on all orders over $150*
on all orders over $150*
You don't always need a removal key to take out the core of desk-type locks. Of course, there are many different ones available and of course, we do like to sell things. But what is more important than selling a core key is making sure you have the knowledge to not need one. Knowing how these types of locks work will not only get the job done but will also make your customer happy.
Say you're at an office doing a rekey, and the customer says, ‘Hey, while you're here, we have this desk, and we really want the lock on it to fit our other keys.’ Or maybe a customer's like, ‘Hey, we have all of these desks; they all use the same key and we need this one in particular to use a different key.’ Depending if you have the core key or an extra lock on your van, whatever that might be, you could go that way. But having this skill and understanding of how these locks work will serve you well. Not only for max profitability but also for making the customer's life even easier.
To lock a plunger lock, you have to push it in. To unlock it, insert the key and turn it to pop it up. You can see the locking mechanism at the back of it.
If you took one apart and insert a key into the plug, you’ll see that it will turn. The turning was enabled by an extra wafer. It also keeps the plug in.
Questions may arise like, ‘Can I just cut the shoulder back. Push it in a little further and get that way for it to go down? Or, ‘Is there a special depth that I need to cut too?’ The answer is none of that is going to work. It is because there's a little cutout on the wafer that when you put the key in, the cutout just makes you bypass that wafer. That's why when you compare a control key to your normal key, you're going to see that the groove is different because it's pulling up that wafer to work.
You could try taking the shoulder back or try finding a longer key, but what you're going to find is when you put the key in, it's not going to affect that back wafer.
Insert the existing key and then the key extractor all the way in.
Once it feels bouncy, hold the extractor and the key before you pull them both.
To put it back, do the same thing. Hold the key extractor and the key, then push them both. Once it is locked, pull the key out. The extractor will come out too.
The reason why you need to know this is because you're going to encounter all sorts of different types of it and trying to get all of the control keys is not a worthy expense. The easiest way to do it is to stick the existing key, insert the key extractor on the groove of the key all the way to its end, and pull both the extractor and the key.
By then, you can rekey it to a different key based on the customer’s need.
That's how you can easily start working on these desk-type locks without having one of those removal keys. Once you start to understand this, there's a lot more to it that you can use to your advantage.
Do you do this a lot? Do you prefer to use this as your method or do you like to use the control keys? Comment your answers to our YouTube video and make sure that you include the #LockBoss to automatically get entered to win one of five free prizes we give away each week on YouTube. Thank you, and we'll see you next time.
