Author: hoverfishSimon

Domestic safes with electronic keypads will use batteries. These will not last forever. If they go flat or leak the safe will not open. In that case you will either have to use the backup key or battery backup facility, depending on your own particular safe. High end safes may generate the power supply from the knob itself.

If you’ve lost your back up keys, you may need a locksmith to open the safe for you. To avoid needing a locksmith check you know where the keys are, and change batteries when the keypad tells you to change them.

We were called to open an electronic safe with these batteries fitted. The override keys had been lost so the customer needed our help. Can you see anything wrong with the batteries?

Customer had an expensive bike carrier locked to their towbar. All keys lost and it was stuck on the back of the car. The only replacement keys that could be sourced online were in Australia. The customer needed the carrier removed that day before going on a long journey. Unusually this lock used a very thin laser key (cut with grooves down the flat face, as opposed to edge cut).

We soon unlocked the carrier without damage from the tow bar and customer went away happy.

The past 2 months we’ve seen a spike in vehicles with faulty ignition barrels. This has varied from keys that won’t even go in the lock, to cars that can’t be started because the key won’t turn. In fact we’ve had more ignition lock problems in the past few weeks than the previous year put together. Normally a difficult to turn ignition lock is down to a worn key but in none of the recent cases was the key the problem.

Most ignition locks have to have the key turned in order that the lock can be removed. If the key won’t turn it will make replacement more difficult.

Some vehicles including Land Rovers and Volvos often have the entire lock housing attached using shear bolts.

Before calling out a locksmith try your spare key (if you have one). If that doesn’t work you can try flushing the lock with a good lubricant (not WD40). Sometimes a gentle tap on the end the key with a screwdriver or light mallet can cure the problem.

A customer’s UPVC door had not worked since they moved in several months previously. It had clearly been a problem for years as previous owners had bodged it shut with old fashioned garden gate bolts.

When you see state of the gearbox is it’s no wonder the UPVC door wouldn’t open. For us to open the door required removing the glass, and several other steps. A new gearbox was fitted, the door aligned and the customer now has a fully working door.

Recently a landlord had been told by their managing agent that a jammed door would need a complete replacement door fitting. We were able to open and repair the door for probably 1/10th or less of the price of fitting a complete new one.

If your UPCV door is becoming difficult to lock it will probably only get worse. It may only need correctly aligning. This in turn may prevent the mechanism from breaking – saving you money.

Fortunately we don’t have too many burglaries here in Ross and the Forest. Most break ins that I do see as a Locksmith have just been brute force and ignorance rather than having used any skill. A typical example would be ripping a window out of the frame, or putting a heavy concrete planter through a patio door glass.

Perhaps it’s just coincidence but I’ve been to more burglaries or attempted burglaries in Bream than anywhere else in the Forest. On a positive note in one case Police did actually catch the suspect in the act.

Even the best locks won’t keep a burglar out if they can just smash your window with a garden ornament. Take a look around what is laying around in your garden that a criminal could use. Similarly keep ladders, garden tools etc secured and out of sight. Keep side gates locked where possible.

It might be harsh to say, but it isn’t about making your house impregnable. It’s about making it easier for someone to go and rob next door instead.

Locksmith Monmouth, Ross on Wye, Forest of Dean.