Opening Antique Furniture's Locks
LEAD: JOSEPH BIUNNO has been restoring antique furniture for 17 years. But year after year, he noticed that furniture required more than just refinishing. Because keys were often lost, armoires and desks were either permanently locked or permanently open. So Mr. Biunno taught himself to be a locksmith. He even makes house calls.
JOSEPH BIUNNO has been restoring antique furniture for 17 years. But year after year, he noticed that furniture required more than just refinishing. Because keys were often lost, armoires and desks were either permanently locked or permanently open. So Mr. Biunno taught himself to be a locksmith. He even makes house calls.
'I have a whole little tool kit,' said Mr. Biunno, who is based in Manhattan. 'I will go into someone's house and pick the lock and make a key on the spot. If I can't, there's no charge.'
In a steel suitcase, Mr. Biunno carries key blanks, picks, miniature flashlights, a small drill, tiny screwdrivers and numerous antique keys. When trying to unlock a piece of furniture, he first tries an old key. 'Sometimes I get lucky,' he said.
If that doesn't work, he picks the lock. If that fails, he forces the lock open.
Mr. Biunno's specialty is making skeleton and barrel keys for antique furniture and doors. 'A lot of times locksmiths don't want to go near furniture because they don't want to damage an antique,' he said. 'I'm not afraid because I'm a furniture restorer.'
One client's 2-year-old lost the key to a Chippendale desk that housed her checkbook, car keys and important papers. Mr. Biunno opened it and made a replacement key.
Yet another customer inherited an Empire armoire and drop-leaf desk, which arrived from Europe locked, with no key in sight. Again, Mr. Biunno succeeded.
Most keys he makes are either steel or brass, or a combination. Steel is preferred for the barrel of the key, Mr. Biunno said, because it is stronger. But he can weld a decorative brass head, in one of many designs like a fleur-de-lis or a scallop shell, onto the steel barrel. He can supply keys plated in gold, chrome, platinum or silver to most styles of furniture, including Louis XV, Empire, Regency and Chippendale.
Original locks add value to an antique, Mr. Biunno said, so he always tries to restore an existing one rather than replace it. When a lock is beyond repair, he tries to replace it with one of the many antique ones he has collected over the years.
Mr. Biunno also replaces escutcheons and keyhole liners, which he said are 'notorious for being lost.'
Mr. Biunno charges $100 to $120 for house calls in Manhattan, which he makes on Saturdays; the price includes the cost of the key to make a lock operable. He will travel in the metropolitan region for an additional fee. If furniture is brought into the shop, the charge is usually around $30. Locks are also accepted by mail. Sal Schillizzi, a locksmith in Manhattan for 35 years, said a lot of English furniture is found without locks.
During World War II, he said, 'the English were told to hand in all the metal they had, and some people went overboard and took locks off furniture, not knowing they were ruining the piece of furniture by doing so.'
So Mr. Schillizzi's company, All-Over Locksmiths, makes replacement locks for several styles of antique furniture. Keys for locked furniture can also be made.
Replacement locks cost $15 and up for stock models and as much as $1,000 for a handmade solid-brass reproduction of a rim-surface lock. He charges $45 for a house call to open a locked piece. The key usually costs another $45. New keys start at $15 for pieces brought into the shop.
To save money, a customer might consider removing the lock and bringing it to the store for repairs. 'There's nothing to it,' Mr. Schillizzi said.
'We open locked furniture and fit keys,' said Leonard Geffner, president of Abbey Locksmiths on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The company even operates a 24-hour emergency service.
Furniture keys, he said, cannot be made by machine, but must be filed by hand. Because of the labor involved, even duplicate keys can be relatively expensive.
Duplicate barrel or skeleton keys usually range from $25 to $50. Prices can go as high as $150 for very ornate keys. If a house call is required to make a lock operable, an additional $45 to $150 is charged.  Here's Where
JOSEPH BIUNNO COMPANY 129 West 29th Street, 11th floor; 212-629-5636. Hours: Monday-Friday 8 A.M. to 6 P.M., Saturday 8 A.M. to noon. Call first for appointment.
ALL-OVER LOCKSMITHS 1189 Lexington Avenue, near 80th Street; 212-744-3400. Hours: Monday-Friday 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. and Saturday 9 A.M. to 3 P.M.
ABBEY LOCKSMITHS 1558 Second Avenue, at 81st Street; 212-535-2289. Hours: Monday-Friday 7 A.M. to 6 P.M. and Saturday 8 A.M. to 5 P.M.
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