Key machine guide

[Raymond]

I was cutting a key on another man's key duplicator and noticed that the guide was actually scraping a noticeable thin layer of brass from the original key. I put this machine out of service quickly. I pulled out the guide and rubbed it smooth on a whet stone and then polished it with silicon carbide lapping tape. The key duplicator is a 40? year old Borkey.

Just wondered if anyone else has seen this happen.

[GWiens2001]

Yes. Someone brought me a machine to calibrate it because it could not cut a second generation key reliably, let alone third generation.

I also noticed that the person also uses excessive force when tracing the original key. For those who are newer to key duplication, keep in mind that you can not reliably apply force to something by hand. If you are using a fair bit of force, try measuring your keys with a micrometer. You will be surprised at how much variation you will find.

Gordon

[cledry]

All key machines remove material from the original key, it is a very small amount. For example if we are duplicating a key several hundred times we will code cut a new key to copy from every 25 or so keys if brass and every 50 if nickel silver.

[billdeserthills]

My biz is a one-man show, none of my key machines have a scrapey part because I know what Gordon is talking about with the excessive force & I'm the only one around who operates & rebuilds my machines

[cledry]

If you use a machine that is automatic or semi-automatic this depends on the spring strength holding the key against the copy dog. Excessive force shouldn't enter the equation. However a small amount of brass will still be removed. I don't know of any locksmith that would still use a manual machine solely, even though they can cut a perfectly fine key they are too slow.
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[Raymond]

I agree. This machine is an OLD Borkey. It does have a spring controlled pressure. I was just very surprised how sharp the tip of his guide blade was. I also use the same model of Borkey and have never had the problem. His blade could cut paper.

[BlueLock]

Definitely learned about the negative effects of varying pressure on my trusty old Foley-Belsaw 200. I picked it up very cheap and barely used from someone who had taken the F-B online course, but then decided to be a plumber instead. It took careful setup and a decent amount of practice to use as little pressure as possible tracing the old key to make very close to original depth cuts. Since then, no problems whatsoever. I have actually been able to successfully duplicate a few tight tolerance keys. Sure, 1 out of 4 was no good, but 3 of the 4 worked just fine