re keying ?

[Phantom Key]

hey all, just wondering... lets say a customer asks you to rekey a lock, if the key is cut then you can easily pin it to the sheer line but how do you come up with what key cut to use? IF you had a code cutter you could just put in some cuts fairly easy but what if you don't, can you buy pre random cut keys so you just have to pin it to that key and can cut more if you need copys.


thanks

[Squelchtone]

Please do your best to post in the correct areas, this is a Locksmith Business question, but it is posted in the Ask Beginner Hobby Lockpicking Questions area. (Majority of the forum is for hobbyists who pick locks for fun, the whole forum isn't just for locksmith questions, but there is a special area dedicated to running a locksmith business, where to order supplies, get training, cut keys, etc.)

Here is a direct link to the Locksmith Business area viewforum.php?f=41

Thank you!
Squelchtone

[Squelchtone]

You buy pre cut keys in sets and pull them out when doing rekeys https://www.amazon.com/Schlage-Original ... B00DBCX9B6

Squelchtone

[jeffmoss26]

What Squelch said - personally I have a TON of Schlage precuts, both 5 and 6 pin, you just accumulate them over time, or buy them from ebay/locksmith shops. I have a lot of others too - Arrow, Kwikset, Yale, American, Master, Sargent in various keyways.

Is there something specific you need?

[Phantom Key]

sorry, figured it would be a "Noobie" question, at any rate thank you once again

[Phantom Key]

What Squelch said - personally I have a TON of Schlage precuts, both 5 and 6 pin, you just accumulate them over time, or buy them from ebay/locksmith shops. I have a lot of others too - Arrow, Kwikset, Yale, American, Master, Sargent in various keyways.

Is there something specific you need?

at this point no, I am just getting into the field and slowly getting what I need.... just wasn't what was the easiest way to do rekeys thanks tho

[Jacob Morgan]

If you do not have any pre-cut keys and you have no code machine, you could make up your own set of cuts and cut a new blank with space-and-depth keys and a manual key machine. There are some principles for making keys both pick and break resistant. You would also need to stay within the maximum adjacent cut specification for that particular lock (tables of those numbers, and a definition of what this is if you do not know, can be searched for and downloaded). Using a set of space-and-deprh keys will not be as precise as factory punched keys, but should work for ordinary house locks.

[Phantom Key]

thanks for the info

[cledry]

I regularly sell 20 factory Schlage or Kwikset keys in pairs on eBay. It beats throwing them in the brass bucket.

[Phantom Key]

I regularly sell 20 factory Schlage or Kwikset keys in pairs on eBay. It beats throwing them in the brass bucket.

do you have a link to your store?

[cledry]

I regularly sell 20 factory Schlage or Kwikset keys in pairs on eBay. It beats throwing them in the brass bucket.

do you have a link to your store?

No, I don't have an eBay store I just sell individual items as I get them, but I can happily put together a package for you. I have 824 feedbacks with 100% rating on eBay.

Right now I have Kwikset but I am out of factory Schlage although I fo have sets of Dorma and Hager, both Schlage depth and space. I sell in sets of 10 pairs of factory keys for $12 with $4 shipping in the USA. PM if interested. I can also supply custom cut keys and MK sets, just send needs in a PM.

[Phantom Key]

thanks jim will let you know

[jeffmoss26]

I regularly sell 20 factory Schlage or Kwikset keys in pairs on eBay. It beats throwing them in the brass bucket.

do you have a link to your store?

No, I don't have an eBay store I just sell individual items as I get them, but I can happily put together a package for you. I have 824 feedbacks with 100% rating on eBay.

Right now I have Kwikset but I am out of factory Schlage although I fo have sets of Dorma and Hager, both Schlage depth and space. I sell in sets of 10 pairs of factory keys for $12 with $4 shipping in the USA. PM if interested. I can also supply custom cut keys and MK sets, just send needs in a PM.

Do you have any Arrow or Yale? (AR1, Y1) I am always needing those.

[Silverado]

Just some input to answer the original question; today I took a key that was already cut (weiser) and plugged it into a challenge lock I recently made. I had to pick it first, since I pinned it up before I thought about keying it, but it is very possible and works great.

[Big Jesse]

at a shop i worked at in 2010, we just wrote random numbers on a piece of paper, numbers that were a mix of high and lows, ex: 8-2-5-1-7, first number would be the bow (shoulder), last number would be the tip (5th key pin). Then I would use an HPC 1200 Blitz machine to cut them by code. Takes about 20 seconds. Then make a copy if the customer wanted one on another key machine. I used the diagram on the back of my pining kit to do the rekey, 8-2-5-1-7 being the numbered depth, which would have been something like .285-.195-.240-.180-.270 respectively. top pins were all the same across the board for every schlage lock. probly used a size 2, .200" or smaller.

ive never used pre cut keys, im sure its easier and quicker.

we did master keys this way too but we used a graph for keys with master pins. we would just have to compare it to an existing master key list to make sure the numbers werent identical with another master key in that system.