Skold's nOOb Guide to Fitting a key to a cylinder.

[pathman]

The pins need a ramped surface to ride up as the key is moved in and out of the lock. No ramp, the pin just binds and the key won't come out.

or won't go in, right?

great post by the way!
thanks:)

[Miami-Locksmith]

hiya - im new here - and just wanted to thank you guys for threads like this one!

[Romstar]

hiya - im new here - and just wanted to thank you guys for threads like this one!

You're welcome.

There are all kinds of things on here. Stuff you learn from, stuff you shake your head at and stuff that just makes you laugh.

Enjoy it all.
Romstar

[Yadkci]

Good article, never thought of using a marker to mark out spacing, i use a different method however (assuming i don't have access to the unocode ):

After dissassembling the lock, insert the blank into the keyway, some electroplated or coloured keys can be prepared in the say way as you would to impression a key, by filing of the top layer of colour or electroplating.

Take a small hammer and gently tap the pins while holding the barrel on a hard surface. At first you will only be able to do the deeper pines, but as you file those cuts you will be able to easier hit the lower pins. If done correctly, it should mark with no damage to the pins or lock, this is probably better with aluminium blanks, as they are softer.

The main advantages of this method are that, (obviously with practice) it is faster, as you don't have to remove all the pins. Also the bottom of the pin leaves a tiny groove on the key, perfect for the tip of an impressioning file to sit into (no messing up spacing = no messed up blanks).

Impressioning files are useful tools, i would reccomend anyone who doesn't have one to buy one from lockpicks.com or anywhere that sells them. And impressioning is a fun and satisfying way of opening locks .

Another tip when using impressioning files - when filing the cuts, start the cut using the tip of the file, then as the cut gets deeper use the whole file to open the cuts wide enough to make a ramp, although 9 pins may still need a little fixing up .

Hope people found this useful Im open to any suggestions/comments, positive or negative.

[Sesame]

Great post.

Welcome, mate.

[New-York-Locksmith]

fantastic little guide! thanks -

[unjust]

yadkci- don't you run the risk of peening the blank too wide to fit the keyway?

[Mutzy]

the pins mark the blank way before the blank is ruined.

You only need a sutble tap. You just need a mark to show you where the bottom of the pin sits on the key.

Also if you file the blank's blade ( [] )to a point ( ^ ) the pins mark alot easier, as the material it's hitting is softer.

[CombatWombat]

Great guide, I'm going to test this tonight.

[New-York-Locksmith]

I followed the guide step by step and i'm proud to declare I did it!!!
thanks

[Mr. Glass]

Quick question, hope I'm not hijacking this thread. Last year, my college roomate lost his DND Best brand SFIC key and the school was going to charge him a ridiculous fine of $90 to replace the key. I took up the challenge and made him a copy of mine with my dremel.

However, I made one modification, instead of leaving the sharp, sawtooth-style bitting of the original [which coincidentally would sometimes get stuck in the lock anyway], I rounded off the edges of the key, using a precision caliper to ensure that I kept the correct measurements.

The result was a key that worked just fine, yet made alot less noise and seemed to put less wear on the lock.

My question is: why is this practice not more commonplace? Are there any major drawbacks to a key with rounded bitting?

[Shark500]

i figured this out by my self. thought i was spevial
lol nice job

[robert11]

Hi skold,
You don't know how this page is helpful and informative and dont worry nobody get bored by reading the whole content and such a rare information. Thanks

[skold]

Hi skold,
You don't know how this page is helpful and informative and dont worry nobody get bored by reading the whole content and such a rare information. Thanks

No problems

My question is: why is this practice not more commonplace? Are there any major drawbacks to a key with rounded bitting?

No, i find they glide in and out easier and reduce wear to pins, i think you will find a lot of people use round cuts when impressioning locks, but for any locksmith uses other than this, it is uncommon due to the use of machines.

Very Happy I followed the guide step by step and i'm proud to declare I did it!!!
thanks

Excellent!

You only need a sutble tap. You just need a mark to show you where the bottom of the pin sits on the key.

Correct, an alternate method, same as the way you see marks when impressioning, thanks for mentioning!

[kspec]

has anyone tried to use the lock cylinder. and a drill with the bit marked at the correct depth(with tape or marker) to drill on the key to make a bump key? it might be a bit more consistant with the angles and might be a bit faster then with a file. hmm...i might try this soon, if anyone else has let me know if im just wasting daylight