American Padlock Key Make

11/14/2014 15:15
locksmith-reno-american-padlockSometimes in the locksmith business, the levels of frustration can get pretty high. This usually happen when at first impression, a job may seem fairly easy, but in reality that won’t be the case. I got a call from a customer that had about a dozen or so keyed alike American Padlocks and he need a key made that will work with these locks. I tried Impressioning and picking the locks, but it did not work, so my decision was to take a cylinder out of one of the locks by drilling the retainer and dropping the cylinder. Once the cylinder was out, I knew it wouldn’t take me much more in order to decode the cylinder and making the keys the customer wanted. 
 
However, things did not go much as I expected. Due to the lack of use, serrated pins and very close tolerances, the cylinder would not reveal its bitting. After wasting some valuable time while starting a fresh shim, I realized that all that I needed was the length of the bottom pins and it should be enough for me in order to make the key. Now the question was how to get to the bottom pins? The answer was very simple, removing the bible was necessary.  
 
american-padlock-reno-locksmithI clamped the cylinder in my vise, and used a Dremel Tool in order to cut the bible off. The housing needed to be cut off at the base of the bible at a 45-degree angle. There is some fines required when cutting in order to avoid cutting too deep. The only thing that is needed to be done is separating the bible from the rest of the housing. Now the housing would need to be turned around and the same goes to the other side. Now the bible should be free enough to lift off of the housing. Before it is removed, gently tap the top of the bible for the purpose of making sure all the bottom pins are down in the plug.
 
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