ALAN'S RESIDENTIAL LOCK

YES I'M LICENSED

2012-01-18T16:23:00.000-08:00

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Keyway Types

2011-08-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

Notice the subtle differences to the key-ways.

I got a call the other day to go and do some repair work on a house that I had previously re-keyed, the type of locks that were on the house were Schlage. Upon my arrival I was greeted by the owner.

We then went into his garage which were explained one of the problems to me, the door going from the garage into the house at lever locks on it and the knob itself had jammed so we could not open the door. I went to the car and got my screwdrivers to go inside to take the inside handle of the lock off when I did I tried to open the latch using the flat screwdriver and found the one I had was too small so it went back out to the car and got a bigger one, applying much more force than was really necessary to open the lock I got the latch opened. I removed the broken latch and started to replace with the new one he had purchased.

He was going to replace the lever type lock with the standard knob, he explained his children had played with the lever knobs and were making the handles loose. He also handed me a Kwikset deadbolt and wanted to know if I could put that on the door and re-key it to the same key as the rest of the house.

I explained to him that the key ways were different and unless he wanted to use two keys to get in the door from the garage I would not be able to do it. Many people have asked me this same question, some houses have a mixture of Kwikset and Schlage type locks on them and they want to know if they can all be re-keyed to the same key.

I tell them no, because a Kwikset key will not fit in a Schlage lock nor will the Schlage key fit in a Kwikset lock.

Protecto Keyed: Re-Visited (Again)

2011-08-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

I had a call sometime ago about a lock that was sticking it was the deadbolt on the front door and the gentleman could not get it to open or lock. He had broken off his key trying so hard to get the thing to lock. When I got there I took the lock off the door and completely took it apart to see what the problem was. I took the snap ring off the back of the lock and started to push the plug out and found it to be jammed really tight, so I popped the cap off where the springs and top pins are.

I found that the lock was protecto keyed even though there was not sticker on it. After I dumped the pins and springs out into my tray I found that the plug was still jammed really tight. I tapped on the back of the plug until finally it came out and to my surprise a wafer thin master pin popped out with it.

I reassembled the lock and made some key and tested the lock.

Then I reinstalled the lock on the door and once again tested it to make sure it worked smoothly.

THERE ARE SEVEN PINS STACKED BESIDE THE DIME'S EDGE!!

Once again I highly recommend that anyone who has protecto keyed locks on their doors have the locks re-keyed and have the master pins removed. Nine times out of ten this will make your locks work much smoother and will eliminate the possibility of any future problems.

Protecto Keyed: Re-Visited

2011-08-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

The other day I received a call from a lady who had protecto keyed locks on her house, she was calling because she had just gone down to the hardware store and had keys made, needless to say the keys did not work. She told me that the locks had protecto stickers on them. She also said that she had read my blog about protecto keys on locks.

I told her that keys made in those new machines sometimes don't work because of the wafer thin master pins that are used to protecto key a lock. The machine they use at some of the hardware chain, they just put your key in one slot and a blank key in another slot then the machine just cuts the key site unseen.

Notice the pile of seven pins at the edge of the dime!

I once had to have keys made it one of these big chain stores and the guy put the keys in a bag. I went to my job only to realize that the keys were not made correctly, they looked like the Gormogon's teeth on one of the episodes of Bones (i.e. very sharp and pointed).

But I digress, the thing is those machines might cut a key slightly smaller or slightly larger than your master key and some of those pins that they used to make the protecto keyed locks are very thin and may catch on the edge of the key when you try to open the lock.

I told her that I recommend having the locks re-keyed by a locksmith and for her to request of the locksmith that they take those pins out so she would have no further problems with those pins binding up her lock. She lived quite a ways away from my business and I told her it would probably be cheaper for her if she got somebody to do the work locally.

She thanked me and we ended the call.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY..... AMERICA

2011-07-04T07:22:00.001-07:00

Fireworks at Vista CA, taken from
my patio early 2000's.

WOW... WHAT A MESS!!!!

2011-07-01T23:08:00.000-07:00

THE KITCHEN

LIVING ROOM

MASTER BEDROOM

MASTER BATH

WALK-IN CLOSET

GREAT ROOM

GRAFFITI ROOM

THE EVIDENCE

THE ENTRY

This is what I recently encountered at an "REO" property I was sent to re-key for one of my clients.

IT'S NOT THE 1960'S

2011-06-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

I grew up in a small town in Iowa in the 50's and 60's on a dead end street. We played in the street until dark most summer days and then would play hide and seek in the neighborhood with out fear of criminal activity.

Today I here of crimes in broad daylight... criminals are getting bolder and it's up to you and me to make it as hard as possible for them to succeed. Keeping windows locked and doors locked with deadbolts and where necessary double deadbolts. I recommend double deadbolts on doors where there is glass that can be broken for someone to reach in and unlock the door.

I was recently made aware of a product to keep from getting exterior doors kicked in..... the Door Devil... my wife won one online and we just installed it on the front door. Our garage doors swing out and are nearly impossible to kick in... and they have security hinges.

