day in the life of a locksmith

[Silverado]

Congrats on the new position cledry!

ltdbjd, sounds like you had a great time.

[cledry]

I've always just replaced the clutch on a Grade 1 lever lock in the past from the dozens of used ones we have in stock. I grabbed a clutch and went to the closet with the messed up handle. And of course, Mr. Murphy was waiting there to visit me. Somebody installed the lock "backwards." "Backwards" being an OCD thing, meaning the mounting screws were on the outside of the closet door instead of the inside. So I had grabbed the wrong clutch.

Going back to the shop to grab a different one is a 45 minute ordeal which involves rolling a cart of tools and equipment about a 1/2 mile round trip, loading and unloading it into a van, being searched on the way in and out, having all your equipment gone through on the way in and out, signing in and out, submitting a list of tools you bring in to be compared to the tools you bring out (they frown on leaving saws, hammers, screwdrivers, security bits, Dremel tool with cut off wheels, angle grinders, etc. behind) ... all drawbacks to being a locksmith at a maximum security prison.

I know the clutch failed because the spring broke; I've just never tried to replace one. And I didn't have a spring with me. So I carefully pried the cover off the clutch I brought with me so I could look at the spring position, and there was Mr. Murphy again ... SPROINGGG ... the spring pops out of position as I lift the cover. Wonderful, so much for having an example to work from. Luckily I have a pretty good idea how it should work based on some of the older Weiser, Westlock and no-name brand Chinese knobs.

Let's see, set the spring how I think it should be, try to put everything back together, and SPROINGGG, start over, SPROINGGGG, start over, SPROINGGG, start over. After loudly yelling "FUDGE," (which like in the movie A Christmas Story wasn't really "fudge") and a few more tries, I finally get it back together. Covered in old,
dirty, black grease. That is, until I realize the way I put it back together is about 90 degrees off. So I think about just leaving the handle in its vertical position and just telling everybody it's the new way of mounting things that they use on the other side of the equator where everything is backwards from the way they work in the US. But I have too much pride in my work. So I take it apart again, and after a few more spring issues and profanity, I finally get it together the right way. I guess that's one of the good things about working in a prison, nobody gets offended when you scream FUDGE in absolute frustration. Try that working on a door in Xerox headquarters one day and I bet it doesn't go over as smoothly.

So that was my day Monday. Good part - the sense of accomplishment getting everything working perfectly on a new task you had to learn on your own by trial and error. Bad part - learning a new task on your own by trial and error.

This is why I replace with new rather than repair. The customer gets a lock with a manufacturer warranty, I also feel comfortable offering our labor warranty. I used to repair thinking I was saving money but over the years I have determined that a new lock is better in terms of labour time and possible recalls. It is now our company policy unless it is an actual new service part that the manufacturer offers, we replace the entire unit.

[Tyler J. Thomas]

Well I haven't had an easy last 2 weeks.

Started 2 Sundays ago with an Auditcon lockout in the morning. Various little jobs Monday with training on Tuesday and Wednesday. Massive IC rekey Thursday through Monday at 2 AM, 460 cores. I think I did 150+ on Monday alone. Thursday was the NDE access control job and that went horribly. Everything that could go wrong did. Originally anticipated 6 hours total for the install and we came in right at 6. The next day of commmissioning and programming ended up taking 7-8 (we thought 4) because of issues with the CDVI programming. The firmware wasn't updated on the locks, the CDVI board didn't have the programming software, and tons of other little things. I am not happy with our distributor, to say the least, because a good 4 hours of that was solely on them selling us used product and stuff that had been sitting in their shelves for over a year. Had a great Allegion rep out with me to assist and he stuck it out with me until we figured it out. Going back Monday to finish programming. Did a massive rekey again today - a warehouse in the middle of nowhere north Georgia. Luckily the GC we worked with had done this sort of thing dozens of time so it was smooth sailing. Around lunch we got a call that we were needed to install 18 Trident locks in mid December. Yes, 18. I'm going to need to eat my Wheaties that week.

I'll post some pictures and write ups soon. For now, it's time for a few beers.

