I have a question concerning deadbolts. Care to enlighten?

[MPXS-20]

Okay, are the inner workings of say...a kwikset deadbolt any different from a quickset door knob lock? Do I have to do anything unique to unlock the deadbolt? What's the purpose of a deadbolt? I tell people it's just an immunity to "swiping" (taking a credit card to open a lock), but i'm not sure 100%. Thanks.

[illusion]

Nah... turning the plug will operate the deadlock - nothing special in deadbilt cylinders.

Yup - latches are spring-loaded meaning you can 'credit card' them, if there is enough gap in the door. Deadlocks are immune to this.

Perhaps the doorknob might need different tension, but it's funny - I have never actualy picked a door knob lock, and haven't even seen one in the flesh so don't know for sure.

[CVScam]

A door knob lock can move and wiggle because the whole door knob gets loose sooner or later. Some door knob cylinders are resessed in the knob so you have to have a different tension wrench. I have one on my front door installed upside down so the key turns the same way as the deadbolt key to unlock the door.

[maxxed]

Nah... turning the plug will operate the deadlock - nothing special in deadbilt cylinders.

Yup - latches are spring-loaded meaning you can 'credit card' them, if there is enough gap in the door. Deadlocks are immune to this.

Perhaps the doorknob might need different tension,

I would like to add that the latch on a knobset extends about 1/2" out of the door and the deadbolt extends about 1" out of the door.

[MPXS-20]

thank all of you

[Mutzy]

deadbolts cannot be returned by end pressure. A Knobset + deadbolt combination is used to beef up the door security. Some insurance companies require a deadbolt of some sort to be installed.

I dunno if it has been covered here anywhere, but to unlock a deadbolt, the direction to turn the key (or to pick) should be in the opposite direciton of the doorframe. i.e.

[Frame] [deadbolt] = Unlocks clockwise
[Frame] [deadbolt] = Unlocks counter-clockwise.

[CapnCurry]

Yup - latches are spring-loaded meaning you can 'credit card' them, if there is enough gap in the door. Deadlocks are immune to this.

Deadbolts are indeed immune to credit-carding, but so are good latches. A door latch should have a "dead-latch" on it, which is pressed in by the strike plate when the door is closed. While the dead-latch is pressed in, the latch can only be operated by the knob, and cannot be pressed in with a credit card (or anything else).

The biggest advantages to deadbolts are that they have a significantly longer throw, they typically have more support from the jamb, and they're much more difficult to saw through than a door latch. From a mechanical lock operation standpoint, though, there's usually no appreciable difference between a deadbolt cylinder and a key-in-knob lock.

[vector40]

The deadlocking operation of a deadbolt shoul not be trivialized. Even deadlatched (let's get the word "dead" in here some more, shall we?), spring-latches can be vulnerable if they're not installed exactly right, or the deadlatch is neutralized, or whatever.

[CapnCurry]

The deadlocking operation of a deadbolt shoul not be trivialized. Even deadlatched (let's get the word "dead" in here some more, shall we?), spring-latches can be vulnerable if they're not installed exactly right, or the deadlatch is neutralized, or whatever.

True. Spring-latches are more susceptible to user error on the installation side of things. I've always had the point of view that, given a properly installed spring-latch and a properly installed deadbolt, both will deadlock.

You're dead right, though: a deadbolt's deadlocking is a more dead-on way of stopping a thief dead in his tracks than a deadlocked deadlatch, and you can be dead sure of that. A burglar would make enough noise to wake the dead trying to get past a good deadlocked deadbolt, and the police would soon have him dead to rights - assuming the dead-eyed neighbor doesn't shoot him dead as a door nail.

(let's get the word "dead" in here some more, shall we?)

Mission accomplished.

[Mutzy]

Bravo!



Any lockies done any jobs where they bypassed the deadlatching pin and shimmed (credit card or the like) the latch?

[Kasky]

Has anyone ever tried to pick the deadbolt of a door only to find that its so old and rusty that the pins stay up by themselves even when there isnt a tension wrench still inside the plug? How the hell are you supposed to pick one of those... you dont even know if the pins are binding or if the thing is just rusty.

[kelly]

Rust is always a problem. Use some metal lube. And chances are that if it's that rusty, the right key wont work anyway, so it's new lock time (general note: new lock time is a very happy time [1]). Deadbolts are a very interesting thing. I have always wondered if they could be opened with a strong enough magnet, but that's probably just silly. I do find deadbolts much happier picking. They give a very rewarding *thump* when opened.

My doorknob has a large lip around the lock so I had to make a tension wrench that looks like (crude drawing) this:


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*ahem*
-Alex Kelly

[1] New locks are shiny and cool, and you have an old lock to play with. Hooray!

[Kasky]

Ahhh yes the rewarding thump... good times, good times.... anhow its not a lock to my house exactly... it was one at my school that no one was watching... its one of those doors that no one ever seems to open or close that you always wonder if there are dead bodies inside of that people are trying to hide... hmm.... ha ha ha. anyhow it sparked my curiosity so i decided i needed to know what was inside. It was then however that i realized that when i took pressure off of the tension wrench and took out the pick that the pins were still up in the lock and hadnt fallen free...

[fixer]

Bravo!

Any lockies done any jobs where they bypassed the deadlatching pin and shimmed (credit card or the like) the latch?

Frequently if picking isn't working or if the door looks like it can be opened that way as I walk up to it.

I always look at the door and ask about other doors or even windows. If someone is locked out, the object is to gain entry, not show how well you can pick the door they think you should be opening.

[pinsetter]

If someone is locked out, the object is to gain entry, not show how well you can pick the door they think you should be opening.

And that detail is so often overlooked by amateurs! How many times have you seen a good quality lock on the front door, and a cheapo Kwikset knock-off on the back door? It's kinda funny really!