Full Mortise Gold Mini Lock

Instructions

This is a fairly straightforward cut. There is an insert for the bottom that is purely for aesthetics. It lays on top of the flange that holds the lock into the mortise. The top flange is where the locking mechanism engages to lock the box. The thickness of the top flange is .05", and the bottom flange depth is .08 because the aesthetic flange and the lock holding flange combined are ~.07" thick. I have found, in practice, that cutting slightly deeper has better results than trying to nail the depth exactly. So, I add a .01" buffer. Fortunately, with the Origin, it's easy to "sneak-up" on the depth if you want. The lock mortise is .79" deep. That gives enough room for the lock to slide in snug. The lock has small gussets that stick out from the side of the lock mechanism. Those add a bit of width to the lock mortise. It is difficult to get a really tight fit because of those. An enterprising person would get a tighter fit by creating slight flutes for the gussets to slide into. There is a flair right at the top of the lock that will seat nicely in the pocket. The lock mortise is slightly longer than needed to allow for the diameter of the resulting rounded corner from cutting with a 1/8" bit. The lock sits tightly into this mortise. The keyhole cover top should be placed slightly below the top of the bottom aesthetic flange or slightly (0.08") below the top of the box edge. It is .08 deep. Again, creep up on the depth for best results. Depth of the keyhole cut will depend on placement of the lock mechanism. It should be around .25". I use a downcut 1/8" endmill for cutting the flange pockets and an upcut 1/8" endmill to cut the mortise pocket for the lock. The screw holes are there to help align the lock. I cut them only .01" deep to make a start for the screws when installing the lock. Finally, as usual, please try this out on a scrap piece of wood before cutting precious wood/projects. Good luck!