MTFCA Forum

I have been collecting keys for several years. Keys labeled CD are Cabkey and Durpree, Those with a circle B are Briggs and Stratton, K Crowns, I think are King Lock Co. , but the most common ones seems to have the small diamond logo that look similar to <>. Does anyone have any idea who manufactured these? According to the article by Trent Boggess, he lists the makers of the keys from 1919 to 1927 but he does not include the logos that these manufactures used. Could someone help me with the manufacturer of the diamond logo key?
Thanks, Stu

Stu

Those Ford ignition keys with the diamond logo are Culver-Stearns Mfg.

You probably find these most common as the company was a huge maker of auto electrical parts since forming in 1911.

Check with Ben Martin. He knows all about the keys.

Stu-
I believe the sideways diamond is for Briggs and Stratton aka BASCO.
: ^ )

Keith

Keith

Thanks for the photo of the Briggs and Stratton logo and pieces and the Key Board of their mfg. Hanging on it are some '<>' diamond marked keys.

Could be, however, I don't claim to be an starter ignition key expert. Have collected many dozens and traded or sold some #'s and marker's marks.

For now I rely on Trent Boggess research, you can find it in the club's encyclopedia, and it was first published in Model T Times years ago.

In the magazine article, he drew sketches of mfg. marks or logo's that he thought then as correct. Perhaps more research is needed.



The <> diamond as Culver-Stearns, the C -D as Cabkey Dupree Co.. the circle B as Briggs and Stratton, , the crown with the letter 'K' inside as King Lock Co. and ,
click to enlarge

Trent's sketches show the diamond as Clum, but don't think Clum made the later keys, 51-74. Clum only made the early round style keys, 1919 #1-#32, IMO, but I lack research to verify.

Then he sketches the Circle B as Briggs, I think that is correct. And the Crown as King Lock, correct, but he didn't sketch Cabkey Dupree but that is clearly the C-D marked keys. And the Culver Stearns to me is the diamond.

Wish this was for sure, hopefully others on the Forum with full key insight can key us on the details

After reading about the different keys here, I dug out the article that Trent Boggess wrote in the May/June, 1997 issue of The Model T Times. He stated that the first 15,000 cars built for 1919 that had starters and generators had the switches that used the round-headed Clum keys, which are quite different than the Ford keys that is the subject here. The 1919 sedans and coupes probably got most of them.

I do not remember ever seeing a Model T with a Clum key, but I thought I'd look through our stock of switches and see if we had a switch with a different keyway. If we had one, I thought it would be one of the early one's with the nickel plated die cast handles, that I think were only used in 1919 models, before the lighting switch handles changed to stamped steel, painted black. I did find one in the "pile" that was different, but it has a black painted handle. I turned it over, and on the fiber back is stamped " Clum, Milwaukee". It did not have a key number stamped into the face of the lock like all switches that use the Ford keys numbered from 51 to 74. I have a few Clum keys, which are like the keys that Dodge used in the 1920's. The first one that I tried fit the lock and turned the cylinder. All four of the switches that we have with the nickel plated die cast handles use the standard Ford keys numbered from 51 to 74, and are stamped on the back, "Clum, Milwaukee, Pat Applied For". All switches are genuine Ford switches.

I have a very early Clum switch with the round head key. It has a lower number than the usual Ford keys. Here is a photo of a members early 1919 with the type switch I have. The dash boards were wood and covered with top? material.

Sorry for the drift, here is a pic of a BASCO key, and a non model t switch. jb