OAK FOREST WOOD SHOP
 
If you are not familiar with our company and your first contact with us is online: We would be pleased to hear from you! Please let us know what your needs and questions are, we will be more than happy to help. In brief, you should know the following about us: our company was established in 1982 and had been responsible for providing outstanding United States Postal doors ever since. Our specialty is in the area of hand crafted items made with the old brass and bronze Post Office Doors. Our regular customers particularly value the quality of our products. Our business is located at Oak Forest Wood shop JIMMY PIEROTTI 15892 JOHNSON RD ELDRIDGE MO65463 CELL 417 588 7378 HISTORY POST OFFICE DOOR FRONTS The earliest record found, to date, indicates that lock boxes were used in some Post Offices as early as 1857. These boxes were the property of the individual Postmasters and not the Post Office Department. In the third and fourth class post office the Postmasters had to purchase their own lock boxes, if they elected to use them. Prior to this time the the original "pigeon hole" boxes were made of wood with no visible means for patrons to determine whether or not they had received mail, without having the mail clerk check the box. About 1860 the "pigeon hole" boxes were produced with glass fronts, thus enabling the patrons to see for themselves if mail was available. The early boxes were constructed of various types of hardwood, usually walnut, but ash, oak and cherry were used also. Around 1860 the Post Office started using lock box doors made from cast iron, cast bronze and brass. There was even a door made from bakelite. The first doors were fitted with key locks and the "keyless locks" were introduced around 1885. During WWII, doors were often made from pot metal. Aluminum doors were apparently introduced in the 1950's. Doors with combination locks, more commonly called "keyless locks," came into use around 1885. There are seven types of combination locks. There are locks having one dial, two dials, push buttons and a dial with an integrated pointer ring. Combinations are either two or three digits, which could be numerals, letters or star points. While these combination lock doors became very popular and were used quite extensively, they never actually replaced the key lock doors entirely. Throughout the years key lock doors have always been available. Some of the earliest bronze doors were very ornate, almost a work of art. However, the rapid growth of the country and its postal system created keen competition among door manufacturers to adopt mass production techniques utilizing cost improvements wherever possible. This resulted in the virtual elimination of the ornate designs. In 1955 the post office standardized on the Grecian design door. After 1974 most of the doors were being made from extruded aluminum, utilizing a key lock. There was no provision made for a window in the door. The pioneers in the manufacture of lock box doors were: The Eagle Lock Co., The Yale Lock Manufacturing Co., and the Corbin Cabinet Lock Co.Since that time numerous companies have entered the field.