I _know_ I knew this...

got a key? pull the back rod out and hold it? turn WAY further than normal then and it pops out, or is this the one that takes the straight pick inserted and pushed thru the key hole? havent done one in a few years myself..LOL

--Shiva--

Nope. Tailpiece is attached to the back knob and inserts into the keyed knob and cylinder.

This is the ticket. Sometimes crud will accumulate and make the cylinder stick inside. Sometimes a squirt of WD40 will loosten the crud enough, other times you need to insert something and give it a tap.

Ahhh. That does ring a faint bell; thanks!

"Joe Kesselman" snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net wrote in message news:rP6dnftaQOjJfabYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

just separate the inside knob from the outside knob. put key in cyl and turn 180 degrees. face should pull out the front. WD, if needed ? if no key ? working from the back side, remove the two tiny screws from the rear of the plug, pick the cyl or shim. then follow the plug out.

g'luck / its been a while...

that sounds more like a weiser disassembly Shiva.

LOL, one you poke, one you unscrew.. its been a REAL long time for me to do either.. only thing that sells here is KW or now and then a piece of Baldwin, but normally KW for the cheap homes, and whatever the CHEAPEST thing they can get for the $150k homes.. (KW costs too much for those builders...LOL)

--Shiva--

Remove lock from door. (This separates indoor knob from outdoor knob.)

Holding only the outdoor knob in hand, insert key. Rotate 180 degrees.

Outside cylinder now pulls out. Remove two small slotted screws, and clip that holds plug in. Use hollow HPC or equivilant follower.

(When lock is assembled, the key only turns about 40 degrees or so to the right).

Hey, there's all kinds of locks to dissemble and service. Can't remember them all. I still have total brain failures now and again.

I think the Dexter depths are eitehr a 015 step for the old ones, and

020 for the newer ones. Schlage pins should work if you have the old key depths. Can't remember off the top of my head, but may be same spacing as Schlage, so you can cut a Schlage key onto a Dexter blank if needed.

YOu're thinking Weiser, but it's some what the same. Weisers, you pull the shaft out (hold it out with small vise grips) and the cylinder pops out when the key is about 11 o'clock or 5 o'clock.

Be sure to note the position of the metal piece that comes off with the two slotted screws. If you put it upside down, the cylinder doesn't retain while the key is out.

But only while the lock is off the door, and while the two knobs are separate from each other.

I've seen some new Yale. Dissembles a bit like Schlage, with the turn key and depress retainer. Kwikkie keyway and spacing and all. Wow, what poor quality, though. Outdoor knobs like the new Schlage, one piece and short springs.

Yep. A bit of an annoyance compared to some other retainer mechanisms, but of course that's why they changed it in later versions.

Thanks again for the reconfirmation and the details. Why is it that I never forget this sort of thing except when working on a friend's locks, to maximize the odds of embarassing myself? <grin/>

I _REALLY_ need to get my files organized, and/or spring for the NL-on-CD set, so I actually find the info for older locks when I need them.

Really old Dexter has different depths but the standard Dexter pin lengths are the same as Schlage but the depths on the key are different as the plug is slightly smaller.

I think the spacing is different also.

My pin kit does have a table for Dexter (haven't rechecked exactly what the step is)... but in this case I'm setting it to match an existing Kwikset key, so it'll be KW's depths adjusted for the plug diameter.

(The spacing and keyway are close enough to interchange; original Dexter made the same decision lots of other companies have made when entering the market and went after some of the replacement/addition sales for existing kiwksets.)

I suspect that Kwikset actually came after Dexter but when keying a Dexter to a Kwikset key make sure you use ZIP pins instead of the original Kwikset style. IIRC the spacing is slightly shorter, but you can get away with this if the Dexter plug is slightly worn, and you avoid combinations on the Kwikset key that has a large difference between cuts. I think the spacing is pretty close but sometimes if you have a combination where the high cuts do not have a large flat the point on the pin will not hit on the narrow flat.

Pinning it any way will cause grief getting copies to work as the chambers where the pin was not resting on the flat will bring it to the wrong height.

I've got a Lab kit with pointed bottom-pins, which I've always preferred to the Kiwkset beveled-but-flat version. That allows a bit more room before the pin starts riding up the sides of the cut.

Hm. Actually, I do seem to remember that, back when I was in a place that had a Dexter lock on the front door and a KW on the back.

But this lock seems to like the key I was asked to pin it to. It's possible this key was actually being used in yet another not-KW-but-similar lock with spacing more similar to the Dexter.

Oh well. If the lock is happy, and will stay happy, I'm happy.