Ilco SFIC (BEST, etc.) FM blank -- what it fits

by **vector40** » 17 Dec 2005 4:36

Hark, information!

I emailed Ilco a while ago trying to figure out what the A1114FM blank listed in the Ilco catalog is for. It's supposed to be a master of some sort, but it doesn't say which keyways, and nobody in the whole wild world seems to know... I was despairing of getting a response when I got a response from Mike Kirkpatrick, to whom I want to direct some major props, as well as to Ilco customer service as a whole, because this is a serious response that took serious work to address=

Anyway, here it is.

Sorry about the delay in answering your inquiry. As it turns out there is
no documentation in our files about what the A1114FM key blank is intended
to fit. I enlisted an engineer from our engineering department and we
examined the prints for all of our key blanks for Best keyways. We also
have sample cylinder cores here and we confirmed our examination of the
drawings by physically inserting an A1114FM key blank into all of the cores
we have on hand.

The A1114FM key blank will fit into Best B, C, D, E, F, G and H keyways.

It will NOT fit Best A, J, K, L, M, or any of the double digit keyways (DD
or TB for example)

by **Shrub** » 17 Dec 2005 9:52

I beleive Ann Summers offers the same service for their toys :lol:

Seriously though, thats a great customer service, when i contacted ilco in Italy once about a transponder programmer they were also quite helpful but i then got page after page of technical stuff about a lock that was supposed to go to someone else :lol:

by **Omikron** » 17 Dec 2005 14:49

Fantastic information!

I have also been curious as to what keyways the FM blank worked in. This has more than answered my question!

by **grit1** » 18 Dec 2005 17:22

Wrong wrong wrong wrong ... the FM fits BEST A but not BEST B ... Also it will fit into DD but not D, in my experiance. F, E do fit. H certainly does not fit. It is possible that the cheap JMA blanks that C-L-K supplies sent me are not made to ilco's same standards but they are supposed to be FM. ~Grit.

by **Omikron** » 18 Dec 2005 17:27

grit1 wrote:Wrong wrong wrong wrong ... the FM fits BEST A but not BEST B ... Also it will fit into DD but not D, in my experiance. F, E do fit. H certainly does not fit. It is possible that the cheap JMA blanks that C-L-K supplies sent me are not made to ilco's same standards but they are supposed to be FM. ~Grit.

So were the Ilco boys using the wrong key to test compatability, or are there several different FM part numbers?

by **vector40** » 18 Dec 2005 19:23

Hmm.

Does anyone else out there have access to the FM blank and some test cylinders?

by **Omikron** » 21 Dec 2005 2:16

Has there been any update to this discrepancy?

by **grit1** » 21 Dec 2005 2:23

Omikron wrote:Has there been any update to this discrepancy?

My FM's still open A, DD and F :lol:

But yes, enquiring minds want to know... ~Grit.

by **vector40** » 21 Dec 2005 3:15

I hate you grit... we'll never get a definitive answer now. The nice thing about difficult-to-acquire data is supposed to be that once you get some, nothing's around to contradict it :lol:

I don't want to bug this poor Ilco guy again. Everyone just keep your eyes peeled for these keys.

by **Omikron** » 21 Dec 2005 3:32

vector40 wrote:I hate you grit... we'll never get a definitive answer now. The nice thing about difficult-to-acquire data is supposed to be that once you get some, nothing's around to contradict it

I don't want to bug this poor Ilco guy again. Everyone just keep your eyes peeled for these keys.

I say, bug the Ilco guy again!

If it's their product, they should know it inside and out. If there is a discrepency, then they should be made aware of it so they can confirm or dispute it. This way, they don't look like a fool to the next customer who asks! :wink:

by **Omikron** » 2 Mar 2006 3:32

Any more headway on this issue? I'm still curious...

by **vector40** » 2 Mar 2006 4:56

Not so much. I may be getting an FM in the near future... if I can find some test cylinders I may able to add a few data points, but I dunno.

by **grit1** » 2 Mar 2006 4:57

Yeah I'm still curious as well - especially becuase if I could buy Ilco's FM blank and have it work like the JMA FM blanks I already have I could save a ton of money! The JMA's are cheap plated junk and I would much rather have Ilco's nickel silver quality blank ... maybe I should buy some and test them out...

by **Chucklz** » 2 Mar 2006 18:38

Wow, I can't beleive this got bumped up today. I was just about to search for information of this blank. I just got a copy of The 3rd edition of the Complete Book of Locks and Locksmithing. On page 34, there is a diagram from Taylor locks. According to this diagram, the FM key should fit A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and J keyways.

by **vector40** » 2 Mar 2006 19:57

Sounds like yet anoher contradictory piece of information :lol:

Not far from what Ilco says, though. Is there any chance you could be misjudging the diagram, and it would actually not pass A and J?

Ilco SFIC (BEST, etc.) FM blank -- what it fits

Ilco SFIC (BEST, etc.) FM blank -- what it fits

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