Just signed up for Foley-Belsaw locksmithing school...

[rwp42]

Thanks, lostlink. I'm hoping that I get my shipment of lessons early this week -- I'm chomping at the bit to get started. Nice to hear that the key machine is working for you.

Good luck finishing the course! I'll post followups as I work through mine.

RwP

[rwp42]

Just a quick follow-up: I received my 'student id' in the mail yesterday. It is really just a cutout printed on the first invoice, but official nonetheless. FB says 'laminate it if you want.' I'm hoping that the course completion ID is more substantive.

Also hoping that the first shipment of lessons 1-15 arrives today. >fingers crossed<

RwP

[dondel05]

Hello RWP!

Comgrat's on taking the FB Course!

I completed the course on Jan 2006 and just to let you know, the final ID card that they issue is less substantive than your student ID!?

I was somewhat disappointed in the quality of it too. I actually called them asking if they had something more official looking but they said no!
And added that the ID card has been accepted with no problems for years by the industry. It is also a cutout card on paper stock.

But it has been accepted by everyone that I have dealt with. At least the Diploma I received is good looking.

Anyway, good luck with the course and enjoy!

Donald

[rwp42]

dondel05 - Thanks for the info! Bummer that the final ID is the same, but that one I'll probably laminate. I'm guessing the Calif. state license ID is a bit more 'official' anyway.

RwP

[rwp42]

The first half of the lessons arrived via UPS last night! I took my prize into the garage and carefully extricated the contents:

+ Three lesson books (one for each set of five lessons).
+ Several brown envelopes containing materials for specific lessons.
+ "Wholesale" Locksmith catalog.
+ Achievement award for completing first five lessons (on honor system).
+ A couple welcome / intro letters.

I was able to go through the first six lessons in about three hours. They are not terribly challenging, but serve as an important foundation to concepts like the use of key catalogs, types of keys, types of locks, etc... Lesson seven gets a lot more hands on with impressioning a warded key. I can see that the rest of the lessons are not going to go as quickly as the first six.

So far I am really enjoying the process; I'm excited about tackling the impressioning tonight.

RwP

[rwp42]

Forgot: they also included an inexpensive file and a decent pair of tweezers (probably for handling pins later on).

In the first five lessons, you are given six cylinder key blanks and six flat key blanks -- all of which you get to keep.

RwP

[rwp42]

After a bit of Halloween fun with the kids, I was able to slink out to the garage and work for several hours completing lessons 7-10. Lesson 7 (impressioning a warded bit key) took the longest of the four remaining lessons. After a lot of hand filing, my first key opened the lock! An incredible feeling of accomplishment. I wanted to frame that key. (instead I just annoyed the wife: "Look! I made it! It opens the lock! Look!")

This batch has four exams and one small quiz. I like that some of the exam questions go back and review material all the way back to the beginning -- helps reinforce key concepts. It also included a warded padlock, four flat key blanks, a single half feeler lockpick, and a piece of spring steel that you are asked to fashion into a tension wrench. You get to keep all of these materials.

I must admit to being a bit surprised at how fast I am getting through the lessons. I have done quite a bit of studying over the years on my own, so I am sure that is a prime contributing reason. I just replaced my worn out 3rd edition Complete Guide to Locks and Locksmithing with a new 6th ed, so studying the trade is not a new thing for me.

In a brief scan ahead, it looks like the next set of lessons (11-15) cover pin tumbler lock picking, construction, etc... and other stuff like automotive locks.

FB sent a letter saying that my key machine had shipped, and would I like to order one of their key blank sets to help earn myself money while I learn. A very tempting offer. I think I need to do more research on the specific blanks that are included, and whether they would be a good value for me (as opposed to just buying blanks on my own).

RwP

PS: Forgot to mention earlier - FB includes a "Star" key blank catalog with lessons 1-5.

[rwp42]

Just completed modules 11-18 last night (!). I particularly enjoyed taking apart the disc tumbler and pin tumbler locks. These lessons would have gone a LOT slower if I had not already taken a rekeying course at the local city college.

FB provides a neat cutaway combination lock (Master) that was a lot of fun to play with. You have to 'read' the tumblers through a hole in the back and figure out the combination of the lock.

They do not provide a sidebar wafer lock, unfortunately. So that lesson is read and test.

Big sections on car opening, lockouts, and automotive lock and cylinder removal. All read and test, though. There is a lot of good info on how to remove locks from various models/makes of cars. I can see keeping the lesson book handy for future reference.

Pin tumbler key fitting was the longest lesson by far. It took me about 1.5 hours to hand file a five-pin key the first time. Getting the correct depth is pretty easy, but blending all the cuts and getting the slopes right really takes a lot of patience. My key worked smoothly, though. You have to trace the key on the back of a homework card to send back to FB for grading, but you get to keep the lock and keys.

