Locksmith work

[Jerry Bruette]

Anybody ever try to rekey a Schlage deadbolt with the tumbler kits from the BORG? Did it actually work? Local locksmith says I'd have about a 10% chance of getting it right, but he might be looking for business.

[John Olier]

My locksmith charges $6.50 to rekey a lock. No way in heck am I going to buy a kit, take a lock cylinder apart and try to rekey it to save $6.59 and possibly have to go buy a new lock because I screwed that one up.

[John Coloccia]

Rekeying a lock is very easy, but locksmiths do it so cheaply that it's not worth it. BTW, doesn't HD rekey locks too? Anyhow, that 10% chance thing is just complete nonsense. There's no reason you can't get it right the first time.

But it's seriously not worth it.

[Lee Schierer]

Schlage makes a lock now that can be rekeyed with just a special tool that comes with the lock. You put in the original key,rotate the cylinder to a certain position, insert the tool in a slot, then insert the new key and turn it back to the original position and you are done. It can be done countless times as long as you have the key that opens it and the special tool.

[ray hampton]

If a locksmith charge under a 10 dollar bill to rekey your lock, then get him/her to do it, but you need to consider that if a smith can rekey for this low price then it must be easy, if you do the rekey alike then hold the key in the cylinder in your vise so that the key will not move while you file the pins

[Steve Peterson]

I have re-keyed several Baldwin locks that are similar to Schlage, or at least the pins are the same. Kwikset has slightly different pin sizes. Make sure to buy the re-key kit for Schlage.

Once you have the lock apart, it really is only a 2-3 minute job to re-key the cylinder. You need the old key in the lock. Push the inner cylinder out using the plastic tube. Drop out the old pins. Put in the new key and put the new pins in to the proper positions. Slide the inner cylinder back into position and re-assemble the lock.

One problem with the borg re-key set is that it provides a key and pins that are specific to that key. If you are trying to match a different key, then you may need other pin lengths. You can file down a long pin, but it is difficult to get the exact length to make the lock work smoothly. I bought a used lock re-key set from Ebay for about $30 that has about 20 of each pins from 0-9, plus about a pound of random pins in a ziplock bag. When I run out of a certain length, then I should be able to find the pin I need. For 1 or 2 locks, it would be cheaper to just pay the locksmith.

Steve

[Ole Anderson]

When I bought my new set of Schlage locks a few years ago, including the front door deadbolt, the guy at HD rekeyed them in the store while I waited. No extra charge. One key fits all.

[Jerry Bruette]

Schlage makes a lock now that can be rekeyed with just a special tool that comes with the lock. You put in the original key,rotate the cylinder to a certain position, insert the tool in a slot, then insert the new key and turn it back to the original position and you are done. It can be done countless times as long as you have the key that opens it and the special tool.

Schlage quit making this type of lock. I have two deadbolts of this type and one that doesn't have this feature. When I called the locksmith to see if he could help with the special key he talked very badly of them. So now I have two keyed the same and one different and was wondering if it was worth it to rekey myself or have him do it and listen to him bad mouth Schlage and the type of deadbolts I didn't buy from him.

[John Coloccia]

Schlage quit making this type of lock. I have two deadbolts of this type and one that doesn't have this feature. When I called the locksmith to see if he could help with the special key he talked very badly of them. So now I have two keyed the same and one different and was wondering if it was worth it to rekey myself or have him do it and listen to him bad mouth Schlage and the type of deadbolts I didn't buy from him.

It's like anything else. Ask a serious woodworker what they think of Black and Decker, they'll probably say they make garbage. Ask your typical homeowner, and they'll brag about all the cool Black and Decker stuff they have. It's not much different here. I'm kind of into locks a little, and I'd tend to somewhat agree with your locksmith. The "smartkey" locks are needlessly complicated contraptions that detract from the simple elegance of a typical lock. That said, there's really nothing particularly, glaringly wrong with them. I might site some concerns over the mechanism, or even some security concerns, but the fact that these really aren't practical concerns since the things generally work and do what they're supposed to do.

Sometimes you don't need Festool...Black and Decker's fine. I think this is probably one of those times. But if I recall the mechanism correctly, and I'll admit I'm not an expert but just from memory, isn't the rekey tool just a flat piece of metal? I think all it does is slip in there and disengage a bar so that the wafers can get a new orientation in relation to the pins. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but I'd guess that nearly any flat piece of metal might do? Don't yell at me if you break it off inside the lock and ruin it!

[Jerry Bruette]

Sometimes you don't need Festool...Black and Decker's fine. I think this is probably one of those times. But if I recall the mechanism correctly, and I'll admit I'm not an expert but just from memory, isn't the rekey tool just a flat piece of metal? I think all it does is slip in there and disengage a bar so that the wafers can get a new orientation in relation to the pins. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but I'd guess that nearly any flat piece of metal might do? Don't yell at me if you break it off inside the lock and ruin it!

The model I have uses a bluish colored key to reset the tumblers. Supposedly Schlage quit making the unit because people didn't pay attention to the directions, which say not to use the bluish colored key to repeatedly open lock. Eventually the lock stops working if you do this.

Now I have two units that are keyed alike and are rekeyable and one unit that's keyed different and not rekeyable with a bluish colored key.

Locksmith claims the "smartkey" units are prone to failure from something as simple as sand that might get blown into the unit or other debris that can get into the lock.

Guess I'll just bite the bullet and bring the deadbolt to him and let him rekey it.

[ray hampton]

how will sand or water get into the lock cylinder IF you got storm doors

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

Smartkey locks are made by Kwikset, and still available at BORG.

[ray hampton]

Smartkey locks are made by Kwikset, and still available at BORG.

Kwikset, I hope that this not the company that make concrete mix

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

that would be Quikrete

[ray hampton]

that would be Quikrete

thanks for the correction , same name but spell different