Can anyone help me duplicate a Medeco key?

[n2oah]

I recently bought a lot of 1 medeco padlock, 2 rim cylinders, and a mortise cyinder off of eBay, but they only came with a single key. I would like to have a key for each cylinder. This is a Medeco Biaxial, but I'm not sure if the patent for the blanks has expired yet. Here is the clearest shot I have of the keyway, you can also see the key in the background:


On back of the key, there are som numbers and letters that are staggered. They look like this:

Code: Select all

  1  8  2  6
B  8  8  7  7


The patent number on the key is 4,635,455. Any help is appreciated.

[devildog]

I'm the one that bought a lot of 5 of those padlocks (yeah, I'm re-selling at least 3 of them this week or next, one-at-a-time, so if you just want one keep your eye on EBay for the next week or two), and your keyway looks identical to mine AND that patent number on your key is exactly the same patent number that's on mine, and I know for a fact that the ones I have are Medeco M2's, NOT the new M3's, so yes you can copy them to your heart's content as the patent is, in fact, expired. There's usually sets of Medeco blanks on EBay now that the patent is gone, so if I were you I'd just buy some of those (usually come in lots of 10-25, no problem) and then cut'em by hand.

You COULD try hitting up the a local lockie, but definately be prepared to get a cold shoulder without that Medeco Owner's card; I know for a fact that Medeco authorized dealers are supposed to continue to enforce the 'no card, no copy' rule whether the patent's expired or not, and I imagine they would, so your best bet if you don't want to do it by hand is to find a lockie that's NOT a Medeco authorized dealer and maybe swing by with some candy, flowers, and a real sweet smile (actually, a six pack and a not-TOO-sweet smile might be better ) .

[pip]

you're lucky i missed the deadline on that one, n2oah
i had my eye on that auction

have you looked in the Medeco 2005 catalog i sent you ?

[n2oah]

At this point I do not want to hand file keys because I'd probably screw up on space and depth big time.

[devildog]

I sure that there's a lockie on here who would be glad to give the space and depth, and probably the direct code for your key's indirect code if you ask nicely (and it's PM's, not public)

[digital_blue]

I sure that there's a lockie on here who would be glad to give the space and depth, and probably the direct code for your key's indirect code if you ask nicely (and it's PM's, not public)

FWIW, sent. However, I suspect that noah's gonna have a tough time getting what he wants just from space and depth charts.

db

[Kodiak]

If he has a copy of the key already, couldn't he get the space and depth just by measuring?

[jjmerg]

medeco biaxial keys have 3 different spacings per cut, FORE, CENTER, and AFT. PLUS, the cuts all have angles (we all know this) LEFT, CENTER, RIGHT.
So, it would be hard to get proper spacings. the pinning chambers are all the same, just the pin angles shift for the correct spacings.

Hope it helps. And YES the patent did expire, JULY 2005, to be exact. we still enforce the cardholder, but ILCO makes aftermarket keys now, SO....

[n2oah]

JJmerg, are you a Medeco dealer? You said "we", meaning you are a Medeco dealer? How much would it cost for me to duplicate this key for me?

[Lowtech]

n2oah, did you clone yourself

[dxlocks]

n2oah, With the correct blank and a pippin file, the Medeco M2 should be a fairly easy key to clone.

All that you need to do is line the 2 keys up and copy the spaces.
From there you could cut the key to the correct depths and angles.

[n2oah]

n2oah, did you clone yourself

Huh? I'm slow on these type of things...

[raimundo]

from the picture, I would guess that the keyway is the older common medeco keyway, not one of the many restricted keyways. it should be possible to copy it with a medeco cutter.

[jjmerg]

i work for a locksmith company that is a "medeco dealer" in south florida. that key's patent has expired, but the numbers on the key are meaningless. the "credit card" supplied when originally issued had the info coded for the cuts and depths and spacings. any medeco cutter will cut it, or with an hpc machine and the proper cutter. if i were to cut it, they cost 10 dollars each.

[Pickermeapie]

medeco biaxial keys have 3 different spacings per cut, FORE, CENTER, and AFT. PLUS, the cuts all have angles (we all know this) LEFT, CENTER, RIGHT.
So, it would be hard to get proper spacings. the pinning chambers are all the same, just the pin angles shift for the correct spacings.

Hope it helps. And YES the patent did expire, JULY 2005, to be exact. we still enforce the cardholder, but ILCO makes aftermarket keys now, SO....

Actually, you only have two AXIS pins. FORE and AFT. Those corrolate to Left, Right, or Center.

That key is a DB3 program key as it has an embossed graphic. You might need to send it to Medeco, because unless you send it back to the locksmith that cut it. It is very unlikely that you may get a dupe. Unless its a freedom key, you won't get copies. Not having a card makes it even more difficult. Might be easier to get it repinned and rekeyed.