by billdeserthills » 16 Nov 2014 14:46
Thing about steel blanks is you are likely trying to get a brass lever to make an impression on a steel blank, not gonna be easy. Instead mark your steel key with a sharpie or other black marker,
wait for the marker to dry completely and see where the tumblers are scraping off the marker. I suppose since you'll be watching to see where the marker is rubbed off you won't need a #4 or
finer cut file. Which is good because I didn't see much in the fine cut file choices on the page you left.
I like to use a grobet swiss file to cut the square cuts I need in most steel blanks, it is just a flat steel file and it is a #2 cut or coarser a #0 works fine, because you won't be needing to look for
a tumbler rubbing, you'll see the marker rubbing off, as long as you let it dry fully. On the other hand, sticking a key that is still wet with black marker ink into a lever lock can be quite the
patience trier
You do know to skip the marks often seen on the front of the key? When you make a key to a lever lock, usually either the first cut at the shoulder or most often at the tip of the key will continue to rub, the entire time you try to make the key. This first mark must be avoided until the very end, otherwise your key will turn prematurely, without retracting the bolt
