Door Knob Bumper Guard

Every time I will get a call for a re-key job, usually for a house, I would inspect all of the exterior structures which include the house gate(if equipped) and the garage as well. This helps me usually to inform the customer I can provide the re-key services on these structures as well which will give him the option to use the same key on these structures and at the same time will help me to increase my ticket sale. In order to encourage the customer to make the decision, I explain him that later on if there will be a need to re-key the property by a professional locksmith, it will be done without requiring the purchase of new locks, etc since all of the cylinders would be on the same key-way. Most of the time, the customer agree to have all of the exterior structures of the house to be re-keys since it means dealing with less keys to keep track of. At the same time, it is a good opportunity for me to increase my sell by selling new padlocks or locks to fit the exterior structures such as the gate.

One more are that I usually inspect is the walls behind the doors for possible damage from hitting it with the knob every time the door opens. This usually allow me to sale the home owner, or property manager a door bumper wall protector cover plate that can be found on most hardware stores. These plate will usually be mounted on the wall just behind the impact point of the knob with the wall to avoid more damage. I usually won't charge much  for them installed, and the homeowners or property managers go for them most of the time as it saves them money from fixing future damage to the wall

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Key-Less Entry Lock System

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Kwikset Key Extraction

I recently got a call from a customer who seem to break his key inside the lock while trying to unlock the front door of his home. Once I got to the job site, I came to find that the customer was actually trying to use the wrong key which resulted in the key being jammed inside the lock and broke. Like any other key extraction job, I tried using my extractor tool, but for some reason it didn't work very well.

Instead of trying to drill the cylinder in order to unlock the door, I decided to try one last trick in order to remove the broken key from the lock. I drilled a small hole for a little more than half of an inch deep in the larger part of the key blade that I could actually see. Next step, I inserted a spiral type extractor tool into the hole I drilled and made sure it was tightly fitted. Then, I used a pair of needle nosed pliers at the end of the spiral extractor tool and started pulling on the pliers and at the same time tapped the top of the pliers with a small hammer.

Even though the broken piece was tightly jammed inside the key-way of the lock, I was still able to extract it out using the process described. When I finally got the broken piece out, I noticed it was a Kwikset type key, but the lock on the front door was a Schlage. Out of curiosity, I asked the customer how he manged to get the key that far in, he answered that he thought there was ice inside the lock and decided to force the key in using a hammer borrowed from his neighbor.

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Mortise Locks

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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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Ignition Roll Pin Tip

I used to complain a lot o one of the locksmith companies I was working with when they sent me to a job where I had to remove a Nissan or Ford Escort ignition in order to fix it or to originate a new key. What gave me the aggravation doing those type of jobs was trying to remove the roll pins in order to remove the ignition cylinder. I got a tip from a fellow locksmith technician to drill a 3/32" or an 18" hole along side of the roll pin and then using a blunted ice pick or scratch awl, in order to pry the pin up and out. Not only it was very difficult, I often ended up with holes in my hands or fingers when the ice pick slipped, or I would inconsistently cut myself on a sliver of metal when the ice pick slipped and gouged the housing. In any event, removing these ignitions has been a pain for me.

Now, what I did in order to modify the method a little bit was still drilling the hole beside the roll pin, but instead of using an ice pick or scratch awl, I use a #10 or a 815 Torx screwdriver. Usually, those pins will come right out on the first try  while using the Torx and my fingers would be unharmed. It was amazing how the Torx screwdrivers have turned what usually be a thirty minute job into a ten minute job for me. If  any technician will try this method, I he or she will be surprised at how well it works. Although I have not yet broken Torx driver, I do use the ones that have a lifetime guarantee.

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Decorative Locks and Handle-Sets

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