Ross-Dean Locksmiths

A customer called late at night with the end of the key snapped off in the car door.  The key was badly worn and had not been turning without force and jiggling.  Finally the key snapped. Customer thought he would need new locks.

The key was extracted from the lock. A new key was then cut with a computerised machine which cut to the measurements the original key when it was brand new. The new key worked smoothly, new locks weren’t needed and customer could drive away happy.

This is the snapped key held together in the trace cutting jig.  It was necessary to reproduce a one piece copy of the snapped key. Only a key in one piece could be decoded by the computerised cutting machine.

Sometimes if used with a worn key over a period of time a lock will wear too.  In such a situation you might be advised to get a new lock too.

We’d only supplied this lock last month but somebody snapped a key off, then pushed the broken part even further in with an old nail. It was impossible to remove the snapped part. This is the larger body size of the Master Pro Series padlocks.

We had to do a destructive removal of this chunky padlock. It was a right pain to get off, and I was very impressed with the amount resistance it put up.  Getting it off was neither quick, nor quiet.  Well done this lock.

Note to self: Don’t let your van slide backwards down a hill into a ditch on a bank holiday. Fortunately shops open again today so could buy myself a winch.

This antique rimlock was taken off a chapel undergoing renovation.  The key was lost back in the depths of time and the owner wanted to keep as much of the original fabric as possible.

The bolt and the stump needed hammering flat as vandals had damaged it during a break in years ago. The mainspring was completely snapped and needed replacing.  A similar era salvaged key was hand filed to work in the lock.

This door locked with a mechanical keypad was non destructively opened for a customer. The combination wasn’t passed on when the premises changed hands.  Once the door was opened the code was changed so that the customer can now use the door. 

Client needed a mortise deadlock fitting to a double fire door (for use only when the building is unoccupied). To comply with fire regulations the lock was covered with an intumescent seal.   Extra smoke and flame seals were subsequently fitted over the strike plate.

Customer’s front door couldn’t be unlocked with the key and the door was jammed shut.  We were able to  open the door and removed the lock for investigation.  The problem was clear. The tail of the bolt that is pulled by the bolt thrower to withdraw the bolt had snapped right off. A replacement lock was fitted.

A customer rang with the tip of his key snapped off the ignition.  It wasn’t possible to extract the broken part in situ therefore the ignition barrel and steering lock were removed. This enabled the customer to drive off (avoiding a parking fine). The ignition was then stripped (much more than shown in the photos) to removed the stray part and to cut a new key.  (Note: customer was able to provide proof of ownership of the vehicle).