How To Re-key Old Yale Mortise Deadbolt Locks

How do you re-key old Yale mortise deadbolt locks? 

This week we completed a re-key project for a new customer that involved these 75 year old Yale double cylinder mortise deadbolts. Pictured here is the image of one cylinder installed to the outside of the back door. At the left of the image you can see where someone had deliberately drilled the connecting screw to remove the ability to unscrew the screw from outside.

To be able to remove the cylinders from these really old Yale mortise deadbolts, both inside and outside connecting screws require to come out before the cylinders can be removed for re-keying.

Getting the screws out is not difficult, but that's why we are called as opposed to a handyman or carpenter contractor.

Just about any locksmith with some experience will know the method and skill required to easily disassemble any lock that uses these type of blind screws or bolts, without destruction and enabling the ability to reuse the same screws or bolts when putting the locks back together.

 Pictured next is the image of the cylinder on my bench, already removed from the door. You can clearly see the connecting screw hole.

This image displays the reverse side of the Yale mortise deadbolt cylinder. This style of Yale Mortise deadbolt lock was designed using the original rim style of pin tumbler cylinder, originally patented in 1865 by Linus Yale Jr.

Rekeying these types of older Yale cylinders can be a trap for younger players or less experienced technicians and we will explain the method below to help you with disassembly.

My pointer here is aimed at the retainer clip that holds the tail piece and cover to the rear of the cylinder and core. It is necessary to carefully squeeze the ends of the clip together first.

The next image shows me applying pressure to the retainer clip to allow the clip to be withdrawn from the back of the core.

Here you can see the clip beginning to come out of the cover plate that holds the tail piece on. Carefully use an awl to lever the clip from the core.

This image shows the retainer clip, almost fully withdrawn from the tail piece cover assembly. If you're careful enough, you will not damage the tiny clip enabling you to reuse it for reassembly,

Next, we were also required to disassemble an equally as old entrance knobset to extract the cylinder core for re-keying. To be able to remove the core (plug) from the cylinder it is necessary to remove the rear tail piece and cap assembly and retainer circlip, before you can then remove the core (plug) from the cylinder and replace the tumblers.

Here is an image of the tail piece assembly and retainer circlip removed and the cylinder ready for re-keying.

Some technicians may choose to not disassemble the clip and tail piece, preferring to remove and replace the top cap from the bible (top pinning chamber).

We choose to not show the actual re-pinning method and combination of the re-keyed locks, to protect the customers interests.

Benefits Using Locks210/St Louis Locksmiths For Your Re-Keying Projects

• Almost 40 years local, national and international experience
• Qualified, knowledgeable and field-experienced technicians
• Quantity discounts
• High-quality product options
• Quality Assurance
• Family owned and operated local business

Are you concerned how many keys exist to your home?

When you purchase your new home or move into your new rental property, it is common to want to be the only ones to have keys to your place. You can choose to purchase complete new locks and door hardware or simply contact your local locksmith to simply re-key your existing locks at much less cost, while maintaining the existing products and aesthetics. Contact Locks210/St Louis Locksmiths today and experience the difference we are known for.

Raycor Garage Door Lock - Rekeying Procedure Without New Tumblers

 About 6 weeks ago we took a call from a customer who requested service that no one else would provide,

The customer has an old Raynor brand garage roller door on her garage and wanted to have the lock rekeyed.

This door is about 75 years old and all the companies she called (before me) would not work on the existing product, preferring to instead attempt to talk her into buying a new automatic roller door.

After becoming annoyed at not having her needs met, her search for service led her to find me.

This first image shows the Raynor Operating handle and key cylinder from the outside.

 You can see in this second image, the configuration of the inside mechanism and how the lock and handle attaches to the door.

The chains on each side are attached to spring loaded "latches" that firmly hold the door when closed, into the running tracks.

It is not necessary to remove the lever handle to work on the key cylinder, simply remove the four screws to pull the lock casing from the frame.

The rim cylinder is quite old and still functioning well for it's age even though it appears to be slightly corroded.

The tailpiece is secured with a roll pin through the back of the cylinder plug/barrel

Here is another view of the rear of the cylinder. You can see the roll pin sitting through the tailpiece and the back of the barrel

This is an image with the roll pin and tailpiece removed

This image shows the plug/barrel with each pin tumbler removed

 We set the plug up with the new keyblank inserted, into our vise after switching some tumblers around to "alter the combination" making it different to the original key.

