diff --git a/gtk2_ardour/editor.cc b/gtk2_ardour/editor.cc
index 7787b89ef5..addf2f3b38 100644
--- a/gtk2_ardour/editor.cc
+++ b/gtk2_ardour/editor.cc
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@
 #include "pbd/unknown_type.h"
 #include "pbd/unwind.h"
 #include "pbd/stacktrace.h"
+#include "pbd/timersub.h"
 
 #include <glibmm/miscutils.h>
 #include <glibmm/uriutils.h>
@@ -1108,6 +1109,58 @@ Editor::on_realize ()
 {
 	Window::on_realize ();
 	Realized ();
+
+	start_lock_event_timing ();
+	signal_event().connect (sigc::mem_fun (*this, &Editor::generic_event_handler));
+}
+
+void
+Editor::start_lock_event_timing ()
+{
+	/* check if we should lock the GUI every 30 seconds */
+
+	Glib::signal_timeout().connect (sigc::mem_fun (*this, &Editor::lock_timeout_callback), 30 * 1000);
+}
+
+bool
+Editor::generic_event_handler (GdkEvent* ev)
+{
+	switch (ev->type) {
+	case GDK_BUTTON_PRESS:
+	case GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE:
+	case GDK_MOTION_NOTIFY:
+	case GDK_KEY_PRESS:
+	case GDK_KEY_RELEASE:
+		gettimeofday (&last_event_time, 0);
+		break;
+	default:
+		break;
+	}
+	return false;
+}
+
+bool
+Editor::lock_timeout_callback ()
+{
+	struct timeval now, delta;
+	const uint32_t lock_timeout_secs = 5; /* 2 minutes */
+
+	gettimeofday (&now, 0);
+
+	timersub (&now, &last_event_time, &delta);
+
+	if (delta.tv_sec > lock_timeout_secs) {
+		lock ();
+		/* don't call again. Returning false will effectively
+		   disconnect us from the timer callback.
+
+		   unlock() will call start_lock_event_timing() to get things
+		   started again.
+		*/
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	return true;
 }
 
 void
diff --git a/gtk2_ardour/editor.h b/gtk2_ardour/editor.h
index 1356c16834..45cfc5cbc8 100644
--- a/gtk2_ardour/editor.h
+++ b/gtk2_ardour/editor.h
@@ -1360,6 +1360,11 @@ class Editor : public PublicEditor, public PBD::ScopedConnectionList, public ARD
 	void unlock ();
 	ArdourDialog* lock_dialog;
 
+	struct timeval last_event_time;
+	bool generic_event_handler (GdkEvent*);
+	bool lock_timeout_callback ();
+	void start_lock_event_timing ();
+
 	Gtk::Menu fade_context_menu;
 
 	Gtk::Menu xfade_in_context_menu;
diff --git a/gtk2_ardour/editor_ops.cc b/gtk2_ardour/editor_ops.cc
index 7f0aacb17d..29c119f15c 100644
--- a/gtk2_ardour/editor_ops.cc
+++ b/gtk2_ardour/editor_ops.cc
@@ -7137,7 +7137,14 @@ Editor::lock ()
 		lock_dialog->set_size_request (200, 200);
 	}
 	
+#ifdef __APPLE__
+	/* The global menu bar continues to be accessible to applications
+	   with modal dialogs, which means that we need to desensitize
+	   all items in the menu bar. Since those items are really just
+	   proxies for actions, that means disabling all actions.
+	*/
 	ActionManager::disable_all_actions ();
+#endif
 	lock_dialog->present ();
 }
 
@@ -7145,5 +7152,11 @@ void
 Editor::unlock ()
 {
 	lock_dialog->hide ();
+	
+#ifdef __APPLE__
 	ActionManager::pop_action_state ();
+#endif	
+
+	start_lock_event_timing ();
+	
 }