mills Vest Pocket Locks

[Rpowell18]

i am trying to restore a mills vest pocket and hoping to find the mills locks for it ..any help will be great..thanks

[shortrackskater]

Normally Dave Berten sells these on eBay but I don't see any. Furthermore,  something had been "off" with his business for well over a year now. He used to reply to me within a few days. Then he just stopped. He wouldn't reply to any message sent to his e mail, or eBay account.
I even started a thread on CoinOpCollectorForum.com just to see if he was ok, not ill or dead!
He's re-keyed two antique locks for me, one of them being for a VP. (I have 3 restored now!) So keep those parts! IF you can get ahold of him, he may be able to make a lock of those! The key is valuable.
The best bet is to keep checking eBay or contact him though there to see if he will reply. He's a super nice guy, but something is clearly wrong with things.
https://www.ebay.com/usr/thunderfivefive/ (Dave's account)

Here's the now 4 page thread I started.
https://www.coinopcollectorforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8595

[Rpowell18]

thanks for the info ..i emailed him on eBay ..

[63mini]

Rpowell,

 Yeah, it seems that Dave has been a bit off as shortrackskater mentioned.  I sent him an inquiry at the first of the year and have not heard back.  I did just make a small eBay purchase from him to see what happens.  He is a valuable asset to the hobby, and it would be sad to lose him.  Let us know if you get a reply.

 Now, as for your VP.  I think it's required to tell us a bit about it and post a photo.    There is a guy here who is a bit of a VP guru...  I think he goes by the name of "shortrack.." or something. 

[Rpowell18]

i picked it up at an antique mall for about 375.00..there was a lot of cheap repairs on it and springs that were just slapped on there and caused some parts to be repaired..Its is being repainted and the parts repaired so it is at almost fully functional state so now comes the locks issue..There is a cheap cabinet lock on it which seams to be the same fix on several ones..i like to has all correct parts on all my mills machines..i would like to get several to have enough for replacements if i run into anymore Bargins.. this is what it looks like pre-restoration stage

[63mini]

 Rpowell18,

  Thanks for the photos.  The VP's can be a bit finicky but, they are fun when they run.  The original locks are pretty pricey and hard to find.  There have been a few sold on eBay in the past.  Let us see it when your done.

[shortrackskater]

Yes I do sort of like those little toaster-sized slot machines. 

VP definitely needs paint but the award card looks nice. I wonder if it's a replacement? Are the painted symbols/numbers recessed in the metal?

[shortrackskater]

Any updates on the Vest Pocket?

[Rpowell18]

he is on of many i have restored ..i found and original lock with matching numbers