Measuring the new key blank and the existing plug with the new combination pins correctly inserted

 Next, we marked each corresponding spacing of each pin tumbler using our impressioning file.

Using the impressioning file to "cut" the new key directly from the pinning

 A different angle shows the progress being made in forming the new key

 Slow and steady processes, are important to maintain meticulous and exact work. We only file a little at a time and constantly check and recheck our work, so we dont "mess" it up.

This helps to make sure we do not ever need to replace parts if we accidentally lost them because we wont.

Careful processes lead to positive results

The key is almost completed

 Constantly rechecking our work to ensure the best quality.

 The completed "new key" is the brass one. The old key is the silver one we are changing

Completed and rebuilt without the need to replace anything.


Now, you can purchase after market cylinders still for these doors, but I am old school and prefer to keep as much original as i can.

One reason is that manufactured items in previous years were often produced to a higher standard and designed to last.

Unlike many of the products found in the modern era that are deliberately made using inferior raw materials and streamlined processes that often punch out significantly greater quantities while giving up quality control, in the sole intention of making sure consumers are required to constantly be purchasing new and replacement parts. (thereby keeping manufacturers in business).



The art of the craft of locksmithery can be very interesting to us old time trades people. This is just another example of the types of requests we locksmiths receive.

Has New York City Fixed It's Key Problems?

A post we made in October 2012 continues to find traction and views as it is still of important knowledge to us all today, as much if not more since first written in 2012. We just updated some of the links to working links (over time websites need to keep up with their broken links to avoid the pitfalls of search engine pagerank issues) so you can view the videos and some of the links we include. Continuing to provide links to the source of our content (even though we write our own content) credits the source and avoids us being called plagiarists. The following story is worth remembering and continue to be an important piece of knowledge, not just for the industry but also the marketplace... The Society Of Professional Locksmiths is an organization of professional locksmith owners and tradespersons whose intentions are to bring respect and admiration with ethical and moral business practises back to an industry that has seen the erosion of confidence in locksmiths, wane over the past few years, thanks to improprieties and shortcoming of other supposed industry organizations. The SOPL is fast becoming the industry's leading respected voice, training facility and source of products and services, that the market and industry have long been seeking. Unlike other locksmith industry organizations and training offerings, the SOPL developed their own superb in-house training guide and mentoring system that is second to none in the North American market. The following article is copied directly (with permission) from their website. If you like the article, please consider clicking the like buttons in the post. FDNY Keys Sold on EBAY - The NY Post - Where there's Smoke, there's Fire 10/07/2012 2 Comments On October 1st, 2012 a news story ran in the NY Post about a retired locksmith named Daniel Ferraris from New Jersey who sold a set of 5 keys on Ebay that were being called Masterkeys for the New York City Fire Department. Source - http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/lock_away_these_nyc_keys_g3PWCp3FzMapURRjyssJ4J This apparently angered NY City officials and public advocate Bill DeBlasio who raised concerns over terrorism. Keywords such as being alarmed, angered, lives at risk, safety, and more surfaced. Calls to Home Land Security were even made! DeBlasio himself went so far to say -  "We cannot let anyone sell the safety of over 8 million people so easily. Having these keys on the open market literally puts lives at risk. The billions we've spent on counter-terrorism have been severely undercut by this breech [sic]." A NYFD lieutenant said, “This guy should be prosecuted for selling something like that."

Antique Locks - A Collection Of Articles Written By Us That Are Proving Popular

We organize  categories or subject headings or labels on the right side of this website, where you can view all the articles we have submitted under that label.

One of our more popular labels/categories we find to be Antique Locks.

One article that we have seen a relatively large number of pageviews in our site analytics is...

History Of Locks - Sargent & Greenleaf

Sargent & Greenleaf are arguably the second most well known lock industry brand. Right behind Yale. Their history dates back to 1857, when young James Sargent, an engineer with Yale & Greenleaf, decided to branch out on his own with his invention, a magnetic dial combination lock.

Halbert Greenleaf was the partner and financier (known today as Venture Capitalist) of Linus Yale Jr. Yes, the same Linus Yale Jr credited with the invention of the modern day pin tumbler lock cylinder system, which was awarded it's patent in 1865. Their joint company was called originally Yale & Greenleaf. Halbert Greenleaf ended his partnership with Linus Yale Jr. at the outset of the American Civil War to become an officer in the Union army. After completing his service, Halbert sought out his former employee James Sargent and decided to finance his company, creating what we know today as Sargent & Greenleaf.

