Lock the headstock switch on B series Headstocks

[everettdavis]

Sometime ago, a subject came up on how to securely lock the headstock switch on B series Headstocks to provide a lock-out feature for shop safety when children or unauthorized users may have shop access. That was the focus of the C Series Headstock's Rectangular Safety Switch with removable key.

If your B Series Headstock has the toggle switch oriented correctly, one can insert a long shackle padlock into the two holes in the tabs

7LJ3 Master Lock.jpg (8.71 KiB) Viewed 1828 times

Padlock Inserted in tabs.jpg (71.32 KiB) Viewed 1827 times

surrounding it, preventing it from being turned on with the lock in place.

Master No. 7 Laminated Steel Padlock with the LJ Shackle (2½") is but one Long-Shackle option. You can order them from Master with keying options Keyed Different (7KD), Keyed Alike (7KA), Master Keyed (7MK), or Master Keyed & Keyed Alike (7KAMK) and wtih a variety of other Shackles.

If you Google search Long Shackle Padlocks you will find a host of other brands and options.

[jsburger]

I think I remember a discussion about this here a long time ago. As I remember the jist of the discussion was that the lock holes in the SS were smaller than the shackle diameter of most locks. Is that true or am I just not remembering what was said?

[reible]

I think I remember a discussion about this here a long time ago. As I remember the jist of the discussion was that the lock holes in the SS were smaller than the shackle diameter of most locks. Is that true or am I just not remembering what was said?

We remember about the same thing. I think in the post I mentioned that one can just slightly over size the holes with a drill bit. And I believe I found a lock that fits at maybe Menard's or Walmart. I'll have to look up the tread.

Ed

[everettdavis]

I have had to ream out the hole 1/16th since the 1980's when the newer locks were being made a bit beefier. Ok they went metric...from SAE as they outsourced first the components, then the manufacturing largely followed it as the lower cost labor in manufacturing began changing the world balance of trade.

It has been discussed before, numerous times in comments that others have shared that we had to drill them out a tiny amount.

Many of the gate hardware lock sets had to be drilled out for fences my uncle erected in the 1960's, and even some school lockers had to be adjusted a bit when many of the combination locks wouldn't fit through the holes in a new school that opened in the 1970's.

Shopsmith never upgraded the hole size.

Everett