SPOTLIGHT SAFE & VAULT Do’s and Don’ts for LKM7000 stuff a rag in the strike to keep the door from latching accidentally. Most of these locks go on rooms with a single point of entry, and finding yourself on the wrong side of the door with a half-installed lock is not desirable. The same rule goes for all CD lock installations. 13. Do beware of reverse polarity. In an Figure 7. Prior to installing the back cover, run the wire over the back of the combination lock instead of running it under the lock. This ensures the legs on LKM7000 back cover don’t cut into the wire or have it snag on the relock triggers built into the LKM lock. seems a bit over cautious, but the standard screws supplied with rim cylinders are made to break to shorter lengths in the field as needed. Soundproof doors use heavier-gauge sheet metal with stronger flex. I have had several screws break immediately aſter in- stalling the cylinder on the door. If there is not enough thread without a break off point before the screw reaches the cylinder, I sug- gest using a standard 12-24 screw in place of the ones supplied with the rim cylinder. A drop of blue thread locker is a good idea on these screws to prevent them from loos- ening up in time. 9. Do consider stud length and timing. There are several reasons for mounting the core in the cylinder housing prior to the lock installation. If you’ve ever wondered why some IC housings have a shorter and a lon- ger stud (throw member) where the core is inserted, it’s because some cores, like Arrow Choice, don’t allow full insertion of a longer stud on the right side of the core, whereas with Scorpion cylinders, the opposite is true. 10. Don’t forget to bring a spare test core. If you’re installing the lock and the customer plans to install the core later, be sure to have a spare test core in your toolbox. The plastic T-handle tool for testing IC seems adequate — until your installation is finished and you 22 KEYNOTES MAY 2014 find the studs in the cylinder housing are timed wrong. Figure 6, showing the studs at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, is what I faced aſter what I thought was a complete installation. This would have been an easy removal of two screws and changing the orientation of the tailpiece if I had a core in place and had caught my mistake in time, prior to the rim- housing installation. I prefer to not use the adjustable spring-loaded cylinder ring sup- plied with some rim housings. This might be a personal preference, but if a spacer is needed, a solid cylinder ring is preferred. 11. Do install the foam cover on the han- dle prior to handle installation. The foam- handle grip cushions the user’s hand while opening the usually heavy doors. It also dis- sipates electrostatic discharge (ESD) that can potentially damage the critical electronics inside the combination lock. Installing the outside handle prior to taking the back cover off the front plate as- sembly will give you a better chance of not shiſting any of the internal parts. Carry- ing an extra spindle cut to the sixth notch before you go to the job site will shave off some installation time for all 1 ¾-inch doors. 12. Do remove the strike from the jamb prior to installing the lock on the door, or LKM7003 installation, I leave my wires in the key override module for the access con- trol installer to perform the final connection to the terminals. If you like to connect them yourself, be forewarned that the unit does not take kindly to reverse polarity. I am speak- ing from experience when I say the smoke goes up much faster than you can say ouch. 14. Do run the wire over the back of the lock. This may be trivial, but prior to install- ing the back cover, running the wire over the back of the combination lock is preferable to running it under the lock. This is ensures the legs on LKM7000 back cover don’t cut into the wire or have it snag on the relock triggers built into the LKM lock (Figure 7). 15. Do specify the new roller strike when possible when ordering your lock. Lockmas- ters is now manufacturing the No. 2, No. 3, and strike with a roller bearing on the lead- ing edge of these strikes. The drawback is that they are not yet UL- tested and are not recommended for fire doors; however, they have been approved by DoD for use on non-fire-rated doors. If the door has any preload due to air pressure, tight sound, or smoke seals, the roller bear- ing will make both the inside and outside handles operate much more smoothly. Ac- cording to Kevin Moores at Lockmasters, once UL approved, these roller strikes will be standard with all LKM7000 series locks. Mehdi Zahedi, is the owner and operator of Accu-Key Lock & Safe, Inc., in Dayton, OH. He is a SAVTA and ALOA member, and a ull-time locksmith and safe echnician since 1989. WWW.ALOA.ORG
