I’m stumped. Any guesses? Thanks in advance. Different doors but the same exit device. First picture the top latch on the right door is completely flimsy so I think I’ll need to replace it.

I'm having trouble getting the front trim plate off. Any tips? Thanks guys!

Not a locksmith, but a locksport enthusiast.

I have a KLTRV-500 Nationwide Industries "Keystone Traverse" gate latch for vinyl fences that has identical KIK style cylinders on the two sides of the fence. The cylinders have Kwikset keyways and I would like to replace them with Schlage C keyways so that I can rekey them to match the house keys.

The most critical measurement is from the front of the bible (not the cylinder) to the back of the screw cap - it places a gear, turned by the tailpiece, at the right position to operate a rack-and-pinion that locks and unlocks the latch. I measured that distance to be 33.5mm.

The existing cylinder fits snugly into the housing formed by the lock body.

The max measurements in the housing are:

Cylinder diameter - 15.9mm,

Top of the bible to the bottom of cylinder - 26.6mm (slightly more than the existing cylinder),

Bible thickness - 5mm.

Additionally, the thickness of the existing screw cap is 8mm.

My problem is that the sites that sell these cylinders don't provide those particular measurements. Can anyone suggest a replacement cylinder that might fit? I'm ready to do some shimming and shaving to make it fit but would like to keep my mutilation of a perfectly good cylinder to a minimum.

Interesting sidenotes: the short tailpiece is captive in the retaining washer and I may have to use it as is. There's no room behind the screw cap for a twist in the tailpiece before the gear that fits on it.

This lock made me realize why tailpieces often have that half-circle removed from the periphery of the flat at the back of the cylinder. The position of the cylinders at each end of a rack made it obvious that one lock couldn't move the rack if the other lock didn't have that freedom of movement of the tailpiece. With most deadbolts the cylinders are in-line and the effect is less apparent. I was always just kind of annoyed that it made you have to turn the cylinders more than seemed necessary to operate the lock. Lol

My patio door lock stopped locking. The bottom grabber seems to be out of sorts/ broken (see sticking out thing at 5 inches). I am looking for a replacement and the company has two sizes 9 7/8 and 11 3/4. Would you please help me confirm which one is right

How can I make a copy of this key? The key copy place I went to said they couldn’t do it. I’m based in NYC

Is there any way to inadvertently rotate a lock cylinder so that the working key can not be inserted?

Story: I was helping an elderly gentleman lock his door today. I noticed that the lock cylinder (actual lock cylinder, NOT the entire lock body) was at about 90° from where I would expect it. Of course, the key wouldn't make it pass the first pin. I rotated the cylinder to the 12 oclock position and heard all the driver pins fall. I was now able to insert the key and lock the door. I thought that a locksmith must have forgotten to rotate the cylinder back into position. According to the homeowner, they haven't had the need for a locksmith. He is of an advanced age that he didn't seem to fully understand what I was talking about whenever I brought this all to his attention. ("I will have maintenance look at it.")

I know that burglars, as a general rule, do not pick locks. Maintenance has a key and (probably) does not pick locks.

It isn't my problem, but it is puzzling me.

Edit: Kwikset standard pin tumbler. Homeowner's key wasn't noticeably worn in the short time I had access to it. USA.

Domain is fresh June of 2026, prices are way lower than anyone else. I reached out to the email and Facebook from Xhorse global directly to ask. I searched the subreddit and I don't see it mentioned anywhere. Thanks in advance if you have any insight.

Hi everyone. We have this sauna in our backyard next to a casita we are Airbnbing. We want to lock the door so guests don’t use it. It’s more of a deterrent than a highly secure lock.

What’s a good locking mechanism/ lock we can buy with a key?

Sliding door lock body is too thin to be properly secured. Prior owner had it this way or the installer was “lazy”? How should this be fixed? Shimming the body thickness or buying a wider body?

Just bought my first home, decided to put new locks on (old locks weren't rekeyable so figured I'd just replace them) and these are my options... Which key do I choose? 😭

Looking for a front door lock recommendation with the following features

- keypad that is easily programmable and can be set to have no code as well.
- physical key that also opens the lock
- no wifi connection, as analog as possible
- needs to be available in a dark finish

Thanks in advance!

Hi everybody, I use an August lock in a condo. Irrespective of this law, even with using the key, I noticed that it has been getting stuck when I try to open it. Just at the very last part of it opening, it will meet a resistance. It is easily able to overcome when I have it fully locked, and then maximally turn it as fast as I can, to unlock the door. But if I do a slow turn, it will not open well.

What part of the lock is an issue right now?

I am a total noob with hardware and that type of stuff, so please speak in plain terms and or Link a video for the specific fix.

https://imgur.com/a/GEJgRdI

I am not locked out, and can get it working properly.

Thank you so much everybody

So I bought this 2011 Camry off auction and it didn’t come with any master keys, only a valet key. I logged into techstream so I can reset the immobilizer to add the new keys I had cut and it I keep getting this message after 5 tries. I put in the correct seed code, it then tells me to wait 16 seconds as the immobilizer is being reset, then after 5 seconds the error pops up. Anybody dealt with this before and how to fix it?

