making a key,by taking the lock apart

[karl]

hi,first of all i dont know what this is called,so i couldnt do a search for it .well,you know when you pick the lock,then you remove it,and take the cylinder out,then you insert the key and watch all the pins move up,then you cut the key like this:the first pin comes up 2mm,cut a 2mm dip,2nd pin comes up 1mm cut a 1mm dip,etc....well,ive only done this a few times in the past,and the one key that did work is not pretty,its smaller than the keyway,and you have to wiggle it for the lock to turn.anyway,i just wanted some tips on this,so i thought id ask the pros .anything at all!thanks for your time,

----karl----

(something i do alot when doing this is,i take out all the pins,then i put in the blank key,then i put a very small model brush in the pin holes and paint the key through them,so when i take it out,its marked where all the pins touch the key,so i know where to cut )

[Romstar]

Try looking for both "decoding" and "impressioning".

Romstar

[karl]

thanks Romstar,i didnt know the names,that helped alot!!sorry i started a topic on this,if anyone wants to contribute any tips,then by all means please do so!!thanks again,

karl

[Zoooooble]

Hey Karl,

I don't think you're really looking for either impressioning or decoding. I believe what you're looking for is just more of basic keying.

You seem to have the idea and you're on the right track though. If you want to really get very much into it, I'd recommend buying a book or two on the subject. Just look on Amazon at the books on basic locksmithing and whatnot. Keying isn't a tremendously complicated subject, but there are a few tricks to it and a few things that are just much easier to read once and understand instead of trying to figure out by trial and error.

[HeadHunterCEO]

pull the plug

leave the bottom pins in and insert a blank

tap the pins so they they mark the blank at all the proper spaces

cu wthe mark swith a file until the pins are flush withthe plug

[karl]

cool,thanks guys!!zoooooble,im gonna look for some books now,thanks .

[davidgjr]

Karl,

If you get really into it and want to decode and make a key for a lock, I use space and depth keys. When I find the right depths for each cut, I make a key on my key machine. Takes hardly any time.