what stock for the new van

[blade2174]

hiya guys and girls just getting started out in the mobile side of the trade and wanted to ask the uk lockies ( mainly down south ) as to what stock they hold . the reason i say down south as i gather that further up the country willenhall locks are more widespread , i know that the standard fittment will vary from area to area , but im keen to know what others are stocked up on and what make a good profit , also with reguards to some of the more specialist key machines( drill point machines) is it cost effective to have one as well as normal pin and mortice machines , all help is gratefully recieved , thank chris b

[pinky]

a good dual mortice and cylinder machine is generaly all you wil need, unless of course you are setting up as an auto locksmith or you invest £1000 in Multlock stock to get access to their locks and their blanks, otherwise you will never use a laser machine.

stockwise, i would advise a good stock of rim cylinders from budget to high security, at least 3 of each size of euro cylinder in both colours and in double euro and thumb turn, so 6 of each size , 3 NP and 3 PB.
its adviseable to stock at least 1 ingersoll sc71, 1 chubb 4L67 and a few unusual high end cylinders.
a selection of 1/2 euros , bullet locks and camlocks, some 1/2 euros and a selection of each size of oval profile.

i would advise stocking at least 2 of each make and model of BS3621 lock, as far easier to replace what you remove, as well as a good selection of budget 3 and 5 lever locks. a few digi locks of various make and quality is also good sense. as well as some oddments, such as garage door locks, 7 lever safe / gun cabinet locks , post box locks etc.

i would invest in some keyboards if cutting keys with a wide selection, but carry more blanks for the lock types you stock, also good to carry some brass blanks for impressioning.

that should be a good start up set of locks to get you going, expensive but covers the main jobs you may be called to, if considering autos, then a large investment in blanks and chips will be required also.

[Shrub]

Just to clarify the mortice situation i would carry at least two of each model as in 2 x 2 1/2", 2 x 3" in both dead lock and sash lock.

Im sure thats what Pinky meant but just thought i would clarify,

A selcetion of window locks would also be a good thing to have along with some differant size and quality padlocks,

Im up North and dont find willenhall locks wide spread in my area in fact not come across one this year yet,

I get a lot of Chubb 110's and i mean a lot of them, a lot of 114's and invincibles new and old,

I fit a lot of the fortress as new fits as well,

[pinky]

im a southern boy, up in the frozen north, well midlands, not got my flat cap yet.
like shrub, i come across next to no willenhalls on the door, not even when i venture into willenhall country on warrants, in fact the only place ive found these widespread is on old sitex doors along with securefast, i dont know where this widespread north divide comes from ?

id also carry lever packs as often a good option, as well as old bs3621-1998 locks and new bs3621-2004 locks.

i think with just whats mentioned you are looking at not much change from £3k, but you did ask.

it may help if you state what area of the mobile side you are entering, your experience and background, which suppliers you currently have accounts and access to, and what part of the prosperous south your setting up in, and we can see if us poor northern operators can help me duck.

[Mark A]

Just to add to pinky's list,

Sash Jammers both white and brown, locking and non locking.
Espag handles in all colours.
Selection of UPVC handles in various colours and PZ centres
Basic selection of lever lock handles.
Good selection of Souber repair plates and escutcheons.

Mark

[Rockford]

110's - There must be some expensive cattle to protect up your end Shrub

Blade2174 - Best bet is to take a walk around your target area, and look at whats installed (wooden, upvc, mortice, rim etc. etc.) Don't forget the commercial properties. This will help you in your stock selection - e.g. no point in having UPVC stock on your van if there's non in the area - it's dead money.

[Shrub]

It mystifys me, i can only assume a hardware shope around here or a contractor some while agao bought a big job lot and just banged them in wherever he could, i would say 1 in 5 lockouts are a 110 at least,

[Rockford]

And yet I'm just across the hills from you, and I've seen maybe 2 in the past 12 months!

[Shrub]

Its mad, whats your common one?

[Rockford]

Loads of UPVC, with mortice being mainly ERA, Legge and Union.

[Shrub]

We dont have that much upvc compared to most places and i dont get much Legge either although ive been finding them recently,

Sorry for the thread hijack blade,

[Rockford]

Yep, sorry mate.

[SteveW]

You guys are lucky its so predictable ! Here in the big smoke its either a 114,or a 110 if its not one of those it could be absolutely anything else you could think of

Stock! its amazing the amount of stuff you end up carrying. To start with concentrate on covering all your basics as stated above but as time goes on you will find its worth your while stocking a variety of the same type of item. Cylinders for example, i carry Asec, Iseo, ERA, GeGe, Mul-Tl-ock, Evva and Banham. You will find that different customers have different requirements, high security, keyed alike, restricted sections etc. In the city i find that Evva, MTL and Banham are preferred where as on a housing estate in Tooting Asec and ERA are just the ticket. Different strokes for different folks and all that

Once your up and running you will soon learn what you need and my general rule is that every time you need something you haven't got always buy a couple extra!

[blade2174]

well guys you have given me a good deal to think of , im gonna be operating on the surry borders (by fleet / new haw area ) i had a brisk ride round yesterday and have noted that there is about as many pvc as wooden doors , there is a vast amount of side of house garages (so up rating their security is gonna be a priority for my letter dropping ) i have opened up an account with duffels and had a tour of the shop with lee so looks like they carry all the main items one would need , ( what different stock would say SKS or Alldridges stock as they are across the other side of town and if there is no advantage or varied stock then if small price difference is it worth it {apart from extra line of credit of course} . and last thing what type keys machines do you guys carry ( ie make and model as looking to purchase one in the coming weeks . well thanks in advance for your info . ps looking for a contact for someone who does safe work in the surrey area as no doubt will have the need at some point to pass on some work . and also to fill my contact diary . thanks chris b

[pinky]

Aldridges have a far superior stock range to duffels, and are the only stockist of the assec range of locks, dont concern yourself with location as all are next day delivery.
sks are a little cheaper as are aldridge than duffels, though all have their merits and benefits.
decent starter machine would be the sks cyclone dual machine and probably all you will need.

for decent safe engineer for your area then the obvious engineer would be martin newton from safe ventures, and if hes busy he will know a man who can.