Fun with Keys

Hello,

I own an apartment complex in a city about 70 miles away. We have pretty good turnover, which results in a lot of lock changing. So we have our own little manual key machine, and I come out once in a while and repin locks as needed.

Last Sunday afternoon, my manager called to say that a tenant had lost his key. Unfortunately, she had lost HER copy of the key also. What to do? It was too late for me to want to come out, and I didn't want to pay a locksmith- on-Sunday trip charge either.

I did have MY copy of his key, but that wouldn't do her any good... ...or would it? I guaged the key, and looked through the other keys in the ring, and called her with the following instructions:

  • Copy the first notch from the key for apartment 3. * Copy the second notch from the key for apartment 7 * Copy the third notch from the key for apartment 12 ( etc )

On her third try, the key worked, she let the tenant in, and everybody was happy.

- Jerry Kaidor

Reply to
jerry
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LOL, how wacked is this, let us count the ways :-)

Reply to
BogusID

Reply to
Roger Cann

So if you guys do your own keying you must have a key machine that can originate as opposed to just copy keys. That being the case why not just give her (the manager) the biting straight from the copy of the tenants key you had? Or better still why not just take it straight from the KBA, which you could keep on computer (encrypted) on site?

Reply to
Steve

Out of interest, anyone knows what level of turnover of an apartment block, dorm, etc which would justify hotel type card locks.

Reply to
peterwn

I would say you would have to do a site specific CBA considering all relevant factors, such as cost of blanks, cost of labor to do the rekeys, cost of new key cutting equipment or maintenance of existing key cutting equipment. as applicable, vs cost of the electronic system as well as cost of administering and implementing it.

Reply to
Steve

*** Actually, no. All we have is a bare-minimum key copier, the kind that locksmiths carry around in their trucks. I always have a few sets of "virgen" keys in my rekeying kit. When I run low, I stop by the locksmith and buy a few more sets of precut keys.

I think I'll be leaving a set of space-depth keys and a key gauge at the site, and will train my manager in their use.

- Jerry Kaidor

Reply to
jerry

To which one would add the benefits (some intangible) of guest / renter confidence, ability to issue 'fresh' card for each incoming guest (even for one night stays), deterring staff from entering rooms when they had no business to be there (as there is an audit trail of which card was used), facilitating handling of complaints and associated investigations less costs peculiar to dealing with with an electronic system.

Several years ago there was a report that a military training establishment which ran short courses had to deal with a significant number of complaints with respect to its short stay dorm. This was time consuming and morale sapping. A card lock system solved the problem.

Reply to
peterwn

This is fair enough where the locks are not masterkeyed. In many similar situations, the locks are masterkeyed and trying to introduce a 'virgin' key into the system is not considered wise, unless of course the 'virgin' key bitting is chosen from the system's progression chart or similar.

The chances of 'coincident' cuts, or even worse 'differ by one cuts' is too great and can potentially cause problems later (a key fitting locks it is not supposed to, and thin wafers getting misplaced and jamming up cylinders (either caught between the plug and the shell, or turning 'end on' in the pin chamber).

Reply to
peterwn

Where does it say there are 70 apartments or that the locks are Kwikset?

Reply to
Steve

This is why you MUST call a PROFESSIONAL BONDED COMPETENT locksmith to rekey your apartments for you. It's a bisnuess expense so you can write it off, and any locksmith that keys up locks makes 2 key "precut" sets, and duplicates them as needed. A competent locksmith WILL have a code cutting machine, and not a foley belsaw POS, and not depth and space keys, although those can be made to work. Bare minimum is one of those kwikset punch machines, or better yet an HPC-punch machine or even better an HPC codemax.

Kwikset locks can be acceptable for most grade 3 security uses, however biglots and many other retailers sell you absolute junk. No one is going to try and pick your locks, but replacing the top pins with mushroom pins is easy enough with a top pin loader and not at all time consuming if you do a bunch of locks "by the numbers" (on a chart or MKS) If you were to cut kwikset keys to the maximum adjacent cut specifications (max diffrence between any two adjacent cut depths (5)) and use all 7 depths then you would have a posibility of about 14 THOUSAND diffrent key posibilities.

DO NOT FILE PIN CYLINDERS. If you have locks rekeyed or rekey them yourself, make sure that any cylinders that were "flat topped" with a bastard file are replaced. This can make the sheer line go from ~.005" or so wide, down to .050! or more! IF this is done then there are many more keys that will open the lock than originally specified.

Schlages are fine for most commercial, but kwikset deadbolt and KIK (key in knob) locksets are usually adequate. Most of the time the door frame splits before the lock breaks completely in witch case its the strikeplate, the wooden bolt throw mortise and the screws that hold the strike plate to the door frame that break when kicked in. To make it much harder to break in, install 2 deadbolts one near knee level in the door and one about 6" away from the very top o the door, along with a key in knob there will be at least a time and noise issue to deal with.

Reply to
kg4boj

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