Learn Locksmithing for Free - Lesson #1 (What You'll Need and Lock Cylinder Basics)

Welcome to Learn Locksmithing for Free, Lesson #1 - What You'll Need and Lock Cylinder Basics.

Your first lesson is very simple: it will give you an understanding of the tools you will need to get started. I will also tell you how keys work in locks. Don't worry. I have a trimmed-down list of the basic items you will need, and purchasing them will not cost you an arm and a leg. That is, unless you want to buy a key duplicating machine, which you will need to do eventually.

Here is the list:

1. A lab .003 pin kit. You can get a small one, or get the professional size.

2. A standard-sized plug follower.

3. A package of steel cylinder shims to use when there is no key for the cylinder you need to re-key.

4. A set of picks. All you will need is two rakes, a couple of tension wrenches, and couple of spiral broken key extractors. A word about picks here. In some states, you cannot get these unless you have a locksmith license. However, you can find them online. Just steer away from the gimmick lock pick sets. If it says CIA on it, you're being sold a feeling, not a tool set. Plus, you really don't pick locks these days. Sure you will pick open a house lock, or maybe a drawer lock, but, after spending thirty years in this business, I have come to the conclusion that lock picking is more about show, hype, and making sales of picks than it is an actual practice. If you find a small set at a great price, get it.

5. A Kwikset cylinder removal tool.

6. A Kwikset Smart Key reset cradle or resetting tool.

7. Drivers, including a small, flat-head driver used from prying clips off the back of cylinder plugs.

8. Kwikset key blanks - five-pin blanks versus the six-pin - (box of fifty)

9. A regular Kwikset knob, and a Smartkey knob.

You should be able to get these items from any locksmith distributor. Look online for HL Flake in Memphis, Tennessee, or IDN Armstrong's. Get their phone number, and give them a call. Tell them what you are doing, and ask them if they will sell to you.

David Calvin's theory of learning locksmithing: Learn the locks, and you will learn the skills. The first lesson, really, will be how to take apart the Kwikset lock and pin it. But, for now, let me show you how 95% of all cylinders work. Take a look at the cylinder below. This is a key-in-knob cylinder, or a KIK cylinder. If you can learn this, you will have learned the rim cylinder and the mortise cylinder because they are all alike. They are only different in shape and tailpiece application. So, lets go to the picture.

Key-in-knob cylinder broken down.

Key-in-knob cylinder with tailpiece removed and plug being pushed out by follower, thus holding the
top pins and springs in place.

The Parts of the Lock and Key

1. The key. This is a Schlage key made by LSDA. It is an SC1 key. Starting with the bow, or handle of the key, which you see on the right, we work our way left. Note the first pin. Notice how it sits in a deep hole, which is called the first cut. At the bottom of this cut is a tiny flat spot where the point of the pin comes to rest when the key is inserted. The deepest cut for a Schlage is a 9 depth. The shallowest is a 0 cut. As you proceed from right to left, you will see six cuts in this key and six pins corresponding to each cut. (Some locks only have five pins. So be sure you use a 5 cut key with a 5 pin or 6 pin lock. If you have a 5 pin lock, you must use a 5 pin key, otherwise, the key will not enter the lock completely.) Remember: the key, in this case, Schlage, has 9 depths, from 0 to 9, and six cuts. That is known as depths and spacings.

2. The plug. To the left of the key is a round cylinder called a cylinder plug. Once the key is inserted into the plug, the bottoms pins are are installed into it corresponding to the cuts in the key. If the pins inserted into the plug are flush, then the plug will turn in the core. See those holes? When there is no key present, the top pins, pushed by springs, are forced into the holes, thus obliterating the sheer line. When the right key is inserted, the bottom pins rise up to the correct height, push the top pins up, and a sheer line is created. Then, the key will turn. (Note here that the springs and top pins stay in the top part of the shell. You can see the shell on the top of the picture. Behind it is the follower, the tool you will use to push out the plug while holding the top pins and springs in place.)

Looking at the first cut, can you guess what depth are you looking at? A shallow or a deep cut? It is deep. I would guess that cut is a 9 depth. So, when I am re-keying this lock, I will insert the key into the lock plug, the round cylinder to the left, take a 9 Schlage pin out of my Lab pin kit, and drop it into the first hole. If the pin sits flush with the top of the plug, then I guessed correctly. If the pin sits too low or two high, I will try the next pin, either taller or shorter, until I get the right pin. (By the way, original Schlage keys have the pin numbers stamped on them!) If, however, you are pinning up a lock using a sloppy, worn out key, then you have to fudge with the sizes. Just find the right pins that, once dropped into the plug, sit flush.

3. The shell. I have mentioned that. The shell is the part into which the plug slides and which holds the top pins and springs in place. When you are re-keying a lock like this, I never removed the springs and top pins unless the lock does not work smoothly.

4. The tailpiece. You can see it in the bottom picture. They all work the same, only they come in different lengths. When you buy a new KIK cylinder, it will come with all of the sizes you will need for most commercial levers, knobs, and deadbolts. When reinstalling the tailpiece, tighten the nut to snug, then back off an eight of a turn. If it is too tight, the cylinder will not turn smoothly. If it is too loose, the key will not come out. Try doing this. Install the nut loosely and insert your key. Try to pull the key out. Then, holding the front of the plug in, pull on the key. Note the key will come out. Sometimes, people call me and can't get their key out of their business lock. This is because, somehow, the nut is worn or came loose. On mortise locks, it happens because the two screws holding the cam on are loose.

5. Pins. Top pins are generally one size and are flat on both ends. Bottom pins always have points. Yes, they wear out. When they do, the sheer line is effected, and the key snags.

Note: In the event you accidentally dump out all of the top pins and springs, it is easy to fix. Insert your follower in the shell, and put it up close to the number 3 pin chamber. Insert a spring with your pin tweezers, and then insert a top pin. Hold them in place and slide the follower to cover them. Do chamber 2 and 1. Then, looking into the REAR of the shell, pull the follower out toward the front until you see the empty number 4 chamber. Install a spring and a top pin, slide the follower forward, and then do chambers 5 and 6. In fact, you need to practice this. It is not a big deal.

Learn this material, get your tools, and proceed to lesson two, where you will learn to work on the Kwikset pin tumbler lock.