Daylight Home Security

There are many communities around the Portland area that are located in good areas and unlikely to be victim for home burglaries. Because of that, many residents of these communities will not put an emphasis on locking the doors surrounding their homes. Although home invasion is unlikely in good community areas, there is always a need to stay vigilant when it comes to the security of your home.

Many people will not realize the possibilities of home burglaries that will not occur using forced entry methods. It is somewhat a scary fact, but many burglars will actually knock on the front door in the middle of the day. According to law enforcement around the country, at least a third of home invasion happened without any trace of forced entry. In order to take security measures to protect against burglaries it is essential to call a professional locksmith that specialize in residential properties.

It is an unfortunate fact that many home intruders was able to figure that breaking into homes during the day when its still light out is easy enough without getting busted. The way that it works starts with the burglar knocking on the door to verify if someone is home or not. In an event that someone is home, the burglar would usually makeup a reason about his intentions such as using your phone, request for directions, or even claiming to accidentally knock on the wrong house. Burglars who attempt to intrude a home during the day are normally none violence and are only looking for the opportunity to sack a home when there is no one around.

The problem with most traditional residential locks is the fact that they can easily be picked. Door knob locks for example has a low security mechanism that is much less secure than a deadbolt. These types of locks are often recommended by professional locksmith to be used only on the interior rooms in a home rather than on the front door or in addition to a deadbolt. The use of multiple locks on the front door of a home in general is a good idea as they can discourage home intruders from attempting to break into a home during the day.

For more information about securing your home, contact Premier NorthWest Locksmith Portland (503) 438-4227.

Schlage High Security Key and Cylinder

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Lock Change VS Re-key

A common mistake many people do when calling a professional locksmith for a lock service is asking to replace the locks instead of just re-keying them. Most of the time, when a person call to request a lock change service it is mainly because he or she feels the security of their home has been compromise because the loss of a key or that it got stolen for example.

Although it is a good practice to call a locksmith for a lock service in such case, re-keying the locks would be the preferred solution over changing them. Re-keying the locks involve changing the pins inside the cylinder to accept a key that will have different cuts than the original one. This will eliminate the chance of a stranger who got a hold of the key to successfully try and use it.

Changing the locks however is recommended in the following scenarios. The locks are getting old and worn out to the point they are not functioning properly anymore and can be opened easily. The existing locks are of a low grade and can be beaten in a matter of seconds by a burglar. In these cases and more, it is recommended changing the locks to a higher security level type.

The bottom line is that it really depend on the type of situation you are in that will determine if a re-key would be recommended or changing the entire lock. Although changing the entire lock will give you a sense of security because of the fresh hardware, re-keying the existing lock essentially will do the same if they don't have a lot of use on them.

For more information about re-key or lock change, contact Premier NorthWest Locksmith Portland.

Interchangeable Core Locks

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Security For Your Home

A home is a place where people should feel safe in. The security of your home plays the difference between peace of mind and restlessness. Researches have shown that in the united states alone there are millions of residential properties break-ins annually. Although the statistic seem a little frightening, with an organized security plan for your home, you can prevent your home from being part of these statistics.

Most of the times, intruders would look for homes that have easy access which means low level protection on the entrance door, weak security points around the property and more. However, there are measures that can be taken in order to discourage intruders from targeting your home.

Normally, an intruder will pass on a house that carry heavy security as it will require major effort in order to break into. The first step in enhancing the security of your home would be equipping the front and back door with high security or high graded type of locks. Any type of lock that can resist common break-in tools such as pry bars, screw-drivers, and hammers will be a good choice. Adding a deadbolt with at least 1' locking bolt is important as well. After all, 2 locks is better than 1.

Keeping your windows secure would be the next step. When you go to sleep at night, making sure your windows and blinds are closed is important to avoid getting attention from intruders looking for their target during the night. If not equipped, you can easily find security locking solutions for windows in order to properly secure them. Last but not least is securing your balcony or yard entrance sliding glass door. Although sliding doors are normally equipped with a latch type lock, adding a bar to secure the sliding door in place will make sure it could not be opened even if the latch happen to fail or defeated.

For more information about protecting your home, contact Premier NorthWest Locksmith Portland.

