Protecto Keyed: Re-Visited (Again)

I had a call sometime ago about a lock that was sticking it was the deadbolt on the front door and the gentleman could not get it to open or lock. He had broken off his key trying so hard to get the thing to lock. When I got there I took the lock off the door and completely took it apart to see what the problem was. I took the snap ring off the back of the lock and started to push the plug out and found it to be jammed really tight, so I popped the cap off where the springs and top pins are.

I found that the lock was protecto keyed even though there was not sticker on it. After I dumped the pins and springs out into my tray I found that the plug was still jammed really tight. I tapped on the back of the plug until finally it came out and to my surprise a wafer thin master pin popped out with it.

I reassembled the lock and made some key and tested the lock.

Then I reinstalled the lock on the door and once again tested it to make sure it worked smoothly.

THERE ARE SEVEN PINS STACKED BESIDE THE DIME'S EDGE!!

Once again I highly recommend that anyone who has protecto keyed locks on their doors have the locks re-keyed and have the master pins removed. Nine times out of ten this will make your locks work much smoother and will eliminate the possibility of any future problems.

PROTECTO KEYED??

Sometimes called construction keying, it can cause your own keys not to work. The other day as one time this last year the key would not enter the lock fully. What I found when taking the lock apart was that several of the wafer thin master pins used had bound in the pin hole. Thus not allowing the lock to properly function. Part of the problem was also the use of both graphite and an oily lubricant like WD-40, causing the lock to be gummy. It was the combination that caused the gumming in the lock.

Solution remove the master pins and degrease the lock and reassemble.

Just like new!