Hi, all! Our church (we are in Florida) is about to invest in all new doors for the campus (about 30 exterior doors). I am not a locksmith, but I have spent time cutting keys, taking apart locks (cylinder, '20's boxes, etc), etc, so I am a little familiar with those aspects.
I was wondering what it would take to do our own keying for all of the locks (the old door locks are 30-50 years old - they will all be scrapped). I was thinking we could come up with our own master key system across the campus and be able to change locks whenever there seems to be "too many keys out" for a particular room (or like when a room changes its primary purpose or group use).
What would be needed for this? On the surface, I am assuming I need cylinders that can be pulled and keyed with multiple keys (multiple layers of pins) and the handles they go in, a key copier and or code cutter, lots of extra pins (for rekeying ro rebuilding), a few extra cylinders (in case of damage to existing), lots of blanks, and maybe a "DO NOT DUPLICATE" stamp and hammer.
Would I need to be a licensed locksmith to purchase some of these items? Should I take some (paid) training before walking down this path? Or are docs available online and through the manufacturer probably enough for me to set up a master key system and do the physical keying? (I am mechanically inclined and catch on quick)
I remember in college that some blanks normally not stocked by key copiers (like Sears, KMart, etc) - someone mentioned that some commercial blanks would be "blacked" out for areas in use so that it make it harder for folks to get them copied (those who should not be getting them copied). Is that true? Are there certain commercial locks we should look into or stay away from?
We are looking for fairly secure locks, but we don't really have much for anyone to steal in the first place (a church sanctuary,some classrooms, and some maintenance rooms), so probably not anything like medeco, but more than a 5 pin kwikset.
Nudges in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. I figured that since we are paying for all new doors and locks, why not spend a little more and do our own keys.