Emergency Residential Lockout Service

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Re-keying Locks

Changing or re-keying locks are normally done to preserve the security of your home and your peace of mind. Usually re-keying would be the more cost effective solution which will be recommended on doing for the following reasons...

Did you just bought a new house? It can be an exciting time for you. However, like many other people who just moved into a new place, security is not always first priority. However, when moving into a new place, this is the first thing that should be thought about. The main reason is the fact that the previous owner of the house may have made multiple copies of the keys which are probably floating around in the hands of people you may not know.

Keys that were lost - Keys can go missing all the time or even worse, get stolen. In these types of situations it is recommended calling a professional locksmith immediately and not take the chances of having a stranger accessing your home. for the security of your home and peace of mind, get your locks re-keyed!

Hired a contractor lately to do some home renovation? This is a common situation where remodeling would usually take more than a day which will require leaving a key to the contractor or his employees. In this case it is always best to re-key the locks afterward just in case and for your peace of mind.

Living in a shared type situation and one of the roommates just decided to leave? There can be many scenarios where a roommate may decided to leave whether if it was on good terms or bad, changing or re-keying the locks will be a good idea to ensure the security of the rest of the tenants inside the house.

For more information about emergency re-key services, contact Premier NorthWest Locksmith Portland.

Automotive Transponder System

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Deadbolts

A deadbolt is a secure lock solution for added security to your home. It is mostly found as a secondary lock on many residential properties main entrance doors. It is a simple designed lock consisting a lock cylinder that is attached to the door with a locking mechanism of a large bolt that would normally slide into the door frame when in locking position. Most deadbolt's locking bolts would be thick and long enough to make it hard on an intruder to pry the door open. The deadbolt will have a rotating mechanism to retract the bolt in and out of the door frame opening.

There will normally be two types of deadbolts available in the market which are a single and double cylinder. A single cylinder deadbolt would require a key to operate from one side while from the other (interior side) there will be some sort of a thumb-turn or a knob that can be turned in two directions in order to lock and unlock the deadbolt. This is the most common deadbolt you will find in residential homes as a secondary lock to a knob or a lever set lock.

Unlike the traditional single sided deadbolt, a double cylinder type will require a key from both sides of the lock in order to operate it. This will provide an increase security solution for a home against intruders. This type of deadbolt come is in handy in a situation where a home has a door with glass inserts on it or is near a glass window. If there was a single sided deadbolt installed on a door in this case, an intruder could have easily break the glass and unlock the deadbolt from the inside. However, because a double cylinder deadbolt requires key to be used in both sides, an attempt such as that from an intruder would result in failure. The only downside with this type of deadbolt, it the fact that it will not allow any fast access from the inside in case of an emergency.

Form more information about deadbolts, contact Premier NorthWest Locksmith Portland.

Commercial File Cabinet Lockout Service

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Residential Key-less Entry Lock System

Moving on to key-less entry lock system is a great decision that involve many options to choose from. The most popular type of key-less entry lock system is a combination based interface which allow access via entering a code on a keypad. Because there is a wide range of selection in the market for residential applications, it is important to choose the right one that will fit your needs.

If you are planning to make a use of a key-less entry locks inside your home for an application such as a cabinet for example, a dial type lock would be the best choice. It will normally work similar to a safe where at least 5 digit combination code would need to be reached by spinning the dial in different directions to unlock it. However, if the purpose of a key-less entry lock system would be for an exterior use, a digital lock would be preferred. These types of locks would normally have the digital interface attached to the lock system itself. The operation would normally be done using a touch-pad or a keypad interface. Once the correct code would be entered, there will be an electronic signal that would be sent to the mechanism in order to release the locking bolt.

One of the advantages of making the decision upgrading to a key-less entry lock system from the existing traditional lock is the fact that most likely there will not be any additional modifications that would need to be done for the door in order to install the new lock. This means that if you currently have a Mortise lock for example already installed, you could easily find a key-less entry lock system that is based on a Mortise mechanism as well.

The other benefits of going with a key-less entry lock system is the fact that you won't have to deal with keys to your home anymore. This means that you won't have to worry about loosing your keys and calling a locksmith to unlock the door for you, or re-key the locks for security purposes. In addition, it would be much more difficult for intruders to break-in through a key-less entry locks using the traditional methods such as picking or bump-keying.