[billdeserthills]

I've always just replaced the clutch on a Grade 1 lever lock in the past from the dozens of used ones we have in stock. I grabbed a clutch and went to the closet with the messed up handle. And of course, Mr. Murphy was waiting there to visit me. Somebody installed the lock "backwards." "Backwards" being an OCD thing, meaning the mounting screws were on the outside of the closet door instead of the inside. So I had grabbed the wrong clutch.

Going back to the shop to grab a different one is a 45 minute ordeal which involves rolling a cart of tools and equipment about a 1/2 mile round trip, loading and unloading it into a van, being searched on the way in and out, having all your equipment gone through on the way in and out, signing in and out, submitting a list of tools you bring in to be compared to the tools you bring out (they frown on leaving saws, hammers, screwdrivers, security bits, Dremel tool with cut off wheels, angle grinders, etc. behind) ... all drawbacks to being a locksmith at a maximum security prison.

I know the clutch failed because the spring broke; I've just never tried to replace one. And I didn't have a spring with me. So I carefully pried the cover off the clutch I brought with me so I could look at the spring position, and there was Mr. Murphy again ... SPROINGGG ... the spring pops out of position as I lift the cover. Wonderful, so much for having an example to work from. Luckily I have a pretty good idea how it should work based on some of the older Weiser, Westlock and no-name brand Chinese knobs.

Let's see, set the spring how I think it should be, try to put everything back together, and SPROINGGG, start over, SPROINGGGG, start over, SPROINGGG, start over. After loudly yelling "FUDGE," (which like in the movie A Christmas Story wasn't really "fudge") and a few more tries, I finally get it back together. Covered in old,
dirty, black grease. That is, until I realize the way I put it back together is about 90 degrees off. So I think about just leaving the handle in its vertical position and just telling everybody it's the new way of mounting things that they use on the other side of the equator where everything is backwards from the way they work in the US. But I have too much pride in my work. So I take it apart again, and after a few more spring issues and profanity, I finally get it together the right way. I guess that's one of the good things about working in a prison, nobody gets offended when you scream FUDGE in absolute frustration. Try that working on a door in Xerox headquarters one day and I bet it doesn't go over as smoothly.

So that was my day Monday. Good part - the sense of accomplishment getting everything working perfectly on a new task you had to learn on your own by trial and error. Bad part - learning a new task on your own by trial and error.

This is why I replace with new rather than repair. The customer gets a lock with a manufacturer warranty, I also feel comfortable offering our labor warranty. I used to repair thinking I was saving money but over the years I have determined that a new lock is better in terms of labour time and possible recalls. It is now our company policy unless it is an actual new service part that the manufacturer offers, we replace the entire unit.

Some things are not profitable to repair, such as rekeying postal locks, but when I come across a schlage A series lock that needs grease it's much cheaper to grease than toss in the trash, as long as no serious galling (metal to metal contact) has occurred. I don't mind rekeying the postal locks either, but on a slow day in the shop, mebbe

I haven't had a clutch unit decompress, but the first time I opened up an Xbouvet mortise lock case it went 'sproing'--Took awhile for me to figure out just where everything went, but when I got done all the pieces were accounted for. Took me awhile to start watching where all those irreplaceable small parts Sproing to, but that is job 1 when something goes Sproing on me now --at least if you have the parts, you can maybe make it work still

[billdeserthills]

Congrats on the new position cledry!

Glad to hear you moved up Cledry

I remember at the first lock shop I apprenticed at, there was a guy we called 'the old man'
& he was the repository of lock & key information for the whole shop--Is that in your job title too?

[cledry]

Congrats on the new position cledry!

Glad to hear you moved up Cledry

I remember at the first lock shop I apprenticed at, there was a guy we called 'the old man'
& he was the repository of lock & key information for the whole shop--Is that in your job title too?

Possibly, I do get a lot of calls from the locksmiths in the field asking me questions.

I actually went out on a job today because no other locksmiths were available that could do access control. LOL when I got there I found the reason the electric strike was not locking. The installer had used an entry function lock and a customer turned the inside knob.

Swapped in a storeroom function and was on my way in about 10 minutes.

[cledry]

Well I haven't had an easy last 2 weeks.

