Is it a multi-point lock with locking points above and below the 'proper' lock? Could be that part of the long sliding bar has come loose, though I don't think that would givethe symptoms you describe.
Seems your key is OK so probably no point trying key bumping
John
It would indeed help - but please don't do it unless you're confident that you won't end up wrecking your doors!
No, it's a single point lock, with no sliding bars, etc. But it *is* a double locking lock - in that you have to turn the key through 720 degress to lock (or unlock!) it fully.
What's key bumping? I have attacked it with two different keys from both sides of the lock (trying both keys from both sides) all to no avail. The key(s) will turn freely for almost +/- 1/2 a turn from the insertion point - but then come to a grinding halt without moving the bolt more than about a mm.
video at the bottom of
Not quite what you have, but a neighbours lock sometimes jams with the key turned about 40 degress, then you can't turn the key any more or get it out. This seems to happen if the key is turned when the door handle is not in the normal horizontal unlocked position. I find resetting the handle to horizontal frees it. But I imagine you have tried all positions of the handle.
Phil
getting some sort of generic key - rather than the proper key - to operate a lock. Is this correct?
In my case, I'm using the *right* key, and it turns through almost a complete turn (half a turn either side of the position in which it can be inserted and removed) - so I don't think that 'bumping' really addresses my problem.
Yes I have, but I'm pretty sure that the bolt operated by the lock, and the latch operated by the handle are independent in my setup. Locking the door has never locked the handle, and you don't have to (can't!) raise the handle above the horizontal before it will lock, as is the case with most of my other locking doors.
Another possibility; daughter's front door lock sometimes allows the key to turn 1/4 and then stops solid. On checking it, the barrel that turns with the key, has some in/out movement, so that pushing the key into the slot, as you do, pushes the barrel into the lock by about .5mm and can stop the lock from unlocking.
Easing the key and barrel back by a 'smidgin' allows the door to be unlocked.
John
I can only think of two further things to do Roger. I'm still convinced that the cover plates must prize off. They may be a very tight fit, but they must come off. At the university where I have a contract all the room doors have push fit covers. They are a very tight fit but they do come off.
Its a eurolock so it can either be drilled or snapped. Drilling is apparently harder than snapping.
Have a look at
Almost certainly a Union or Yale lock body. The aluminium handle cover plate will prise off with a screwdriver, (try not to break the handles as they have been discontinued & no longer available) though I believe someone makes copies. Doesn't help with the unlocking though :0(
Yes, but it's not the lock cylinder that's the problem, it's the lock mechanism. Drilling the cylinder is pointless as the OP has the right key.
The fact that the key moves almost half a turn either way is because the cam (the "thrower") on the europrofile cylinder doesn't actually do anything until it's turned through nearly half a turn. The problem is clearly with the lock mechanism, not the cylinder. Either the door is sufficiently out of shape that the mechanism is jammed in some way (which you seem to have eliminated) or something has broken inside the lock.
From the descriptions so far, I would say that there's something worn or broken in the lock and the thrower on the europrofile cylinder can't operate the mechanism.
Options to fix this problem are either to:-
4 The lock is binding after all and you just need to need to give something more welly...
You do need to figure out how to remove the handles as at any rate you'll need to dismantle and service the lock case. You may find that the inside handle has screws which go through to the outside handle, so tackle the inside handle first.
Good point. But if you snapped the euro lock & removed it, you could prolly access the mechanism.
Thats what I meant, you are right, drilling would do no good.
Thats what I reckon.
Thanks for all your help - everyone.
You are right Dave (TMH) - the cover plate *does* come off - leaving an inner bit with the handle attached, and held on by 2 screws which go right through the door and into the back of the plate on the other side.
With both handle plates off, I could see quite a lot of the mechanism -'cos the holes in the door itself are quite big. On one side there were some little square studs sticking out which looked as if they ought to slide up and down in slots. When I held them up against a spring with a screwdriver, I found that I could turn the key fully and unlock the door. I was then able to take everything apart.
The thing with the studs on is some sort of interlock - with castellated notches in it, and is supposed to be lifted out of the way by the cam to enable the bolt to move. However, the bottom bit - on which the cam operates - had broken off, hence the bolt wouldn't move.
I was right in my suspicions - as confirmed by Dave Osborne - that the problem was deep inside the lock and nothing to do with the barrel.
All I need now is a new lock! The one in question was made by Union about 20 years ago. Hopefully they - or at least someone - still makes one which is compatible.
That makes a change - I have a wife & two daughters :-)
Glad you got that sorted, it was driving me mad & its not even my door :-)
I've been away for a few days, and managed to leave the thing locked safely - albeit broken - while away, but set about fixing it this morning.
The good news is that I managed to find a local mobile locksmith who happened to have a new lock of the right sort buried under a heap of junk in the back of his van. Prior to that he had found a couple of 'used' locks of the right sort in his workshop, and thought that he might be able to canabalise one of them for bits. However, on taking them apart, they had
*both* failed in exactly the same way as mine - so it must be a common problem.In case it's of interest to anyone, I've posted a picture of the failed bit at
When the key is turned, this plate gets lifted - moving the dogs clear of the bolt so that it can move. It's supposed to be lifted via the bit that's broken off and - without lifting it - there's no way you can unlock the door.
Again, thanks to everyone who made helpful suggestions - particularly Dave (TMH) for his insistence that the cover plates *must* prise off.
Always a pleasure Roger, never a chore :-)
Glad I was right for a change!
I recognise that kind of casting. I've got that stuff in all the internal catches in my house. It's some kind of zinc rich low melting point easy to cast stuff. Which is soft, weak _and_ brittle.
I reckon if it had been proper steel - or even brass - you'd never have had the problem.
Andy
Yes, it seems to have the characteristics of Mazac (sp?) or some such crap, of which things like Dinky Toys used to be made.
If I'd had the facilities, it would have been nice to make a new piece by machining it out of solid brass - but it's actually quite a complex shape, and most of the dimensions are fairly critical.
Let's hope that the equivalent component in the new lock is made of something better - or else I shall be looking for yet another replacement in
20 years time!
I thought exactly the same thing - then I googled for Mazac and came up blank, so didn't bother posting :-) Was Mazac a trade name long-forgotten, or are we just screwing up the spelling?
I remember it mostly from old '70s vehicles - after close on 40 years it's often gone very pitted and doesn't seem to last at all well (I've seen various broken components)
We're screwing up the spelling! If you Google for 'Mazak Alloy' (with a K) you'll get lots of hits.
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