My daughter has now lost the last key to her external letterbox and can't afford a locksmith, so I have agreed to help get it open.
I don't think there is time to try to learn picking, so I've been Googling instructions and videos about drilling. There are some unbelievably bad videos. How's this for camera positioning
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'm unclear about where to drill. Should I start through the centre of the lock, or to the side where the serrated edge of the key went in? She can't remember what the key looked like, but I assume it was the usual with one flat and one jagged edge.
No doubt there is something on YouTube, but basically you need a paperclip, straightened out, and then with 1-2 mm bent at 90 degrees at the end. And a screwdriver small enough to go into the slot, but strong enough to exert a bit more torque than you usually do with the key. You want the bent bit of wire to represent the "jags" of the key. Put in the screwdriver and apply a steady torque. Put in the wire and slide it up and down while maintaining torque on the screwdrive in such a way that the bent bit goes where the key jags would. One by one the internal pins should locate in the "free" positions. You will feel, through the screwdrive, the cylinder turn slightly each time a pin locates.
The success of brute force depends a bit on how substantial the door is. Prising is likely to deform the door.
The lock body will be stopped from rotating by the fact that it has a flat on it, and it fits in a round hole with a matching flat. If the door is thin, the big screwdriver technique mentioned by another poster will make the hole completely round. You can get "repair plates" for car doors which you weld inside.
Needless to say, you can just take the whole head of the lock off with an angle grinder. The trouble with drilling is that the drill is likely to bounce around, and you may distort the door if it "catches".
When you do get it out, there are dozens of these types of lock but all readily available from eBay for a couple of pounds. Also from "lock shops" (invariably very helpful) but expect to pay a fiver or more.
he's doing. A real "Locksmith" could open the locks without damaging them.
Unfortunately, if you call out a Locksmith nowadays you will probably get a cowboy, just as clueless, as the aim is to destroy and replace the locks at inflated prices.
My apologies to any "real" Locksmiths reading this.
I know a little bit about locks having been trained to open safes "without" damaging the locks.
You'll destroy the door if you try prising it out. Even if it is only held by a spring clip they can be very secure and some have a threaded nut on them
Hate to rain on your picnic but we've been in the office furniture business= for over 25 years. Started dealing in used office furniture only so there = is very little we haven't come across in the line of office furniture locks= .
Not all filing cabinet locks are the same. Its been quite some while since= I've come across the type that can be easily popped out, as generally ther= e is ironmongery attached to the rear to work the lock. Even then not all o= f this type will come out cleanly. Attempting to gain purchase behind the f= ace of the bezel runs the risk of doing damage especially if excess force i= s applied on the wrong type of lock
The method already outlined is the best one to take to minimise damage to t= he lock surround. Large flat blade screwdriver driven in and then twisted. = If this doesn't work then drill through the centre with a big drill bit. Th= e lock will eventually start to revolve when it can then be extracted.
Last piece of advice is to get a few spare keys cut for the new lock and ke= ep one for yourself, out of reach of your daughter. That way if/when she lo= ses them again, at least one sensible person will have a key stored as a ma= ster, as long as you don;t forget where you placed it.
Thanks everyone. We are going to attempt this on Sunday when the homeowners are present to watch. I will give picking a try, but I don't hold out much hope because of the situation of this letterbox and the weather.
The results seem to be 2 votes for the shear line/serrated edge, 1 for drilling the middle, and 2 votes for a big screwdriver and a bit of grunt.
I'll report back.
We already keep her spare house keys here for emergencies. We did have a set with the letterbox key on the ring, but she had to have that back to get in one day. We are now up to the spare, spare, spare door key
I bent a paperclip and, with a screwdriver, tried to pick the lock, but it was snowing, so I gave up.
Thought I'd try the small drill where the serrated edge of the key would sit in the lock. The drill wandered very slightly, but I guided it back and after about 2 seconds the drill grabbed, rotated the core of the lock, and the door opened. Daughter and her husband are delighted. The door can now be opened with a gentle turn of a screwdriver, which is quite secure enough for a postbox..
Good result. I think I might be inclined to replace the lock anyway in case, some time in the future, one of the sheared pins finds its way back into a less favourable position.
This is a cheap wafer (maybe pin) lock for which the key has been lost. Wha= t do you do with it when it is open? There's no key. It's cheaper to replac= e it than it is to cut a new key to fit it.
I've with the Medway Handyman on this. It's cheaper to damage & replace thi= s type of lock than it is to cut keys for it, and especially not to pay a c= all-out fee for a specialist. The pragmatic approach is to pull it, either = pulling the lock from the case or the core from the lock body, then to fit = a new one.
We keep our key on a magnet under the box - not easy to reach from outside of the gate but dead handy when getting the post. Anything valuable should be sent signed for so not appropriate for the box anyway.
'cos it's a nasty bent steel arrangement with that stupid euro 'post horn' pressed into the front, and the 'lock' is the only thing that stops it swinging in the wind. It'll be in the skip soon when the new front wall and automatic gate are installed, replaced by a decent cast one built into the wall with rear entry (if you'll pardon the expression)
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