touching up (kinda unevenish around the edges), but going to scavenge for all the perception filter parts this month. Probably eBay for the sim cards & radio shack for the other stuff.

Your 2nd one's looking good! (the one w/the blue transistor)

Neat! I'm kinda worried about how that will make the key look though in hand. I don't want the head to look thinner than the rest and well...belt sander means I don't have too many options but to go slow and sand the whole thing XD

As for SIM cards, the T Mobile ones have been great! Once you trim them from the card and downsize them and start sanding the plastic off the back they come apart easily enough without damaging the pad. Hard part is sanding down the chip itself so you have only brass wit that tiny bit of fiberglass board. I made like five, found one to be unsuitable, wrecked one used one and have two left, one of which is soldered up XD Just remember to get the thinnest gauge wire you can. I wound up scavenging mine off an old piece of electronics. I found some nice solid core wire inside.

And thanks! My original blue resistor key kinda didn't work out well XD I reused the chip and resistor and soldered them onto a new pad, just need to try the wires again. This new pad seems much easier to solder on than the last...which I think was an AT&T pad and that sucked.

 

[TimeyWhimyStuff]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Neat! I'm kinda worried about how that will make the key look though in hand. I don't want the head to look thinner than the rest and well...belt sander means I don't have too many options but to go slow and sand the whole thing XD

As for SIM cards, the T Mobile ones have been great! Once you trim them from the card and downsize them and start sanding the plastic off the back they come apart easily enough without damaging the pad. Hard part is sanding down the chip itself so you have only brass wit that tiny bit of fiberglass board. I made like five, found one to be unsuitable, wrecked one used one and have two left, one of which is soldered up XD Just remember to get the thinnest gauge wire you can. I wound up scavenging mine off an old piece of electronics. I found some nice solid core wire inside.

And thanks! My original blue resistor key kinda didn't work out well XD I reused the chip and resistor and soldered them onto a new pad, just need to try the wires again. This new pad seems much easier to solder on than the last...which I think was an AT&T pad and that sucked.

Yeah the first key I tried out was my practice one and the head on it got super thin.. the others I'm not too worried about. I'll still need to get them cut too anyways.

I was thinking about what you said earlier about rust & plating them. When I go look for the finer sandpaper this weekend I may look for some kind of clear rust sealant, that may be easier and probably cheaper. Something to like dip them in or spray on? Just a thought.

 

[Straker]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Yeah the first key I tried out was my practice one and the head on it got super thin.. the others I'm not too worried about. I'll still need to get them cut too anyways.

I was thinking about what you said earlier about rust & plating them. When I go look for the finer sandpaper this weekend I may look for some kind of clear rust sealant, that may be easier and probably cheaper. Something to like dip them in or spray on? Just a thought.

I MAY look into the 600 grit paper for another go at blanking keys. I'll keep you posted on that. So far sanding the entire key seems to be the most even. I really wish I had some way to mill them blank. That would keep them even and give more control. I think .25mm loss of material on each sides would be enough to blank them.

As for sealing them, my only real concern is the durability of the sealant and how it would look. Plating MAY be cheap enough since it's not chrome. I'm still face-palming that I didn't think of rhodium plating. I though nickle or chrome which WOULD be expensive but rhodium is relatively cheap. Only hard part about it is actually finding a jeweler to do it right there. I'll be checking as soon as I have the extra money and will let you guys know what prices I get quoted to give you all a ballpark.

 

[TimeyWhimyStuff]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

So I had originally bought an ERA lock & key pack that came with the 3 pre-cut keys then bought all the JMA blanks from the source on here. My plan was to take the pre-cut one & use as a pattern for all the others, knowing it wouldn't be EXACTLY the same as the cut on the show but at least would be uniform.. well this stumped the people at Lowes & Home Depot, guess British keys are different from U.S.? I dunno..

Anyways my dad whose an auto-mechanic knows a few locksmiths, so I figured I'd try that. Gave him the keys & one of the ERA's & for some reason the guy that cut them made ONE of the keys like the ERA & just did whatever to all the others:facepalm. So now they all look different. This is where the logic is failing me.. it'd be one thing to just bring in a bunch of blanks without a pattern to go by but if you hand someone who does this for a living key blanks AND a cut key what would that tell you???

Felt bad for my dad cuz he thought he messed it up, but he was just the delivery guy.

Ok, rant over.

 

[TimeyWhimyStuff]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Got most of my blanked keys polished over the weekend. Used Rustoleum liquid enamel on them & thought it came out well. Can hardly tell.

The 2 on the right were untreated. Makes 'em a little bit shiny but I like it.

 

[Terrasolo]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

You can hardly tell, you're right. How do they feel in comparison?

 

[TimeyWhimyStuff]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

You can hardly tell, you're right. How do they feel in comparison?

It feels smoother for sure but not like plastic-y or anything. Not really sure what to compare it to.. also acquired all the components for the perception filter keys this weekend less the 555 chips which I had to order online. So hopefully working on those soon.. also have Amy's sonic probe in pieces. Want to start on a Baker S18 scarf.. so many projects left to do.

 

[TimeyWhimyStuff]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Here's someone selling a Silca key saying it's the one from Blink but hmmmmmmmm..

 

[Terrasolo]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

To be fair they do say "This is a genuine Yale profile key made to replicate the cuts of the key as seen in the Dr Who Season 3 Episode 10 titled Blink."

That said I am still interested in finding the Silica key that matches the screen used shape etc. Straker, any luck finding people to go in on a lot assortment with you?

 

[Terrasolo]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

So it seems not only did Doctor get a new console room for Christmas, he got a new TARDIS key again. This time going back to the classic series style Yale type key with two shoulders/bumps. I'm sure we'll have fun trying to identify the exact manufacturer of this key ;-)

I didn't take any screen caps yet because I had to go to work. But when I get home I can post one or two if anyone doesn't beat me to it by then.