Pin tumbler lock picking was a blast. FB thoughtfully gives you another pin tumbler lock for this one (I expected them to have you use the lock from the previous lesson). You get a lot of spare pins, springs, shims, KW1 blanks, delrin follower, small corrugated pinning mat, etc... -- all of which you get to keep. Oh, and they provide a couple more picks as well. I didn't really pay attention to that because I already own a Peterson Gov III set.

I ended this long but satisfying session on the Chicago Ace Lock lesson. No materials are provided, so it was another read-and-test. But very interesting information.

I have to say that I am VERY surprised at how quickly I am moving through the material. My previous experience and repinning course have certainly helped in that regard. But the FB course is filling in a lot of holes in my spotty self-taught knowledge. Despite this speed, I am very satisfied with the value of the course so far. They provide a LOT of information and supplement with a lot of hands-on gadgets that you get to keep and continue practicing with long after the class is done.

As an aside, my key machine (and lessons 26-30) arrived yesterday! I unpacked it and gave it a home on my workbench, but have not read the manual or set it up in any way. I'm saving that as a 'reward' for when I get to those lessons.

RwP

[Timtam]

Well done RwP. It sounds like the course is a really good thing.

[rwp42]

Thanks, Timtam. I am very happy with the course so far. I don't regret the money at all.

RwP

[rwp42]

I really worked hard the past couple of days and was able to complete lessons 19-30. >whew!<

The hardest lesson of all was impressioning a pin-tumbler lock -- that took me four hours of sweating, filing, and refiling.

I particularly enjoyed the master keying lesson. They give you a lock, a master and change key, and all the pins you need (plus extras). Disassembling the various locks and repinning them is a lot of fun.

Picking the double-sided wafer lock was trivial.

And then... the Key Machine!!! I spent an hour creating my own mounting board for it (note: you *have* to mount it to something for it to work -- the motor and the cutting machine are separate, connected by a drive belt only). Another hour was spent VERY CAREFULLY aligning everything. Had to do depth zeroing twice because the first time I didn't realize that the micrometer was in several complete rotations. Oh well, more practice is a good thing.

Because of all the extra blanks provided with the course, I was able to try duplicating my own house key several times. My third effort was flawless.

The lessons that cover key duplication and cutting keys by code were a blast to do (once the machine was properly set up). Now that it is 'true', I can just sit down and whip keys out pretty quickly.

The final lesson covered the basics of running a locksmithing business. FB includes a supplement after this lesson that was actually more informative about specific licensing, business, and tax requirements.

I'm now waiting for Monday's mail to pick up my final exams for grading. FB will then send me the diploma (I'm paid in full) and the three 'advanced' lessons on additional locksmithing, safes, and alarm systems. I'm looking forward to seeing these.

As an aside: I calculated the per-blank cost based on FB's key blank assortment offers. The $369 starter key kit (including 1300 foreign/domestic auto, house, and padlock blanks) works out to $0.28/blank on average. They sell a flat key blank kit averaging $0.32/blank. Anyone know if this is on par with other distributors?

I've been compiling a comprehensive list of required (and optional) tools, stock, and business items. Next week I will start the CA licensing process and place my first order for the stage one necessities. I'm trying to phase things in so as to limit my up-front monetary expense. My next educational step is to find a local locksmith who is willing to allow me to apprentice with them. I'm ready for some hands-on and real-world tutelage.

Here's to staying humble, with eyes and ears open to learning from the professionals.

RwP

[Black Zero]

Well it really looks like FB was a success for you, I'll have to sign up once I save a bit more money. Good luck in the future.

[rwp42]

Thanks, Black Zero. I would definitely recommend the course. I feel that I have gained enough base knowledge to not completely make a fool of myself in a starting apprentice situation.

From reading this thread, it does seem that they have restructured the course recently so students get to keep *all* of the materials they ship you. They also seem to provide a lot more blanks initially -- probably saves them having to keep shipping more during the impressioning part of the course.

Besides the key machine, I ended up with a double-sided wafer lock, two wafer locks, four mortise cylinder locks, a warded master padlock, a combination master padlock (with cutaway back), 30+ blanks, pin tweezers, three basic picks, tension wrench, about 6 shims, a pile of pins and springs, delrin follower, small pinning mat, two files, and a plug holder.

I think I'm going to mount all my locks in a practice board while I wait for the advanced courses to arrive. It'd be good at this point to practice lock installation I think.

RwP

RwP

[lostlink]

rwp42

Congrats on quickly advancing through the course!
Reading your posts have helped get me motivated back to my course.
I just completed my fall goal.........being able to park 2 vehicles in a 2 1/2 car garage. First I had to build a barn type of shed, and it turned out to be the shed of all sheds......built as well as most houses......

Best of luck.

L.L.

[rwp42]

lostlink: heh -- my own adventure in completing the FB course was predicated on cleaning my garage as well! I had to have a nice space to work (being able to actually see the floor was an added bonus).

Good luck in completing it! Do you have goals beyond the course itself?

RwP