Started 2 Sundays ago with an Auditcon lockout in the morning. Various little jobs Monday with training on Tuesday and Wednesday. Massive IC rekey Thursday through Monday at 2 AM, 460 cores. I think I did 150+ on Monday alone. Thursday was the NDE access control job and that went horribly. Everything that could go wrong did. Originally anticipated 6 hours total for the install and we came in right at 6. The next day of commmissioning and programming ended up taking 7-8 (we thought 4) because of issues with the CDVI programming. The firmware wasn't updated on the locks, the CDVI board didn't have the programming software, and tons of other little things. I am not happy with our distributor, to say the least, because a good 4 hours of that was solely on them selling us used product and stuff that had been sitting in their shelves for over a year. Had a great Allegion rep out with me to assist and he stuck it out with me until we figured it out. Going back Monday to finish programming. Did a massive rekey again today - a warehouse in the middle of nowhere north Georgia. Luckily the GC we worked with had done this sort of thing dozens of time so it was smooth sailing. Around lunch we got a call that we were needed to install 18 Trident locks in mid December. Yes, 18. I'm going to need to eat my Wheaties that week.

I'll post some pictures and write ups soon. For now, it's time for a few beers.

Let me guess, Tridents are being installed on the back door of Spring Mobile stores?

Funny, you had Auditcon lockout and we had a failure of a LKM7000 on an Overly door.

[Tyler J. Thomas]

Well I haven't had an easy last 2 weeks.

Started 2 Sundays ago with an Auditcon lockout in the morning. Various little jobs Monday with training on Tuesday and Wednesday. Massive IC rekey Thursday through Monday at 2 AM, 460 cores. I think I did 150+ on Monday alone. Thursday was the NDE access control job and that went horribly. Everything that could go wrong did. Originally anticipated 6 hours total for the install and we came in right at 6. The next day of commmissioning and programming ended up taking 7-8 (we thought 4) because of issues with the CDVI programming. The firmware wasn't updated on the locks, the CDVI board didn't have the programming software, and tons of other little things. I am not happy with our distributor, to say the least, because a good 4 hours of that was solely on them selling us used product and stuff that had been sitting in their shelves for over a year. Had a great Allegion rep out with me to assist and he stuck it out with me until we figured it out. Going back Monday to finish programming. Did a massive rekey again today - a warehouse in the middle of nowhere north Georgia. Luckily the GC we worked with had done this sort of thing dozens of time so it was smooth sailing. Around lunch we got a call that we were needed to install 18 Trident locks in mid December. Yes, 18. I'm going to need to eat my Wheaties that week.

I'll post some pictures and write ups soon. For now, it's time for a few beers.

Let me guess, Tridents are being installed on the back door of Spring Mobile stores?

Funny, you had Auditcon lockout and we had a failure of a LKM7000 on an Overly door.

Ha! The one time I have installed a Trident it was on a T-Mobile store but that was 2010 or 2011. It's definitely been a while; I will need to brush up on the install again before trying to pull off 3 a day.

From what we know initially, it's at a single job site. We believe its a warehouse. We're going to visit shortly before the job to do a walk through to see if any of the frames are poured, etc. Definitely didn't sound like multiple locations because some of the questions we asked were answered in a singular manner.

[cledry]

Well I haven't had an easy last 2 weeks.

Started 2 Sundays ago with an Auditcon lockout in the morning. Various little jobs Monday with training on Tuesday and Wednesday. Massive IC rekey Thursday through Monday at 2 AM, 460 cores. I think I did 150+ on Monday alone. Thursday was the NDE access control job and that went horribly. Everything that could go wrong did. Originally anticipated 6 hours total for the install and we came in right at 6. The next day of commmissioning and programming ended up taking 7-8 (we thought 4) because of issues with the CDVI programming. The firmware wasn't updated on the locks, the CDVI board didn't have the programming software, and tons of other little things. I am not happy with our distributor, to say the least, because a good 4 hours of that was solely on them selling us used product and stuff that had been sitting in their shelves for over a year. Had a great Allegion rep out with me to assist and he stuck it out with me until we figured it out. Going back Monday to finish programming. Did a massive rekey again today - a warehouse in the middle of nowhere north Georgia. Luckily the GC we worked with had done this sort of thing dozens of time so it was smooth sailing. Around lunch we got a call that we were needed to install 18 Trident locks in mid December. Yes, 18. I'm going to need to eat my Wheaties that week.