The above 7 minute video gives a brief history of the evolution of the company from it's roots.

It is interesting to see in the video, some of the products that Sargent & Greenleaf produced, many of which are still in operation today in the field. Products like the reversible panic exit device, door security bolts, entrance door hardware, push/pull plates among others.

Below find a 15 minute industrial video from the 1950's that shows the production of Sargent & Greenleaf products.

Read more »



There are about 13 separate articles appearing under the Antique Locks label, of which you might be interested in reading some of them in the list. Just click on Antique Locks here or on the link in the categories menu.


Feel free to comment below or on any individual page. We accept links to your sites in your comments, although please remember that comments are subject to moderation.

Godrej - 19th Century Indian Manufactured Money/Cash Box/Safe - Open And Make Key

 Godrej were a 19th century Indian manufacturer of money boxes, safes and cash boxes who closed down in the early 20th century.

A few months ago, a customer contacted us to get their money box opened and have a key made.

We made sure to take some pics of this very old box and how we made the key.

After combing through multiple key blank provider sources and trying to find even something close, our misfortune to find an appropriate key blank made us decide to modify another key blank that was suited to another product.

This particular box, we sourced back to about 1908. It appears to be in surprisingly great condition for it's age.

You can see the key blank we decided to use to modify.

This money box used a coin slot/note slot on the reverse side
of the key operated lock. The slot has a welded on flap inside that is designed to prevent removing coins or notes from the locked box.

 Some of the tools, we locksmith craftsmen choose to use when impressioning keys to locks include a selection of files.


In this case we used a 4" warding file as our primary file of choice for this project.

The impression system of key fitting is a long time treasured skill, unique to the craft/trade of locksmithery. There are many books written over the years that teach the skill to new players, but practise makes perfect. After all, "Repetition Is The Mother Of Learning", according to popular theory.

One of our most popular posts in this blog is "How To Open And Make Keys To Antique Furniture Locks" and explains the method to impression keys to old fashioned 'skeleton key' type locks without damage.

You can see in this pic, we were required to drastically modify our selected blank and hand file the key. We were required to reduce the guage of the key to enable it to enter the keyway, because we could not find a suitable blank.

The finished key works beautifully in the lock, maintains it's originality (and antique value) and can only be withdrawn from the lock when the door is closed and locked.

Not a difficult project for an experienced locksmith, but rewarding nonetheless.

There are many talented locksmiths around this country and the world who still practise the art of impressioning today.

The skill is unique to the locksmith trade and one that can save customers money and heartache when needing service to their antique lock, safe or furniture product.

History Of Locks - Sargent & Greenleaf

Sargent & Greenleaf are arguably the second most well known lock industry brand. Right behind Yale. Their history dates back to 1857, when young James Sargent, an engineer with Yale & Greenleaf, decided to branch out on his own with his invention, a magnetic dial combination lock.

Halbert Greenleaf was the partner and financier (known today as Venture Capitalist) of Linus Yale Jr. Yes, the same Linus Yale Jr credited with the invention of the modern day pin tumbler lock cylinder system, which was awarded it's patent in 1865. Their joint company was called originally Yale & Greenleaf. Halbert Greenleaf ended his partnership with Linus Yale Jr. at the outset of the American Civil War to become an officer in the Union army. After completing his service, Halbert sought out his former employee James Sargent and decided to finance his company, creating what we know today as Sargent & Greenleaf.

The above 7 minute video gives a brief history of the evolution of the company from it's roots.

It is interesting to see in the video, some of the products that Sargent & Greenleaf produced, many of which are still in operation today in the field. Products like the reversible panic exit device, door security bolts, entrance door hardware, push/pull plates among others.

Below find a 15 minute industrial video from the 1950's that shows the production of Sargent & Greenleaf products.

Price Gouging - Is This The Norm For Auto-Dealerships?

A March 2017 article in New Zealand's Business Day website shows the displeasure many consumers face today, especially regarding the super-high cost for car keys, compared to years gone by.

The article (in the source below) tells the story of a consumer who decided to sue their dealer and Toyota New Zealand after the said dealer charged him NZD$525 for the remote plus an additional NZD$50 to program said remote.
The outrageous cost for OEM parts ticked off the consumer enough to file suit and the New Zealand consumer agency The Dispute Tribunal agreed.

