Can a lock be retooled to an existing key?

[lozina]

Have to replace a lock at my house because a part inside broke but not looking forward to replacing all the copies friend/family already have so I was wondering is it possible to take this new lock to a locksmith and my existing key and have them retool the lock so my existing key works on it?

 

[lokiju]

Yeah.

Can be done by a lock smith.

Or if you get a kwikset, they can be keyed to use any key.

 

[alkemyst]

simple locksmithing procedure.

 

[l0cke]

Yeah, this is the first thing most locksmiths learn how to do, so they will understand how a lock works.

 

[lozina]

awesome!

that makes it so much easier for me

thanks guys

 

[Legendary]

I had no idea this was possible.
Thanks ATOT

 

[TwiceOver]

It is fairly expensive however. I think the local guy wanted $28 per lock.

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: TwiceOver
It is fairly expensive however. I think the local guy wanted $28 per lock.

This is true. This is the reason we went with kwikset locks at our house since they can easily be re-keyed without the help of a lock smith.

 

[Papagayo]

I paid $22 to have 2 locks done..
$11 each..
Worth doing, if your lock is good brand..

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Legendary
I had no idea this was possible.
Thanks ATOT

I thought it was possible, but not practical. Looks like I was wrong. Indeed, thanks ATOT:thumbsup:

 

[Vette73]

Lowes and Home depot will do this. Not sure if you have to buy the lock from them and there is a charge.

 

[BlackTigers]

We took our locks to a locksmith we found in the paper, and he did three locks for $25.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Home Depot or Lowes will do it for $5.

 

[Strk]

If it's a new lock, most big box stores will do it pretty cheap too. They won't do it on old locks though.

 

[Insomniator]

28 dollars per lock is expensive?

If I were a locksmith 40 bucks would be like the minimum job... unless I am vastly underestimating how much business the average locksmith gets.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

When I priced out having the locks in my house re-keyed to match when I moved in, the guy wanted I think it was $10/hole. Meaning, if a lock had a key on both sides, it was $20.

...I saved $20 by getting all new locks.

If you get a new lock from Lowes, they will re-key it for free if you do it before you leave the store. I had to do that on the new handle for the front door.

 

[BoomerD]

We had all the locks in our house re-keyed when we bought it, then, after our daughter's purse was stolen, we had them re-keyed again. 3 locksets and 2 deadbolts plus spare keys cost us about $60-$70 including the service charge to come to the house.

 

[TwiceOver]

Originally posted by: Insomniator
28 dollars per lock is expensive?

If I were a locksmith 40 bucks would be like the minimum job... unless I am vastly underestimating how much business the average locksmith gets.

Well you gotta consider each deadbolt also probably has a handle lock. So for my house it was 8x$28. Was way cheaper to just buy new locks.

I guess you could skip the handle locks, but there will be that one stupid time where some moron (myself) would lock the door handle and be locked out.

 

[spaceman]

one of the rare times we are in after the lock

 

[Rumpltzer]

Added an inexpensive deadbolt to an apartment that I was renting. I opened it up and swapped out the tumblers so the lock would match the deadbolt on the front door.

It was simple. Expect tiny springs to pop out of the cylinder.

 

[waffleironhead]

Originally posted by: TwiceOver
It is fairly expensive however. I think the local guy wanted $28 per lock.

Menards does it for like 3 bucks.

 

[Dirigible]

Originally posted by: spaceman
one of the rare times we are in after the lock

LOL

 

[Squisher]

As a side note to the discussion here, I just learned that Home Depot will re-key locks so that all the locks purchased will function with the same key. And, they did it for cheap.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: Squisher
As a side note to the discussion here, I just learned that Home Depot will re-key locks so that all the locks purchased will function with the same key. And, they did it for cheap.

While I didn't "know" this, it would make logical sense to build locks in such a manner that it is easy to re-key them.

Some day this information will be useful.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: Legendary
I had no idea this was possible.
Thanks ATOT

I thought it was possible, but not practical. Looks like I was wrong. Indeed, thanks ATOT:thumbsup:

i have 3 doors with 2 locks each all on the same key. not the smartest idea, but its how my house was when i bought it. when one deadbolt crapped out, i paid the 16 bucks to have the new one rekeyed to my existing key. that was worth not having a rogue key for 1 out of 6 locks floating around.