If you live in an apartment or condo, you more than likely use one of these every day. Unless your expecting something dreaded to show up, like the jury duty notice LockInfoGuy just got... Anyway, from time to time these need replacing, whether they have worn out, or you can't get a duplicate key to work that was made from the ragged out 20 year old last existing key you keep wrestling with. Fortunately these are no real problem to deal with, unless you are completely locked out of it due to lock failure or key loss. The only issue is getting the correct replacement lock. If your mailbox is one of the antique variety, with the swing up door and the flat steel key, it is probably one of the 3 pictured above. These are normally held in place with small screws, or threaded studs and nuts. Simple enough.
The more modern locks and mailboxes have a whole slew of potential replacements. Click on images below to open the single pages as a full size PDF file. Or you can open the full CompX® National Stock Locks Catalog (6.7MB file). These images and PDF's are provided courtesy of CompX®. If you are a locksmith, or have much need for cabinet and furniture locks and hardware, it's a good site to bookmark, as Chicago®, Fort®, National®, and Timberline® are all CompX® companies.
The multi-cam locks shown below are useful to have, but I prefer always using one of the specific locks above.
Replacement of these locks is nothing more than slipping them into place, and sliding the spring loaded horseshoe clip into place. A few of them come threaded with the thin nut that screws around the lock body. |
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IMPORTANT TO NOTE: The mailbox locks pictured above are the responsibility of either building management , or the tenant, as they are owned by the building. I have heard from some customers that the United States Postal Service employees they have asked have informed them that only the Post Office can replace these. This is the result of misunderstood questions or answers, or the result of asking someone at the post office who does not know any better. It is the lock indicated in red in the image below, or any mail box actually owned by the USPS, that you ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT TOUCH. Messing with that lock is a federal offense for anyone other than USPS personnel. That is the lock that opens the entire gang of boxes for the postman to load the mail in. If you are not sure, check with building management to see how these locks are handled in your building.
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