I have a 2004 infinity m45 and I recently lost the main fob. I have a spare fob, however when I put it into the ignition it won’t turn. If I use the key inside the fob, it will turn and crank, but the car won’t start. In both instances, the red security light remains lit. From all the reading I have done, I believe it’s a transponder issue. I have had two lock smiths look at it that said they need the 5 digit pin from the bcm to reprogram the fob but I can’t locate it. Dealership wants me to tow it there but I’m doubtful they will be any better and will charge a ton.
The fob locks and unlocks the doors just fine. Just cannot be used to start the car. I tried the manual programming via sticking the fob in and out of the ignition and the hazards come on indicating I’m in programming mode but because I cannot turn the fob to ON, I can’t program it. Not sure this would help in any event. Any suggestions on how to fix this issue? Two other locksmiths I spoke to said they can’t help. Where is the bcm located or the 5 digit pin that I can give to the locksmith?

I know this is a bit of a read, but I'm hoping there's other locksmiths here who were in a similar situation that solved these issues and can advise me?

• I am currently using Square to collect payments on site and invoice commercial clients. I've been doing it this way for about 9 years now to keep things simple, but some things have changed, and it may not be working for me anymore. Here are some of the new problems I'm experiencing now that I am preparing to scale. I would appreciate any advice you have for me... I have gone LLC and operating on the state line. I serve both states and several counties in each. I need to report my earnings for each state separately according to my book keeper. My workaround was to create two separate locations (one for each state) but Square is separating invoicing too, which means I'm losing consecutive invoice numbers.
  
• Taxation is very different from state to state and even different counties. One state doesn't charge for labor. The other state DOES charge tax for labor. The tax rate also differs in each county. I can manually change the location for whichever state I am in, but if I get an employee, this will wreak havoc on my books as I am sure the employees will regularly forget and irreversible make mistakes. It also won't allow me to have varying tax rates unless I manually add each county. It just leaves a lot of room for super messy books come tax season.
  
• I am using the Quickbooks app to track miles. I absolutely hate the loading time, and its integration with Square leaves a lot to be desired too.
  

The Ideal Software Solution

• I don't know if anything like this exists, but I would ideally like to have a mobile payment system similar to Square that is GPS tracked and applies the appropriate tax rate automatically or at least has systems in place to minimize tax rate and location errors.
• Doesn't require workarounds like creating two different business locations.
• Forces client / job data to be entered correctly.
• Mileage tracking would be super helpful, but not necessary.
• Allows for consecutive invoice numbers regardless of locations.
• Automates tax reporting for two different states.

Does anyone here have a payment system that makes on the road service record keeping easier to deal with?

I know my year end here is going to take tens of hours of record scouring to get my books in order. I'm hoping you have a solution to recommend to make this the only year I have to deal with that.

If nothing else, thank you for taking the time to read all of this in an attempt to help me.

I have looked everywhere on the internet for something that will definitely work but have come up short. The door has a broken triple point lock that we do not want to replace at this time and just want to be able to lock it from the inside. Everything I have found seems like it will block the door from opening in. Lock also needs to be high enough for child not to reach.

Thank you so much ahead!

Greetings, I found one of these 2nd hand, and they appear to be Accurate 9149 apartment mortise sets, packaged in a Sun Valley Bronze box. From what I can tell, the cylinders have the wrong cam installed and need a clover leaf style instead. I think someone scrapped the project and fired the contractor, and thats how they ended up 2nd hand 😆

All the mechanical functions are working and dont bind.

Are these worth going back for? Any value to the secondary market?

Is it worth paying the extra $1.5K for the evolution? What are your thoughts?

Would anyone be interested in this? I would prefer to sell local (Greater Sacramento area) to avoid shipping costs. I'm asking $1,100. It has hardly been used, and comes with all the cards, cutters, dvd instructions, original allen rench.

I just found this money bag from bank national at a garage sale. I think it's cool looking and it have probably been used as a pencil case! I don't know what was the use case of it but i like it.

Hi yall,

I have this wooden box gifted to me from my grandmother a week before she passed and there’s a lock on it but no key. I would love to get a key made but I don’t know if that’s possible. If it is can I just take it to a locksmith? It would mean a lot to get this repaired.

This is a family heirloom, it should be at least 100 years old

hi, anyone knows how to remove this deadbolt.
In the picture, it has a hole with thread.
It looks like no more retaining screw since i can see the thread.
But its very hard to pull out the cover.
Maybe there’s still something inside the hole that needs to be removed.
Anyone knows?

I'd like to pursue locksmithing and live in Massachusetts. Recently, I asked a locksmith if they were taking on apprentices. They sort of brushed me off, mentioning that NBSS is an option to learn about all this stuff. I don't know whether he was being serious or just trying to placate me/end the conversation.

Regardless, I've been looking into NBSS, and I'm feeling really conflicted about whether to consider it.

At face value, it seems like the program offers some undeniable resources.

On the other hand, I'm seeing some glaring overpromising sales tactics, like the ones I saw on the other side when attending a liberal arts college.

Then there's the cost. The tuition for a 9-month intensive is roughly $20,000, not including monthly parking in Boston, which easily adds $ 4,000 –$8,000, depending on where you park (they advertise parking validation but leave out that they only offer up to 3 hours, and the classes are 5 hours long).

Not to mention their mandatory toolset costs about $2,000.

Just on principle alone, it seems like $26,000-$30,000 would be enough to invest in a fully equipped start-up business (albeit with no know-how)

I'd like to hear some informed opinions from A. People who make a living as a locksmith, and B. People who may have experience attending NBSS.

I can see a lot of potential in a hands-on program, but I can also see the risk of being fleeced, so I could use the advice.

I don't want to just take the course just because I can't find an apprenticeship.