My party chief was out on a job locating some drill sites. Three were along a road that headed up a valley on the client's property. As you enter the valley that heads west northwest you cross a fence line marking the east line of a government parcel near the northeast corner of the parcel which is on a steep slope a few hundred north of the gate, then cross the very northeast corner of the parcel and cross its north line and back into the client's property.
This property was all locked up and the party chief called and said that there was a lock on the gate but his two keys that got him into the main two gates didn't open it. Called the client and he said it must be a lock for the ranch that leases the property. I told him I had their key and dashed out there with it to open the gate-no luck. So the two of us took the gate off the hinges and went in. Easy to get off, but it was all we could do to get it back together.
So I told the client about it and there was a bit of a pause on the phone.
he says; "I know who the $%##@% were who put that on."
"Who?"
"The #@#%% name of a government agency, those %#$%@@#'s" he said.
Then he asked if we were done and I said I wasn't sure how far the party chief got after I left.
"Well, if he needs to go back up have him take a bolt cutter and cut that %%@#$% Lock off".
"You want us to cut the name of a government agency's lock off the gate?"
"$$%$###@ right, those #$%@#$'s are just trying to shut people out and have a little playground".
Kind of glad we finished that day.
even if you'd had to go back the second time, it would have been better to fight the gate hinges than to cut the locks.... 😐
> "Well, if he needs to go back up have him take a bolt cutter and cut that %%@#$% Lock off".
So, just as a practical matter, wouldn't it be easier to use an abrasive wheel in a cordless drill to cut the shank on the lock than bolt cutters? I mean, anyone who is serious about locking a gate won't be using some Walmart lock on it.
I'm not saying that heavy-duty bolt cutters don't have a purpose. I cut my first lock more than 20 years ago when I was surveying a tract that was divided into two parts by flooding and somebody had locked a gate that my client had the right of access through to get to the part cut off by the high water. As a rule though, locks have gotten much tougher over the last 20 years and these days I wouldn't be relying on bolt cutters if I absolutely needed to get in. Just saying. :>
I kind of would have enjoyed cutting off that lock. But, maybe later...
I have a pair of bolt cutters that cut heavy duty locks like butter. I also carry a couple of my own locks and would put it on the gate chain and give the key to the client.
Pablo B-)
That's just what the client wanted me to do.
New lock and key that was under his control and no government lock.
Next time he's up there no doubt it will happen.;-)
Key?
We don't need no stinking key!
I also carry cutters and a couple locks, but never cut their lock. Around here most all locks are on a chain, so I cut a link of the chain and use my lock to replace it. This way the gate can be opened with either key. Many oil companies/land owners do this, called a "daisy chain". The oil company can unlock theirs to go anywhere, but the land owner is limited to just his lock.
Locked Gate?
Now here's you a locked gate in South Texas.
The daisy chain is what they don't want this time. They want to lock out their pasture.
Locked Gate?
I haven't seen one like that.
We have a lot of pipe gates with a double lock scheme in a steel can. a pin drops through the top and up in the can (underneath) there is either one lock or a length of 1" steel plate slips through a slot in the pin and you have two locks. Sometimes there is a lock top and bottom.
The other scheme is a horizontal sliding pin with a vertical handle (ranch gate). There are several locks in a row, remove one and the gate can be opened.
We have a universal key which is great until someone somewhere gets lazy about accounting for all the keys so then the Forest starts replacing locks with non-universal locks then I have to chase down the keeper of the keys to get a key. I usually don't find out about it until I need to get through the gate. Now they have this super expensive lock with super expensive keys with serial numbers that they made me sign away my birthright to get a key (not really-I exaggerate) but I have it now. I asked for a key and the keeper stuck a couple of forms under my nose and said sign here, here and here and initial here oh I need the results of your blood test (not really) etc etc etc. She is pretty determined which is good, saves me time and trouble if I can just open the gate and not have to spend time trying to get the gate opened.
Locked Gate?
>
Now that is genuinely impressive. I've never seen anything like it before. It looks as if you have to have all eight locks on the gizmo to lock it. Remove any one and the gate can be opened.
Locked Gate?
Clever!
Locked Gate?
There is one of that design about a mile east of Jefferson, Tx. First saw it back in the 70's. Have to pass thru that gate to get to western bank at the fork of Black Cypress and Big Cypress.
😉
> I kind of would have enjoyed......
there's a lonnnng list of things I kind of would have enjoyed doing or saying...
I would have been a LEGEND and chronically unemployed... so you hold you hold your tongue & do the right thing through sheer force of will....
Locked Gate?
I give up. Can someone give me a clue as to how opening one lock can release it?
Elementary!
That vertical shaft with chrome knob (which is probably the ball from the check valve in a downhole pump) is the latching rod that holds the gate closed. The latching rod can also rotate.
Inside the pipe below the padlocks is a vertical pin, attached parallel to and offset from the latching rod, that must go through one of the holes occupied by the padlocks in order for the latching rod to go up far enough to unlatch the gate.
So remove any padlock, rotate the latching rod so the pin will go up through the now-empty hole, pull up the latching rod, and the gate is unlatched.
As Kent mentioned above, the gate is not locked unless every hole is plugged with a padlock.
GB
Elementary!
Ingenious. Maybe I'd have figured it out if I'd taken the time to realize one of the pictures had it unlocked. For some reason I scrolled right past that one.
Elementary!
Elementary, my Dear Watson, it's the mere child's play of deduction!