The tribunal found Toyota guilty of price gouging.

Similarly, in other parts of the world, car dealers in some towns charge exhorbitant prices to provide their customers with duplicate keys and new remotes also,

Interestingly, the cost to produce the internal components is staggeringly miniscule and many auto dealerships and some after market dealers are continuing to take advantage of the consumer by massively inflating prices.

Auto locksmiths around America and other parts of the world, provide key origination and duplication services for many consumers at significantly competitive costs when compared to dealerships. Many of these auto-locksmiths have spent many years honing their skills and purchasing the unique equipment to enable fast duplication, creation and programming of modern electronic keys and fobs.

Specialist tools that are the cornerstones of the auto-locksmith industry, make significant light work in picking and decoding automobile locks but they do have a learning curve. There are a number of different brands who manufacture all sorts of differing programming equipment because "one size does not fit all". Many professional auto locksmiths have their own preferences and some may be better than others (machinery) for wide range of vehicles offered.

In recent years, the locksmith industry around the world has been infected by growing numbers of fraudulent operators, posing as professional locksmiths. Typically these sheisters will offer a very cheap estimate over the phone or online and dramatically increase the price when they arrive on site (often after completion of their task). Most of these fraudsters are untrained butchers who have never deliberately learned how to use the tools correctly and quite often cause more issues than they fix.
Another issue recently found with locksmith fraudsters is that some of them are making duplicates of their customers keys, leading to an increase in theft of vehicles. Insurance companies were originally responsible for the automobile industry requiring security systems and chip keys, in an effort to reduce the growing quantity of vehicle theft. The effort certainly had it's desired effect, reducing the insurance companies payout costs by many millions of dollars. Unfortunately, the original savings envisioned soon turned to those same insurance companies hiking the costs of auto insurances.

(source...)

2014 MLAA Conference And Trade Exhibit

The annual Conference and Trade Exhibit for the Master Locksmiths Association of Australasia (MLAA) was recently held at a hotel and conference facility in Twin Waters Queensland.

The weekend event was held about 2 weeks ago.

Here is a short time-lapse video taken by one of my colleagues as he walked the exhibit floor.




This annual trade show and conference is the pinnacle event for the locksmith industry in Australasia, where products, classes and new releases are displayed to attendees.

Special thanks to Trevor Miliken from Albany Lock Service in Western Australia for the video.


(source...)

ELMES INC. are a Torrance California based importer of specialty and custom designed and built  door hardware. Specifically, ornate and unusual door handles.

The company was established in April 1997, specifically to introduce the fabulous range of Japanese door hardware solutions to the American market.

 All of ELMES INC. products are produced by their Japanese parent company UNION Corporation. Attention to detail and use of high-tech manufacturing techniques, separates Union Corporation from other door hardware manufacturers.

Catering to the high-end of the market, discerning interior designers and architects are seeking nouveau and novel designs to compliment their many and varied customers tastes and desires.

They also sell their products to other than high-end customers, including many leading retail chains found in shopping centers across the world. The custom built handles are very beautifully designed and expertly manufactured to tight tolerances.

Unique door handles are often the first item a visitor will see as they enter your property and having something that differs from the norm while being fully functional and aesthetically pleasing, can make your home or office stand out from the rest.

Safes Of A Different Era - Superb Craftsmanship

Wow!

Meroni Camlock 2C256 - Camlock Security At A Fraction of The Usual Price

 The 2C256 Camlock, produced by Serrature Meroni is a simple and inexpensive model that is used in varied applications. It is clip (horseshoe) mounted inside with provisions for different width drawers or doors.

 Here are the measurements of the size of these locks. This might assist cabinetmakers and owners with the required dimensions for their choice of cabinets/drawers.

Pictured here, is a type of application it can be used for.

















Meroni are one of the most well known manufacturers of cabinet and furniture lock systems in the world. Proudly manufactured in Italy, to the highest industry specifications, many fine European furniture and cabinet makers continue to source their locks from Meroni, not just because their price is super-competitive, but the quality and reputation for quality is second to none.

We are proud to represent Serrature Meroni products in the lucrative North American market.

For inquiries about this or any other Meroni product please contact us for special pricings.

(source...)

How To Open And Make Keys To Antique Furniture Locks

Antique furniture locks come in all shapes sizes and styles. Often people lose their keys when the pieces are locked. As a locksmith, I have been called upon numerous times to open and make keys to these antique furniture pieces.