In any case as a locksmith I have been to police lockouts where time required me to have to kick in the front door. It may do damage to both the door and the jamb requiring replacement of one or both.

With this product the criminal is going to have to use more force than most people could muster without busting out a ram.

WHAT A STRETCH

2011-01-19T10:05:00.000-08:00

Just a funny pixx I took this morning,
while walking the dog.

PROTECTO - KEYED

2009-11-12T08:34:00.000-08:00

When re-keying locks I often run into locks that have been "Contractor keyed" or "Protecto-keyed". This is so contractors that build the house can have access and then when you move in your turning the key makes it so they will not be able to use their key anymore.

One problem I have found with this system is that the wafer thin master pins that are sometimes used, make the lock bind when your key is turned to open the lock. This will make some people use graphite or other lubricants to try and make the lock move more smoothly. The only problem is that over time this causes the lock to bind even more. Sometimes scoring the of the plug.

When I find locks that are labeled "Protecto-keyed" I will take the lock completely apart and re-assemble with only the required "Top and Bottom Pins". This eliminates future problems that might be caused by these pins binding in the lock.

The thing is this is not something that is only done with one lock manufacture, I find locks of Schlage, Kwikset, Yale, Dexter and Ez-set. The lock may or may not be labeled with some kind of recognition, but when pulled apart it is usually a subtle sign of ball bearings or sometimes one or more wafer pins gets caught on the wrong side of the shear line when I pull the plug out. In any case when I see the sign I remove the problem before it is one.

If you are having problems with your locks or see your locks labeled as such, it is a good idea to have preventive maintenance done and have those pins removed.

Have them Re-Keyed by a locksmith that knows about this problem!!

2008-03-09T23:14:00.000-07:00

A STREET NAMED JELLY

2008-03-08T00:41:00.000-08:00

ON MY WAY TO A NEW JOB THE OTHER DAY I RECEIVED A CALL FROM AN AGENT WANTING ME TO RE-KEY A HOUSE ON JELLY STREET IN HEMET CA.

JOKINGLY I TOLD MY WIFE THE STREET NEXT TO IT WOULD PROBABLY BE NAMED JAM.

WHEN I GOOGLED THE DIRECTIONS, TO MY SURPRISE IT WAS.

THE FIRST TURN WAS FROM N. LAKE ST ONTO ORANGE GROVE AVE.
THE SECOND TURN WAS ONTO MARMALADE LN FROM ORANGE GROVE AVE.

THEN FROM MARMALADE LN ONTO NECTAR AVE.

THEN YOU PASS ORCHARD AVE.

THEN PASS JAM STREET.

THEN I RE-KEYED THE HOUSE ON JELLY WAY, THEN I LEFT TO SEE WHAT THE STREETS IN THE OTHER DIRECTION WERE NAMED.

McINTOSH DR WAS NEXT, THEN...

THAT'S RIGHT DELICIOUS DR.

Drill or not .... and where I drill!!

2008-03-08T00:39:00.001-08:00

I seem to be running across this type of damage more and more. Someone with half a brain ruins a Schlage combo on the front door of a bank repo and replaces it with a cheaper lock.

Mind you I use these locks on repos myself, I just try to find a less expensive way to get into the house. This house having a side garage door with a Kwikset combo. Here is from $80.00 to $120 worth of locks.

This guy really knew a thing or two about locks. He took a deadbolt from the security door and put it in place of the Schlage on the main entrance door without the latch, then installed this knob in place of the Schlage knob.

I noticed the matching Kwikset knob was still on the security door so I opened the Nu-Set lock, re-keyed the Kwikset knob and the dead bolt and replaced it with the one matching the dead bolt. I did have the latch for the deadbolt in the van so I installed it then the dead bolt.

This house wasn't too secure because the garage exit door had not been changed or re-keyed!!!

REO PROPERTIES

2008-03-07T23:01:00.002-08:00

If you have recently purchased a bank owned property, realize this many bank owned properties are re-keyed to the same key as yours. I know, because the agents tell me the banks are requesting that because they have people come clean and keep an eye on them until they sell. That means there may be hundreds if not thousands of keys out there to open your front door. And believe me the banks do not re-key them when you buy them.

My best suggestion is get the place re-keyed asap... the average house has five locks and that would cost about $125.00 to $150.00, depending on where in Riverside County you live it may be slightly more.

PROTECTO KEYED??

2008-03-07T22:34:00.000-08:00

Sometimes called construction keying, it can cause your own keys not to work. The other day as one time this last year the key would not enter the lock fully. What I found when taking the lock apart was that several of the wafer thin master pins used had bound in the pin hole. Thus not allowing the lock to properly function. Part of the problem was also the use of both graphite and an oily lubricant like WD-40, causing the lock to be gummy. It was the combination that caused the gumming in the lock.

Solution remove the master pins and degrease the lock and reassemble.

Just like new!