newbie having some trouble

[harlz487]

hey guys I'm new to LP101 and I'm having trouble with door locks i have a E-Z-Set doorknob and dead bolt and a kwikset doorknob and dead bolt but i can get them to turn all the way they only go about 90 degrees or so.

[harlz487]

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[viduata]

First response: Don't practice on your front door.

Second response: The lock on your door handle probably only needs to turn 90 degrees to unlock. (If you think about it, you only rotate the thumb turn 90 degrees, right). After that, you just turn the handle. There is a chance also that you're going in the wrong direction, but, since this lock is yours, right, you'll know exactly which way it goes with a key.

Also, the deadbolt requires a LOT more torque to open, particularly if the bolt itself is poorly aligned in the hole.

This is why you don't practice on your front door: If you over-torque your wrench opening the deadbolt, now you have a tension wrench jammed in the keyway, and have fun explaining that to your landlord.

[harlz487]

it doesn't unlock, the knob wont turn.

[viduata]

Make sure you're turning in the same direction as you would turn the key. About 90% sure it'll be counter-clockwise.

In a lousy Kwikset, after you pick all pins to the shear line, the cylinder will almost immediately turn 90 degrees. Then, at around 95 degrees, you'll feel a tiny "bump" and you'll have to apply a teeny bit of tension, but not much at all, roughly the same amount of pressure you'd use to press down a key on your keyboard. This will unlock the door.

Once you're past that, you should be able to turn the knob.

If you're going in the wrong direction, you won't feel that "bump", because you'll be locking something that's already locked.