For more information about key-less entry locks, visit Premier NorthWest Locksmith Portland.

Residential Re-key Service

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Brass Type Locks

There are many types of residential locks in the market, but not all of them made of a sturdy heavy duty material. Brass type locks are the most reliable types of locks you can get for your home. Brass material is initially an alloy of copper and zinc. Some of the benefits of brass material are strength, durability, and rust resistant. With all these advantages, it will make any type of lock that is made of brass fit to be used inside and outside. If you were interested in a particular lock for your home, know that many of them are available in brass.

Mortise type locks are one of the more popular choice for home and small business as a dependable high security lock. It is constructed with a large mechanism that initially fits inside the door. Since Mortise locks come in wide range of designs, they can be used both on an inside and outside of a door. These types of locks required to be installed by a professional locksmith as the door must be prepped for installation, but its high level of security makes it worth it in addition to the fact it does come in brass.

The most common residential type of lock that is available in the market is cylinder type lock which is also available in brass. Although there are a variety of cylinder mechanisms available in the market such as disc tumbler, wafer tumbler, and pin tumbler. Part of the advantage having this type of lock is the fact it can be re-keyed at any point and any time make it a good security choice.

Another type of lock that may be available in brass is a rim type lock. Although it is mostly used on an interior of a home, it can still be used to secure a particular room inside it. It is a latch style lever lock which operates by a thumb-pad.

Last but not least is a deadbolt locks. The highest form of security for homes, available in two types of mechanism which both can be found in brass. Finding a brass type deadbolt is highly recommended as this type of lock is mostly being used on the exterior of the door as a secondary form of security to your home. It is available both in a single and double cylinder forms where a double cylinder will require a key to be used from both sides to unlock it.

For more information about brass locks and options, visit Premier NorthWest Locksmith Portland.

Automotive Re-key Service

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About Bump Keys

One of the most notorious ways for breaking in a residential or low security commercial type lock is key bumping. It is a skill many locksmith technicians and even some thief use that can compromise most types of home security. If you were a victim of a home breaking where no damage to the lock or windows around the house has been done, most likely a bumping technique have been used which makes you wonder what you can do to prevent it in the future.

The technique of lock bumping involving the use of a special key called a bump-key. This type of key normally would be inserted into a lock just any other standard key while applying pressure which will cause all the pins inside the cylinder to go out of place which in turn will enable the key to work the lock to the open position. Nowadays, these types of keys are available everywhere and with the addition of different procedure explanations available on the internet, it became a major residential security hazard.

Most types of bump-keys are being sold to the public with very little restriction. According to many researches, at least 4 out of 5 homes across the country can be broken into using a type of bump-key. It is very common for home owners to achieve satisfaction from the security of their home simply by having standard locks and maybe an alarm system. However, these two types of security measures are no longer enough in this day and age of advance technology and high level of accessibility.

The risk in having your home vulnerable to a bump-key is the fact that most insurance policies will not cover any theft or losses that occurred from breaking without any solid proof that there was in fact unlawful entry to your home. This is normally very hard to accomplished since the use of a bump-key is almost untraceable. it does not show any trail or signs of forced entry, so at the end of the day, not only you will be a victim of theft, but you will also not going to be compensated for your loss.

It is very unfortunate that most types of locks or deadbolts that are manufactured today even by the leading names in the industry are still an easy target to the bump-key method and far from being protected against this type of security hazard. The solution is very simple. Investing in high security lock that are marked with a higher level grade. Not only these types of locks will prevent unauthorized entry by the use of a bump-key, but will also prevent any picking attempts.

Give us a call to learn more about our high security lock options for residential homes or visit our website Premier NorthWest Locksmith Portland.

Commercial Lockout Service

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Pontiac Transponder Spare Key

There are many ways for originating and duplicating an automotive key. Normally to originate a key there is a need to retrieve a code either from one of the vehicle's lock or from a software that has a large data base of most makes and models in the market. For most newer vehicles or those who were manufactured in the late 90's until today, making or duplicating the key does not end with cutting it. There is programming involved which require the locksmith technician to have the right equipment which is normally expensive. These types of keys called transponder keys which not all locksmith technicians have the equipment or the skills to service them.

