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Another framon 2 question

Got a question about key machines? not sure what to buy? need a user manual? have some tips for keeping one running well or need help cutting or programming keys? Post here!

Another framon 2 question

Postby RedStagKiller » 7 Jan 2019 13:06

This is for anyone out there with a Framon 2 code machine. I was wondering what you use to cut keys such as Best "A" key (or currently im cutting Best "DD" keys to keep them in the vise due to the keyway. I know the instructions call for some brass piece, currently i use the tale piece off a rim cylinder ground down a but so the cutter wont hit.

I was just wondering if someone had some better solution that isn't as hard to try and clamp in the machine? Thanks in advance!
Just an AA living in an A world.
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Re: Another framon 2 question

Postby Jacob Morgan » 7 Jan 2019 13:43

If you do much of that and you cannot scrounge something of the right shape or buy something off-the-shelf, you might be interested in Sieveking's book http://sievekingprodco.com/locksmithguidebooks/insideinterchangeablecorecylinderservice.html on interchangeable cores. Chapter 4 is on making shims for key machines. He shows how to use the "clam system" (from Lockmasters) along with low-melt point Woods metal to mold perfect-fit shims. Between the book and all the stuff you would need to buy, probably looking at $100+ to get set up, but then it would only cost pennies per keyway to cast each additional set of shims and those shims would provide for rock-solid clamping.
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Re: Another framon 2 question

Postby tpark » 8 Jan 2019 8:36

You can cut off a piece of sheet metal brass stock and that will work. I purchased both the sfic cutter and the sfic key clamp for my Framon 2, and it's been worth it for me. I find that you have to be quite careful when making keys for Best SFIC cores, otherwise the key won't work perfectly. It's possible to make good keys with shims, but it takes enough time and effort that it was worth it for me to bite the bullet and purchase the correct cutter and jig for these keys. I special ordered mine from Brockhage. I find that Jet and Best blanks seem to give the best results, JMA ones seem to be a bit thinner than the other brands.
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Re: Another framon 2 question

Postby demux » 8 Jan 2019 11:37

If you're going to be doing this a lot and are prepared to drop $100 for the book and parts to build your own, you might also consider buying the special SFIC vise for the machine:

http://www.hawleylocksupply.com/Merchan ... de=F-Parts

I bought one for mine, and found it to be worth the cost. The other nice thing about it is it comes with a builtin tip stop, which is how SFIC keys are measured, so it also eliminates the need to "reverse engineer" the spacing from the shoulder.

If you go that route though, I'll give one word of caution. Apparently when Framon builds the machines, they custom fit the vise to the machine, so if you add an after-market vice it is possible that it will register in the carriage such that it's not perfectly parallel to the axis of motion of the machine. At least this is the case for the older manual #2 machines like I have. I spoke directly to Phil about this and he confirmed it. So you may have to slightly file the vise to adjust the registration, or simply correct for the error by adjusting the depth accordingly as you cut the key. The good news is that at least on mine (and having spoken to Phil and knowing the underlying reason, I suspect this would be the case universally), the error is constant and predictable, so it's easy to adjust for on the fly.
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Re: Another framon 2 question

Postby RedStagKiller » 8 Jan 2019 11:42

tpark wrote:You can cut off a piece of sheet metal brass stock and that will work. I purchased both the sfic cutter and the sfic key clamp for my Framon 2, and it's been worth it for me. I find that you have to be quite careful when making keys for Best SFIC cores, otherwise the key won't work perfectly. It's possible to make good keys with shims, but it takes enough time and effort that it was worth it for me to bite the bullet and purchase the correct cutter and jig for these keys. I special ordered mine from Brockhage. I find that Jet and Best blanks seem to give the best results, JMA ones seem to be a bit thinner than the other brands.



What was the cost on that if you don't mind me asking? I wouldn't mind knowing before I brought it to the boss and ask him to order me one.

I do quite a bit of best SFIC keys and this would probable save me a bit of time.
Just an AA living in an A world.
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Re: Another framon 2 question

Postby tpark » 28 May 2019 22:41

I was looking through the forum and I missed this - it was $99.95 USD from Brockhage at the time, which was 31-May-2016.
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