How long should it take to get in a lock it took me to long

[Hollywoodpick]

I did my first lock open job the other day we are now moved back to our new location. Getting ready to order all my other things now key cutter blanks and so on.

I tryed picks then i used a pick gun and then bump key and went back to each one a few times then the bump at last worked i must of hit it 100 times and my finger to.

I got it to turn the wrong way but then used a plug spinner to zap it over and get in.
It must of been a good hour on this one lock.
What is a normal time for doing this - it was a old quickset door lock not a dead bolt that looks like it had been beat with a hammer a few times and very dry in side it was not opened for over a year i was told.

Thanks

[Evan]

I did my first lock open job the other day we are now moved back to our new location. Getting ready to order all my other things now key cutter blanks and so on.

I tryed picks then i used a pick gun and then bump key and went back to each one a few times then the bump at last worked i must of hit it 100 times and my finger to.

I got it to turn the wrong way but then used a plug spinner to zap it over and get in.
It must of been a good hour on this one lock.
What is a normal time for doing this - it was a old quickset door lock not a dead bolt that looks like it had been beat with a hammer a few times and very dry in side it was not opened for over a year i was told.

Thanks

@Hollywoodpick:

If it took you an hour of playing around with various tools and equipment before you were able to open *A* lock on *A* door, you need a lot more practice before you start taking lock out calls and charging money...

Is an hour of your time (and your customer's too) really worth saving a $10 lock so it can be reused ?

~~ Evan

[camelgd]

Hi Mr. H.W. Pick,
If you are going to work in the field of locksmithing, you should learn to carry around a can of lubricant with a straw connected to the nozzle. Unless there is the slightest chance you are going to have to impression the lock you are to open, lube it and exercise the tumblers with a blank of the proper keyway to get the lubricant into the tumbler chambers. You are just spitting into the wind if you don't lube them first, because even a simple kwikset becomes a bear if the tumblers won't slide easily or get stuck above the shearline.
I tend to leave the drill in the truck except for the most extreme cases. Kwikset is never an extreme case- there are at least 2 and sometimes 3 bypass methods available that will open the door and leave the lock undamaged. Learn them soon if you do not know them. I am not sure I can share them on this forum, so I won't. Maybe one of the moderators can make a decision on that, but I can't.
If there is a chance that you have to impression a lock that you just lubed, also carry contact cleaner on the truck. It will wash out the lock and evaporate, leaving it dry for impressioning.
Best of luck to you- you've just taken an involuntary vow of poverty, and shortened your lifespan by ten years. The good news is that there is no such thing as retirement, and you will never be unemployed again(just underemployed!)
Al camelgd

[femurat]

I don't know if a lock is still usable after being hit 100 times...

[Hollywoodpick]

I should of just drilled it out.

? i am looking at buying the Cylinder Eater anyone using this is it a good investment??

[amlwchlocksmiths]

iv had this problem once but i know the guy i was doing it for and i was board lol
and i wouldnt spend that much time on a lock thats been left again i will drill it as soon as i hear time in years

[Hollywoodpick]

I just placed my first order with USLock and and picked up many styles and rated lock sets and DBs so yaa i could of dilled it and installed a new low cost grad 3 in no time that cost not much.
Learning more every day.

I am using CRC in the locks now to get then louse that seems to help alot.

[CVScam]

Those locks are so cheap, loose, exposed to weather, I would never try to use a bump key on them. I keep a ring of about 40 old kwickset keys and it opens about 75% of the kw1 locks I see.

[Hollywoodpick]

Those locks are so cheap, loose, exposed to weather, I would never try to use a bump key on them. I keep a ring of about 40 old kwickset keys and it opens about 75% of the kw1 locks I see.

Sounds like a good plan.

I see i could or got a puller to i now know about and a few other things i have learned.

It's very hard to get all the right info when starting out and be able to order it after you find out about it but i am all set up now with supplyer's 4 of them at last

I will say to anyone starting out you will save a lot of $$ on equipment if you some how get with a few good pro locksmith supplyer's as the cost of everything is much less then buying from open sell to anyone websites and you will find a lot more much more to learn about and more tools that can help you out faster. But you will need a lot of info to give to them like business licence and other things showing you are going to be or are a locksmith and some you need a sponsor before they will sell to you or let you in. You do need to be on the up and up. It took me many months to get all this worked out and i now feel like a world of information has opened up to me that is helping me in every way possible. You can also then see many classes and trade show you can go to to learn more you many never got to know about any other way. It has make me change my list of tools i want many times and saved me a lot of $$ on buying them.

I am in no position to sponsor anyone so please do not ask i am still on trial with many places. I will not list the places in a open area here or in a PM as i do not want any trouble. Still on trial here to.