 

[Straker]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Here's someone selling a Silca key saying it's the one from Blink but hmmmmmmmm..

To be fair they do say "This is a genuine Yale profile key made to replicate the cuts of the key as seen in the Dr Who Season 3 Episode 10 titled Blink."

That said I am still interested in finding the Silica key that matches the screen used shape etc. Straker, any luck finding people to go in on a lot assortment with you?

I contacted that seller before. I think I posted here about it but he refused to sell me a blank. Gave some BS claim about legal issues of selling a blank if you can believe it.

As for getting blanks I have been looking but we need to know the Silca number to use for the real look to match. There's at least three or four types. If I could get one or two of each that would be no problem but a case is a lot to pay for just to guess if I have the right one.

So it seems not only did Doctor get a new console room for Christmas, he got a new TARDIS key again. This time going back to the classic series style Yale type key with two shoulders/bumps. I'm sure we'll have fun trying to identify the exact manufacturer of this key ;-)

I didn't take any screen caps yet because I had to go to work. But when I get home I can post one or two if anyone doesn't beat me to it by then.

Seen it. Amazingly enough it looks like a standard brass alloy Yale key that was blanked and polished. Guess they got tired of plating them and what with the rust issues I'm having on the steel I have for keys a brass alloy makes sense. Nice think is that a good alloy means it's still pretty silver-ish looking too.

BTW, that special was the BEST Moffat had done so far. The last two specials were...silly in the WRONG way to me. This was brilliant. The atmosphere and tone were great. Love the new Console Room and the CONSOLE! It wasn't made of a car boot sale explosion! It actually had real integrated controls and the few terrestrial bits here and there actually made sense. The outside was also dirty and old looking again and his wardrobe was pure Doctor. Ohhhh, I really hope the second half of Season 7 is as good as this start because aside from a couple episodes the first half made me rage quit.

 

[Terrasolo]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Well don't get used to the paint job, the TARDIS gets a new lick of paint in the up coming half of the series. Mind you it's not as clean and sleek as the Series 5/6 paint job as they actually use regular paint and not car paint. It's a flatter tone which I expect will show wear like we like to seen on the TARDIS better.

As for the new key, do you think you already have a lead on the proper one? I'll be needed to add that to my collection for sure.

 

[Straker]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Well don't get used to the paint job, the TARDIS gets a new lick of paint in the up coming half of the series. Mind you it's not as clean and sleek as the Series 5/6 paint job as they actually use regular paint and not car paint. It's a flatter tone which I expect will show wear like we like to seen on the TARDIS better.

As for the new key, do you think you already have a lead on the proper one? I'll be needed to add that to my collection for sure.

As long as it's not glossy I'm OK with it though I wish they would leave it dirty. XD

As for the key, that's easy: 2 Original Yale Key Blanks Y1 | eBay

I just used that. It's a slightly yellow alloy but not plated. Go back to my first post and you can see it there among other keys like the ERA and a vintage Yale key. From what I had seen of the key in the special it looked like the same tone of metal too.

 

[Terrasolo]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Nice, so if I sand that key it will stay silver-ish? Sweet. I'll be picking one of those up for the collection! I have a classic Yale key but don't day blank it as it is old and belongs to a friend's classic box. This will be nice to have in addition.

I agree, I liked the Eccleston/Tennant weathering and found the Smith too new. But loved the lantern.

 

[TimeyWhimyStuff]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

I contacted that seller before. I think I posted here about it but he refused to sell me a blank. Gave some BS claim about legal issues of selling a blank if you can believe it.

As for getting blanks I have been looking but we need to know the Silca number to use for the real look to match. There's at least three or four types. If I could get one or two of each that would be no problem but a case is a lot to pay for just to guess if I have the right one.




Seen it. Amazingly enough it looks like a standard brass alloy Yale key that was blanked and polished. Guess they got tired of plating them and what with the rust issues I'm having on the steel I have for keys a brass alloy makes sense. Nice think is that a good alloy means it's still pretty silver-ish looking too.

BTW, that special was the BEST Moffat had done so far. The last two specials were...silly in the WRONG way to me. This was brilliant. The atmosphere and tone were great. Love the new Console Room and the CONSOLE! It wasn't made of a car boot sale explosion! It actually had real integrated controls and the few terrestrial bits here and there actually made sense. The outside was also dirty and old looking again and his wardrobe was pure Doctor. Ohhhh, I really hope the second half of Season 7 is as good as this start because aside from a couple episodes the first half made me rage quit.

That is weird about the legal junk.. I grabbed the auction that was for sale for curiosity's sake. I'll post a pic when I get it.

I LOVE the new TARDIS. The new intro was pretty sweet too, very retro.

 

[Straker]

Re: Yale and ERA Tardis Key Research (Info for the 2005-present keys)

Nice, so if I sand that key it will stay silver-ish? Sweet. I'll be picking one of those up for the collection! I have a classic Yale key but don't day blank it as it is old and belongs to a friend's classic box. This will be nice to have in addition.

I agree, I liked the Eccleston/Tennant weathering and found the Smith too new. But loved the lantern.

Yup! It will have a very slight brassy tone to it but not too bad. I suspect that's what they're using basically.

That is weird about the legal junk.. I grabbed the auction that was for sale for curiosity's sake. I'll post a pic when I get it.

I LOVE the new TARDIS. The new intro was pretty sweet too, very retro.

Yeah the "legal" stuff is bullcrap. I'm not paying that much though for a key I can't use in my OWN lock thought it would be interesting to experiment and see if the raw steel under the plating will rust.