I'll post some pictures and write ups soon. For now, it's time for a few beers.

Let me guess, Tridents are being installed on the back door of Spring Mobile stores?

Funny, you had Auditcon lockout and we had a failure of a LKM7000 on an Overly door.

Ha! The one time I have installed a Trident it was on a T-Mobile store but that was 2010 or 2011. It's definitely been a while; I will need to brush up on the install again before trying to pull off 3 a day.

From what we know initially, it's at a single job site. We believe its a warehouse. We're going to visit shortly before the job to do a walk through to see if any of the frames are poured, etc. Definitely didn't sound like multiple locations because some of the questions we asked were answered in a singular manner.

3 a day on fresh installs is possible but realistically I budget 3 hours a piece on installations where existing hardware is already in place and some installs take about 4 hours, especially if using outside control.

[ltdbjd]

Guess inmates aren't the only danger when you work in a prison. "CATASTROPHIC FAILURE" Those are comforting words.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead releases supplemental budget
By Matt Murphy, Wyoming Tribune Eagle Dec 1, 2016

...

The other contingency is $19.2 million as an emergency measure in case of a catastrophic failure of the Wyoming State Penitentiary. That cost represents what it would take to move prisoners and house them elsewhere for one year.

Such a scenario is unlikely, but Mead said the money is needed “out of an abundance of caution.” The state penitentiary has numerous structural issues, though lawmakers are putting short-term and long-term plans in place to correct those problems.

Current estimates place the entire cost to repair the state penitentiary at more than $80 million, and Mead has suggested bonds as a way to pay for the work.

http://www.wyomingbusinessreport.com/newsletter_am/wyoming-gov-matt-mead-releases-supplemental-budget/article_d1c598e1-030a-5e27-92ea-0886f0ee1371.html

[Tyler J. Thomas]

Guess inmates aren't the only danger when you work in a prison. "CATASTROPHIC FAILURE" Those are comforting words.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead releases supplemental budget
By Matt Murphy, Wyoming Tribune Eagle Dec 1, 2016

...

The other contingency is $19.2 million as an emergency measure in case of a catastrophic failure of the Wyoming State Penitentiary. That cost represents what it would take to move prisoners and house them elsewhere for one year.

Such a scenario is unlikely, but Mead said the money is needed “out of an abundance of caution.” The state penitentiary has numerous structural issues, though lawmakers are putting short-term and long-term plans in place to correct those problems.

Current estimates place the entire cost to repair the state penitentiary at more than $80 million, and Mead has suggested bonds as a way to pay for the work.

http://www.wyomingbusinessreport.com/newsletter_am/wyoming-gov-matt-mead-releases-supplemental-budget/article_d1c598e1-030a-5e27-92ea-0886f0ee1371.html

You know the deal...bureaucracy, politics, etc.

I got to visit that warehouse for the Tridents. Woo buddy they're going to be interesting installs. The walls have fire-resistant insulation that is about 3.5" thick and sits on top of the concrete walls. Imagine the inside of a padded room at an asylum - that's what they look like. We're going to need to use at least, probably 2, double gang boxes to build the alarm boxes for each unit to sit far enough beyond the insulation so that they can at least change the batteries. I have no clue if this insulation is required by code or what the code implications are, if any, for field modifications but the GC has signed off that such modifications would be fine. Fine by me!

[Tyler J. Thomas]

I was teaching myself a new joinery technique and decided to build something I could at work and in my shop. I've built these before and my good friend still uses the first I ever made in his truck. Makes carrying tools between the truck and wherever a breeze. Also keeps them easily accessible.

[jeffmoss26]

Tyler - that is awesome!!

[shutterstuff]

I was teaching myself a new joinery technique and decided to build something I could at work and in my shop. I've built these before and my good friend still uses the first I ever made in his truck. Makes carrying tools between the truck and wherever a breeze. Also keeps them easily accessible.

I saw something similar a while ago in a pic of someones van. I like yours far better and may copy that myself. Nice job!

[Tyler J. Thomas]

Thanks guys.