Master Keying: Software, Physical Approach?

[Shrub]

Unless he was getting his first and last the wrong way round i cant think of any reason either,

I personally go for 2 and/or 4 with 3 and 5 having spools,

[Shrub]

Oh, unless its somthing to do with the angle of cut on the tip of the blade, this may false set the pin stack before the key is in or somthign and jam it up possably but im sceptical of that,

[zeke79]

Lab pins should save you quite a bit on cost. I have used them for most keying and find them reliable and accurate. Only cases I use OEM is Primus which seem to hold tighter tolerances than other schlage locks for some reason. The color coating of the LAB pins sometimes causes a "dragging" feeling while turning the key until the color coating wears off if using LAB's.

The big difference between the OEM pin and the LAB pin will be the shape of the bottom end of the pin where it sits on the key. LAB pins will have the universal point designed to fit many locks while the Yale may have a less pronounced point. If you can, take a look at an OEM Yale pin and an LAB pin. If the Yale has less of a point it may be a better choice as it will have a better wear life as it will bear the surface of the key moving in and out all of the time over a larger area.

Hope that makes sense as I only slept for around 2 hours last night

[milemarker22]

Best Access Systems has some master key managment software.

[Raccoon]

I found ProMaster 5 by WH Software LTD, same people who make InstaCode, to be the best bet so far. The program is far more complex than my needs, and requires top to bottom system of adding keys, doors, locks and cylinders to a database in order for it to tell you how many pins you need to buy. This is definitely the program to use if you're a commercial door contractor, and a little excessive if you're just a local locksmith trying to bang out a masterkey system. It took me several days to learn and complete a system I like.

I've heard good reviews of Superkey 2000, but it was coded in Visual Basic and keeps crashing on me.

If only I had the skills, I'd like to write a web application for master keying, allowing it to be as complex or simple as the user desires.