duplicate keys to work poorly or not at all. The incidence of these poorly cut keys is so high that the quality of any duplicate bear- ing a hardware chain’s name is immediately suspect to knowledgeable locksmiths. When given one of these keys for duplication, it’s a good idea to ask if the customer has an original that you can use instead. They of- ten do, and OEM keys generally produce much better duplicates than most second- or later-generation duplicates, particularly those made by questionable sources. Original Versus Substitute Key Blank Advisory Most substitute, look-alike, and generic bow key blanks are made to the same ex- act specifications as OEM keys and blanks. However, some substitute and look-alike key blanks have slightly different key sec- tions than those of certain OEM originals. These differences aren’t visually noticeable. However, in some cases, they are significant enough to make it difficult to produce good duplicates. It’s therefore advisable to use OEM key blanks to duplicate most OEM keys. They generally produce the best results. The author recommends Ilco key blanks as the primary substitutes for those cases in which you can’t obtain or don’t wish to stock originals. Ilco substitute key blanks are of the highest quality and are available in more different key sections than most other substitute key blank manufacturers. You’ll experience better results and fewer duplicating problems by limiting your in- ventory to OEM key blanks and to a limited number of high-quality substitute key blank manufacturers. However, there are a few special cases in which original and/or substitute key blanks won’t produce good duplicates of certain keys even though they apparently have the same key section. Certain mailbox keys are good examples of this problem. Some mailbox locks are of such poor quality that it’s difficult to produce good duplicate keys 30 KEYNOTES JANUARY 2015 “There’s usually no way to detect the difference if you don’t have the problematic profile cylinder or mortise cylinder at hand.” for them. This is particularly true of locks that use keys with Ilco 1003 and 1003M key sections. One way to minimize this problem is to stock several different brands of key blanks for troublesome key sections and to cut duplicates only on the same brands as the working keys. Even then, it’s oſten necessary to make one or more re-cuts in order to produce a good working key. In the worst cases, it’s nearly impossible to cut good working duplicates unless you have the locks brought in, and if they’re that bad, it’s usually best to replace them. Here is an even more complicated ex- ample. Some profile cylinders and some substitute mortise lock cylinders come with keys that have Weiser look-alike bows but with key sections that have slightly different millings than those on Weiser original keys and blanks. The key sections of these devi- ant look-alikes appear to be perfect matches for Weiser originals. However, despite their appearance, the key sections aren’t exactly the same, and the corresponding keyways of these profile cylinders and mortise cylinders aren’t the same as Weiser original keyways either. Again, these differences aren’t visually noticeable. The problem is that Weiser origi- nal key blanks and their exact substitutes won’t fit into these deviant keyways. This is further complicated by the fact that any Weiser original or substitute key blank will fit perfectly into most profile cylinders and high-quality, substitute mortise cylinders that have Weiser keyways. These inconsis- tencies tend to get a little confusing. There’s usually no way to detect the difference if you don’t have the problematic profile cylinder or mortise cylinder at hand. Nevertheless, you can usually eliminate this potential problem by assuming that all Weiser look-alike keys are suspect and then duplicating them on Jet WR3 or WR5 key blanks. These Jet key blanks will fit into most of the deviant keyways, and they’ll fit just as well into standard Weiser keyways. Another way to prevent this problem is to check all Weiser look-alike sample keys to see if they’ll fit into the keyway of a profile cylinder that won’t take an original Weiser key or blank. If the deviant profile cylin- der takes a Weiser look-alike sample key, you have a good clue that you should du- plicate it on a Jet WR3 or WR5. If a Weiser look-alike sample key does not go into the deviant keyway, you can safely duplicate it on either a Weiser original or high-quality substitute key blank. While we’re on this subject, you’ll always achieve better and more consistent results by duplicating all Jet WR3 or WR5 sample keys on the same Jet key blank rather than on a Weiser original. Along the same lines, it’s a good general policy to duplicate all keys on the same manufacturer’s key blanks as the samples, if you have them. You can use the same preventive measure on any brand of OEM or substitute key blank for which you encounter a similar problem. This will help to prevent returns of duplicate keys that won’t enter the customer’s keyways. Vern Bedore has an electromechanical background, having spent 12 years in the aerospace industry. He has been a locksmith for more than four decades, sometimes supervising as many as a dozen employ- ees. He has operated shop and mobile operations from the same location for 43 years, providing auto- motive, residential and commercial lock services to the Sun Cities area of Northwest Phoenix, Arizona. WWW.ALOA.ORG