I go a call recently from a customer who had a 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix and he wanted his main key duplicated since he didn't have a spare key for it and wanted to have one in case of an emergency. Luckily, I just got my device that is used in order to program transponder keys on vehicle. Normally this type of equipment cost a significant amount of money, but I got a good deal on a used one.

Once I arrived to the customer location, the first thing I needed to do was cutting the spare key for the customer. Luckily, I did not have to pull out any codes in order to cut it since I had the machine where I could just duplicate it using the original key the customer had. Once I had the key made, it was programming time. As I connected the machine to the vehicle OBD connector I noticed that I couldn't get any read on the screen. Normally, it can mean two things. Either the OBD connector is bad or the device I was using, but since Iv'e tested the device on my vehicle successfully, I came to determine that the OBD might have an issue.

In such case, the only way programming that key was using a special machine who can read the original key signal and automatically program it on the new key. Unfortunately, that machine is very expensive and most locksmith technicians won't have it. Luckily for me, I knew of a Portland locksmith shop in the area that had this machine, so I had to go for a quick ride. Fortunately for me they were still open and able to program the new key I made using the customer's original one. After getting back to the customer's vehicle and "crossing my fingers" i was able to test the new key successfully.

Lock Repair

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Kwikset Deadbolt Removal

Residential jobs for the average locksmith technician are not as common as automotive services. However, most of the time they are more rewarding, but takes much longer to do. Normally, when I get a residential type job such as a lock change, lock repair, or re-key, it would usually takes around an hour or even a bit more to do the work. It usually depends on the amount of locks that need service and if I would run into some issues during the process. What would happen if a locksmith technician would run into a job where there a large amount of locks to service and some issues in the process?

Recently I got a call from a real-estate company who owns few apartment complexes in the area. They had an elderly apartment complex property with around 200 units which they needed a re-key done on all of them. This type of job would normally take about almost a week to do for the average locksmith technician and about couple of days for a couple of experienced technicians. I knew I would probably needed to start the job by myself and maybe my Portland locksmith co worker would come during the week to help.

The first thing I did when arriving to the property was determining the type of locks that needed to be re-key which was a Kwikset interconnected lever lock and a deadbolt installed on each unit's door. As I was started doing the work, I noticed that the deadbolts were held by a bolt that had a flat-blade screwdriver in the head of it and had a small sized hole at the center of it. I thought it was kinda awkward since I never seen these types of bolts before. Nevertheless, using my power drill to unscrew these bolt was a nightmare in the first day since they seem to strip very easily because of the their flat-blade head form.

These issues I experienced in the first day seemed to slow me down significantly and when doing a large scale time consuming job such as that, this is the last thing you want to happen as a locksmith technician. I called my co worker the day after to come help and maybe fins a solution to the problem with bolts that were holding the deadbolts. When he got there, I explained him the situation and the issues I had with the bolts and he said that he ran into this type of problem before and luckily had a solution for it. He had a flat-bladed drive bit that was customize to handle these types of flat blade head bolts with the hole in the center. Once we have that issue with the bolts taken care of, we were able to finish the job in a couple of days as planned.

Automotive Broken Key Extraction

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Merkur Key Make

There were many times as a locksmith technician that I got called to service a vehicle which was not very common in the market. This was mostly true for older vehicles which were mostly distributed in Europe with some of them being available here in the U.S. When it came to unlocking some of theses uncommon vehicles, the job was no different than unlocking most of other vehicle models from the same year. However, making a key or doing an ignition service was a different story.

I remember a while back I got a call from a customer who owned an 89 Merkur  XR4Ti. The customer claimed he has lost all the keys to the vehicle and could not find any other company that would be able to make a key for it. Being a locksmith technician with great experience in making vehicle's keys, I decided to take the job. Before heading to the customer, I had to review the manuals making sure I have a blank key for it and for a way to get the code for making the key.

After reviewing the manual, I determined that my only options for getting the code in order to make the key was either through the driver's side door lock, or through the trunk which would have been tricky to get to without a key. Once I got to the customer's location, I first had to unlock the car which didn't take much effort. I then started dissembling the door panel which took a while, but when I finally was able to access the lock, I noticed that there was no code stamped on it.  

