Creative Locksmithing - Keying

I am often called to repair and rekey projects from customers who have relied on poorly made copies of their existing keys.

 It probably isnt realised by most, that when a key is duplicated in a conventional key copying machine, every new copy is cut marginally deeper thanks to a tiny layer of metal on the selected for copying key, that is removed as the duplicator guide scrapes and measures the object key. This can also lead to the object key gradually becoming deeper and deeper consequently affecting the quality of all keys duplicated in future. Then, to make matter worse, more people take their copy of the original key to get that duplicated too. The ensuing domino effect happens here. Copies of copies of copies of original keys eventually producing keys that do not work as they are supposed to.
But how and why does this happen to me? is the cry usually heard.

The solution is to try to record the original factory specific key code or depths and store them safely so you can go to a professionally trained locksmith and ask for an original key manufactured to the factory specifications. Often this will be marginally more expensive than just duplicating a key would be, but the benefits of less wear on both keys and locks will save you money and heartache in the long term.

This rather long winded intro to Creative Locksmithing - Keying, probably is a bit much but I thought it might be interesting to know the reasons many duplicated keys dont work (besides the key cutters not knowing how to correctly service and adjust their machinery).

I attended a job site the other day
where the client had multiple different brands of hardware and they were all commonly keyed. Some were Kwikset, some were Weslock, some were Weiser, some were Schlage etc. Now it is becoming a more common practise to replace cylinder profiles in some brands to enable uniform keying, especially when the particular style desired can be different across different brands.

Due to the age of the locks in question, I was required to find a creative way to key up all the different brands to one uniform key profile and provide a half dozen duplicate keys. Because I was rekeying different hardware brands to a uniform keyway, the plug (barrel) sizes are different and the pin tumblers vary in size across different brands, even when keying alike the different brands. Now to make matters worse, I precut all my keys and measured them with a micrometer to assure they were all identical but still some keys would work perfectly in some locks but not all in all. This perplexed me for a short while until I solved the dilemma by using master pins to compensate for the variance in plug (barrel) sizes. Some cylinders have master pins in different holes to others. This enabled me to have all keys working in all cylinders across all brands. Sometimes a true locksmith will have the ability to sit down and figure out a timely and effective solution to solving puzzles like this one. This is one of the reasons I continue to love this trade.