Illinois Type Lock Plug Removal

During my years as a locksmith technician I had encounter many jobs where I had to service Illinois Duo and double sided disk locks. I came up with a great technique that helped me down the road servicing those types of locks without too much trouble. Sometimes, when getting a call for a residential lockout job where the front door is equipped with these types of locks, most of the time, the code will be stamped on the face of the lock. In such case that the lock will be visible, it would be much easier to cut a key and finish the job. However, sometimes, the code would be on the back of the plug and out of sight unless it is removed from the cylinder itself. These cylinder are usually held inside by an internal retaining ring that will not be reachable unless there is a key. In such case, this is where the technique i came up with come into play.  This is where my trick comes into play.

The first step to begin with the process is to drill and tap a hole on the left side next to the key-way wide enough that a #6- 32 screw will fit. It is important not to drill the hole more than 3/16" deep. Now the next step would be to Insert the screw and using an automotive type lock extractor in order to pull the plug out of the cylinder housing. Once the plug will be out, the bolt can be probed back to the open position. At this point, there will be few possibilities, replacing the lock, or make a new key since now the code will be visible after the plug is out. In case of a decision for making a new key, next step would be to repair the slightly damaged lock. The repair would only be involve snapping the retaining ring back to the plug and the plug back into the cylinder. Before replacing the plug, be sure to de-burr it and the cylinder, if necessary. To make the lock look more ecstatic, the screw should be cut off, and grind the res of it.

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