Since I didn't want to take the chance of risking more time dissembling the passenger side door to access the lock for the code, I decided to call Portland locksmith a co-worker of mine who had a little more experience than I did making keys for older vehicles. As I was starting telling him the story about that vehicle I was servicing, he stopped me and said that I could have saved a lot of effort if I just went for the glove box lock to get the code.

Even though the manual did not mention anything about getting a code for the glove box lock, it seemed to be an option as well. Not only it didn't take much effort removing the lock which was only held by a clip, unlike the door lock, this one did have the code stamped on it. After getting the code, I was finally able to make the key which tested successfully.

Commercial Locks Leading Manufacturers

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GM 6 Cut Key Make

Originating vehicle's keys is something most locksmith technicians should know. It is a very common service in which customers would usually prefer to call a locksmith technician than the dealership since the cost most likely will be lower and they won't have to get their vehicle towed anywhere. There are many ways and tricks for making vehicles keys, but most of the time it will be depend on the make and model. Some vehicles will have one key that will operate all the locks in the vehicle including the ignition, but some vehicles will have 2 keys, one for the ignition and one for the door/trunk/glove box lock.

A few years ago when I just learned automotive ignition and key origination services, I got a call from a customer to make a door key for his 95 Camaro Z28. The customer mentioned that he lost the key a while back, but was not worried about it until now that is FOB stopped working. These types of older GM vehicles use 2 keys, one that is used for the ignition and one for the other locks in the vehicles. Since I knew it wasn't a big deal to make a door key for this make and model since it didn't required touching the steering wheel and the ignition, I decided to take the job.

I started heading to the customer's home, but not before confirming I had the right key blank in stock. Once I got to the customer's address, I went through the guides I had for information about the vehicle and what I would need to do to make the key for the door and saw that I needed to take apart the door panel and other hardware to get to the lock and read the stamped code that was on it. Although my other option was progressioning, I was not confident enough I would be able to properly progress all 6 cuts of the key, so I decided to go with the usual route of getting to the door key.

As I started to remove the door panel, I ran across some stubborn screws that were holding the arm rest in place and since without removing it I couldn't get the door panel off, I had to keep trying and working on the screws. Unfortunately, someone before me who attempted to remove the door panel (possibly to replace the power motor) has stripped the arm rest bolts which prevented me from removing them.

Since I couldn't think of another way to originate a door key for the customer's vehicle, I decided to call a Portland locksmith co-worker of mine to see if he could come and help. Unfortunately, he was caught up doing a different job, but he did have a helpful advice for me. Something that I didn't thought about was going with the glove box lock which was very simple to remove. Although the glove box only used 4 out of the 6 cuts, all I needed to do was to progress the remaining 2 cuts which I didn't have any problem doing .  

Decorative Locks and Handle-Sets

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Simplex Jam

There were many times as a locksmith technician where I got call-backs for services I did. There were no particular jobs I would get the call-back for, it may have been a key I just mad for a vehicle that failed to work for undetermined reason, a new lock that failed operation after a short period of time, or other types of jobs. Most of the time I would be able to figure out what went wrong, but there were few times where I would stand scratching my head trying to figure out the issue where I'm sure happened before to other locksmith technicians in the field..

I remember few summers ago right around the time there was a few weeks of heat wave in Portland area, I got a call from a restaurant downtown to install a key-less entry Simplex lock which is very common for updated commercial applications and saves the hassle of dealing with pesky keys. I had the chance to install few of those before and actually had a couple in stock, so I took the restaurant information and headed its way.

Once I got to the restaurant location, the manager showed me around and took me to where he wanted the Simplex lock to be installed which was on the kitchen's back door where there was a high traffic of employees coming and going.  The install went well, and after finishing, I programmed a combination for the manager, and explained him how to use the lock. I then was on my was for another job.

Couple of days after the restaurant service, I got a call from the restaurant's manager claiming he was not able to operate the lock and instead he had to pry the door open which destroyed the latch. I stopped at one of my lock suppliers on the way to the restaurant to pick up another lever. After getting to the restaurant, I installed the new lever, entered the combination and everything seemed to work perfectly fine.

