repairing skeleton keys

[thedude2579]

Alright I am new to lock smithing and picking. I bought some antique skeleton keys that have been torqued in the wrong lock there not too damaged. what is the best advice to straighten them back out?

[Eyes_Only]

Can you post a picture of it first. We could give better advice if we see what the damage looks like. But from the very little I know about metallurgy, once a metal has been twisted or bent it loses its original strength so bending or twisting back a damaged skeleton key may cause it to break or even worse, possibly break off in the lock itself. But thats my uneducated opinion.

[thedude2579]

From what i understand about metallurgy a piece of metal can be straightened by heating then put between two blocks or just letting gravity do the work, then quench in oil or water. If i remember correctly the quenching aligns the molecules and locks them together once again

[Shrub]

You dont have skeleton keys , you have lever lock keys,

From what i understand about metallurgy a piece of metal can be straightened by heating then put between two blocks or just letting gravity do the work, then quench in oil or water. If i remember correctly the quenching aligns the molecules and locks them together once again

Wrong, will never work, unless you get the metal molten gravity will not do any thing for you,

Go to a locksmith and get some new ones cut,

If you bought the keys for display then youve bought some duff ones as no-one buys bent keys to look at,

Otherwise heat to a dul read and then on a hard flat metal surface gently tap the bits flat with a hamer but seriously theres more involved than that and if you have little to no metal working skills i suggest you seriously give this idea up as somthign you can do at home,

[raimundo]

best way to unbend something is to turn the opposite way in the very thing that bent them, with the pressure applied at the very opposite points, if its not too far gone, metal is ready and willing to unbend this way, can be done cold. a little heat may help, too much heat will set the bend and the metal will lose its 'memory' heat is just exciting the molecules, if you bend a coathanger wire sharply and repeatedly and quickly in the same place, it will get hot enough to burn your fingers, the molecules are having a big party

[Shrub]

It does of course all depend on what you call antique skeleton keys, for all we know they may just be normal run of the mill keys sold to you as somthing else or they may be 300 year old keys from a ships trasure chest,

If they are true old relics then you shouldnt do anything with them to be fair and enjoy them as they are,

If you bent them then shame on you,

If they are newer ones get some others as they are 3 a penny,

It all depends on worth whether you get an engineer whos up to the job to do it or whether you simply stick them in a vice and make them look a bit better,

[thedude2579]

i didn't bend them

there just run of the mill Yale & Towne MFG CO. Solid Steel house keys i bought them knowing that they can be repaired also so i can have copies of what i already have.

But more then anything a few are not bent in just one spot. By the looks of them it looks like a fellow must have been drunk when they were inserted in to the lock.

[Shrub]

More like somthing has been stored on top of them or dropped on them, somtimes keys left in locks get knocked as well so maybe thats another idea,

Either way post some pics up and we can better advise a route to go down,

[thedude2579]

[patrick HOLLAND]

maby you can gently heat it up and twist it back
but don't make it to hot!

[unjust]

i'd suggest putting it in a bench vise adn *carefully* bending it back

[patrick HOLLAND]

i'd suggest putting it in a bench vise adn *carefully* bending it back

but you've got a chance that it wil break

[samfishers]

heat them up until red then put it in a bench vise then launch in cold water

[unjust]

if they're not iron heating runs a good chance of them melting rather than going red.... if they are iron they're probably ductile enough to bend back if they went that way.