![]() ![]() He replied, no, we didn’t, then noted that the Carousel gumball machines were primarily tabletop, not standalone, and although they were coin-operated, most didn’t require a keyed lock. I contacted Mike Didier, a longtime Anderson Lock Service Manager, and former Des Plaines resident, who is now retired, to ask if we had ever sold cylinders and keys to Carousel. bought Carousel Industries, and continues to manufacture gumball machines, mostly overseas. At one time, his company, Carousel Industries, was the world’s largest manufacturer of gumball machines. While researching the answer to this query, I was surprised to learn that Carousel brand gumball machines were invented right here in Des Plaines, IL, in the 1950’s, by Arthur Gold. What’s the history of gumball machines (and their keys)?Ī. Dozens of vintage Chicago Lock “gumball machine” brass keys are available on websites like eBay, but no, there is not a universal key that opens all gumball machines (that would defeat the purpose of putting a lock on the machine in the first place!), so buyer beware: not all gumball machine keys are the same. Is there a universal gumball machine key, though?Ī. Vending machine manufacturers have many versions of lock and key sets and they assign key codes to distributors randomly across the country to prevent end users in the same area from having the same key. Tubular locks are also commonly used on bicycle locks (such as the Kryptonite lock), Kensington computer locks, elevators, and coin-operated washing machines.įlat brass gumball machine keys are smaller than house keys, and may have cuts on one or both sides, the latter being more secure. These grooves cause the pins in the lock to slide to the end of the groove to open the lock. Tubular, or barrel, keys have a hollow, cylindrical shaft with grooves of varying length cut into the exterior surface at the end of the shaft. The most common vending machine keys are either tubular or flat. This could take quite a while, and be rather expensive. Then, we would duplicate that key for your use. They would need to go through the keys, trying them, one by one, until the gumball machine opens. We have about a million key blanks in stock…however, you will need to bring the gumball machine into our Main Office in Des Plaines, and our lock techs would need to find the right key on one of the large rings holding the type of keys used in gumball machines. A: Most likely, yes, we do have keys for old gumball machines!
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