Taurus safety lock?

[tommag]

A friends father passed away and he inherited a Taurus no model # revolver. It's pretty much a j frame copy in 38.I don't think it's been fired yet. The keys have gone missing. I see that they are offered in ebay.
From what I gather, the locks fail now and then, so I'm wondering if it's much of a task to remove them?
If not, can anyone point me the right direction for a tutorial?
Edit to add. After looking around the net, it appears to be a model 85.

[Walkingwolf]

My Rossi has the same lock, I have never used it. So far the gun is reliable and no hint of it failing. It works very simple, when the safety is raised it stops the hammer at the frame, off it never touches the frame so it really does not get any wear. Much simpler then S&W's lock, and can hardly notice it is there.

[tommag]

Thanks, WW. I've read of some instances where it has jammed, but in looking at the design it doesn't look failure prone. Maybe a drop of blue loctite would discourage it from ever engaging, just in case. Now to order a key.

[joatmon]

Any gunshows this weekend? Maby a dealer or a gunshop could unlock it for you?
Aaron

[tommag]

Any gunshows this weekend? Maby a dealer or a gunshop could unlock it for you?
Aaron
Great idea, but I drive a truck for a living. My week begins on Saturday and weekends are too busy to attend shows even if there was room to park. Great thought, though!

[TCLouis]

So are they concerned about the lock failing, or do they need a key?

I think all keys are the same, and if someone can confirm that, I will give them one.

[tommag]

Thanks, TC. I bought one on ebay. I was the one who was concerned about it failing.

[Tackleberry41]

The S&W lock was a simple drop in piece you could easily remove. The lock in my Rossi lever gun, took effort to remove as they peen the pins in.

[tommag]

Got the key, hosed out the internals, and oiled it. I was pleasantly surprised, the trigger wasn't bad at all.