Many antique furniture pieces including curio cabinets, use really old hardware made from brass and iron. Many of the locks are small and can be rusting.

The most efficient and easiest method for opening a locked drawer or door...

Antique Lock Restoration - A Lost Art

International Silver Plating Inc. are a Glencoe Illinois based company that have been around over 80 years.

As locksmiths and iron workers they continue to provide their unique and hard earned and acquired skills to rebuild and repair many products for many discerning customers.

Many of their pieces are of museum quality and they are often the go to source for specialized piece restoration and repair.

Check out their website in the source below, it is a wonderful insight into the true art and craftsmanship of locksmithing.

While I personally have repaired and restored a few pieces for different customers across the world, I wish I had the depth of knowledge and expertise these chaps possess.

(source...)

Hooply - Armored Door Locks

Zhejiang Hongli Locks Co, is based in China. They are a well known manufacturer of some interesting high security lock products that differ greatly to mainstream products found in the USA.

Pictured below, is a version of their armored lock. This virtually impregnable door lock is a mortice lockset comprising 6 stainless steel round bolts and a latching mechanism.

They produce Hooply, Cefiro and Mingbang as their 3 primary brand lines.

The company employs about 800 people and continues to be a dominant player in the Asian high security lock manufacturing industry.

The cylinders used in these locks are known as lever type locks. They use double sided mortice bit keys (skeleton like). This means they are 100% bump proof and very difficult to pick.

Even duplicating these keys is a chore.

I have duplicated similar types of these keys, early in my career and I know they are very exact with very tight tolerances. They are usually required to be copied by hand, because finding suitable duplication machinery is not only difficult but incredibly expensive.

I remember being required to fashion a blank by braising a flag to both sides of a steel stem. Then gently filing the blank until it was similar in shape to the original.

I worked with a very learned professional, early in my apprenticeship, who taught me to use putty (plasticene) or play dough to form a mould around the original. I was then able to create a perfect duplicate using the mould as a guide.

Difficult and time consuming, the reward was customer satisfaction and the knowledge that the key worked perfectly the first time it was tried.

(source...)

To Be Or Not To Be - A Safe

This interesting video in German (subtitled in English) shows exactly why you should purchase a quality safe from a quality specialist lock or safe provider.

Many similar models of the cheap safes found in the above video are widely available in big box stores including Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Best Buy and Costco.

After watching the above video, it is very apparent that many consumers, also here in the USA, may be dreadfully unaware that their new el-cheapo purchase will not perform the action for what is intended.

Many of these "safes" (I use the term loosely) are manufactured in countries that have no quality control or independent testing regimes.

If you are going to trust your valuables are secure, your cost is a serious consideration. Pay peanuts, and you will get monkeys!

Baldwin Pocket Door Lock

Pictured here is the Baldwin Pocket Door Lock that is available from Baldwin dealers (including us).

This lock is designed to secure pocket sliding doors with the option of single or double cylinder.

This lock can be keyed alike with Schlage branded keys.

Installation is quite straightforward as depicted in the second picture.

The lock sells for $417.00.

Unlocking Antique Furniture Locks

Antique furniture locks come in all shapes sizes and styles. Often people lose their keys when the pieces are locked. As a locksmith, I have been called upon numerous times to open and make keys to these antique furniture pieces.

Many antique furniture pieces including curio cabinets, use really old hardware made from brass and iron. Many of the locks are small and can be rusting.

The most efficient and easiest method for opening a locked drawer or door, is to impression a new key to the lock. The impression system of key fitting is the one skill that is unique to locksmithing.
Impressioning is used daily by few locksmith technicians these days and the art and talent is diminishing.

Impressioning enables the use of a keyblank, some hand files and some practised techniques to produce working keys to locks without the need to dismantle the piece of furniture. Largely, there is also rarely any damage to the woodwork, which is a good thing, because this maintains the value of the piece.

How does one impression an antique cupboard lock?

1. Select Key blank
2. Cut down flag to enter keyway.
3. Blacken the flag (with carbon or a match)
4. Insert key into keyway and turn as far as it will go.
5. Turn and wiggle key numerous times.
6. remove key from keyway
7. Examine keyblank for "impressions"
8. File minimally, where the impressions occur on the keyblank

This method need to be continued until such a time that the key operates the lock smoothly. It is a talent that few tradesmen technicians still use today. It definitely requires practise, but it save the needs to dismantle a perfectly good lock.