platyhiker

Some how my Featherweight case managed to get into a locked state with both keys inside! I've watched a video at "The Featherweight Shop"'s website that shows the right latch being unlocked by turning the key clockwise. Does the left latch also need the key turned clockwise?

At this point, using dental tools for the key, I've managed to unlock the right latch. The left latch is being a bear to work with. Initially, it hardly wanted to turn at oil. Using some oil and time, I've got the left lock mechanism turning (still with some resistance), but the release mechanism (the round button) never seems to be willing to budge at all. If anybody has an ideas or suggestions of things to try, I'd be delighted to hear them.

Thank you for your help!

platyhiker

Good news! I got the case open! The solution was to push hard on the round button continuously while finely adjusting the position of the locking mechanism with my dental tools.

Lesson for the day: don't latch the FW case unless a key is outside of the case (ideally attached to the handle).

My apologies for creating two threads asking the same question - for some reason I could not see my first thread displayed after I created.

OurWorkbench

I don't lock my featherweight cases, but I don't understand how you did that in the first place. I just tried to lock (the left one) and tried to latch it and it would not go in.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

platyhiker

I think what happened was that I shut the latches in the unlocked position, and then the case got jiggled enough so that the key slot was no longer quite in right orientation. With mine, if its just a few degrees rotated, the round button refuses to move. So, I needed to get the key slot back in the right spot. I started experimenting before I started looking things up on-line, so I wasn't quite sure position things were in at the start.

OurWorkbench

The inner part of the slot can turn without actually locking or unlocking, Have you tried locking and unlocking - now that you have both keys? By any chance one of the keys have a piece broken off?

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.