It’s finally time to re-key all five exterior locks, switching out from the construction keys. Walter from Cothron Safe & Lock set to it.
Walter removed and disassembled the locksets from each door.This tray holds pins to go into the cylinder. Each color designates a different width or length for locks made by different manufacturers.Four of the cylinders that Walter has to open and match to the fifth cylinder we are using as the “master.”Walter uses a special wrench to unlock the retainer on the cylinder.After removing the retainer, Walter uses a shim and a blank key to twist the plug free of the cylinder without losing the springs mounted inside the tower.There are five pins in the plug. Each color indicates a different size pin. Walter has to match all five pins in all five locksets. When this is done, one key will unlock any of the five exterior doors.When the pins are all correctly assembled, Walter puts each lock assembly back together in reverse order of disassembly. Here, he reinstall the lock mechanism to the front door. As Walter finished with each door, Steven tested one key in each of the five locks, to ensure that all five operated with that one keyset.Walter stamps a numeric code onto the “master” key that operates all five doors, that serves as the model for duplicate keys. This code matches the size pin that must be inserted into the cylinder, if we ever have to repair and rekey the locks again.As the penultimate step, Walter cuts duplicate keys. Steven tested all the duplicate keys in all exterior doors, to ensure they all work. When done, Walter wrote up the bill and sent it via cellphone to the office. Done.