A day later, I got another call from the restaurant with the same complaint that they could not get the door open. I then asked them no to try anything until I get there, and started heading there as soon as I got off the phone. Once I got there, I examined the lock and enter the combination and it did not opened. A this point, I called another Portland locksmith co-worker of mine and see if he had any issues before with these Simplex locks.

After getting my co-worker on the phone, he did mentioned that these Simplex locks tend to malfunction if exposed to extreme heat. I then made a quick second look and noticed that there was a direct sun light on the metal door going through the kitchen window. I did noticed that the door was very hot when examining the lock. I then had an idea to examining the theory by getting a hose and cool the door a little. Once I did that, the lock functioned with no issues. I recommended the restaurant manager to install some type of window blinds, so this issue won't happen again.

Ignition Services

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Premier NorthWest Locksmith Portland

Wrangler Lockout Service

As a professional locksmith technician you never know what would be expected once you go on the road for a job. There were many times where I found myself going for a job only to get 3 more while I was on my way. Usually this is not an issue, but when things do not run smoothly, then the problems usually start as other customers will be waiting for the service.Normally I would run behind if I would get stuck on a job that may be difficult to find a solution for more than expected.

About few weeks ago I remember heading out for a job in the morning and getting few more jobs along the way which was the reason for me to come back home only in the evening. The first job was making a key for a 2005 Ford Escape in Hillsboro which went fairly smooth as expected. I got to the customer's home fairly quick since there was no traffic and was able to make a new key for the customer in a timely manner. The only issue I had was the power supply in my service van which did not work properly and eventually led me into connecting the key cutting machine power supply to the customer's garage.

While I was close to finishing the Ford Escape key origination job, I got another call from a customer who locked herself out of her vehicle at her place of work parking lot. The vehicle was an old Jeep Wrangler, so I knew I was into a challenge. The lockout service was in Mcminville which was around half an hour from where I was. I took the customer info and started heading on the way to try and avoid traffic.

In about half an hour I was able to get to the job site. After taking the information I needed from the customer, I grabbed my lockout service tools from the van and started working on the vehicle. The problem with the Jeep wrangler was the fact that the door frame was very tough to separate using the wedges, but even after I was able to create some space, it was not enough for me to maneuver with the bar in order to unlock the door using the power locks. Mean time, I got another lockout job on Forest Grove which was on my way back anyways, so I booked it even though I was still working on the Jeep.

After about 15 minutes of unlocking attempts, I decided that the best way to get the customer back to her vehicle was to making a new key for the customer which wasn't a big deal, but I had to charge the customer a little more for it. After explaining the situation to the customer, I got the green light to make a key which worked well for her since now she had a spare key in case a situation such as that will occur again.

Visit the following links for information about our Portland locksmith services. | Premier NorthWest Locksmith Portland.    

Exit Devices Services

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VATS System Decoding

For the average locksmith technician, originating a new key for a vehicle should be a fairly simple task. Most of the time, it will depend on several reasons such as duplicating a key from the original or making one from scratch, anti-theft security systems and more. Before transponder type keys were new in the market, domestic company such as GM came up with their own version of incorporating an anti-theft security feature within their ignition keys which called VATS system. The VATS system was actually a chip built in the key blade which function similarly to a transponder key. Originating a key for a GM vehicle equipped with a VATS system required a locksmith technician to have a VATS decoder in order to make a key for the vehicle.

I remember many years ago when the VATS system was fairly new I got a call from a customer who wanted us to make a spare key for his 1990 Corvette. At that time most of us were using VATS system decoders which made the job a lot easier making a key for VATS system equipped vehicles. Figuring it should not take long since I had in stock VATS system key blanks and the decoder, I accepted the job, took the customer's information and was heading his way.

Once I got to the customer's address, I tool all the necessary information from him on the vehicle and the keys, so I could start doing the work. As I got my VATS system decoder out, I noticed that it wouldn't want turn on. I figured it was just a power issue, but even after trying to resolve it, I wasn't able to turn it on. Since I didn't know another way to decode VATS system values back then, I called another Portland locksmith technician friend of mine for advice.

After getting my friend on the phone, he mentioned there was another way to decode these VATS system keys which involved using an  OHM meter. Luckily I had one with me. He mentioned that the way to check the VATS system values with the OHM meter was putting each probe on a different side of the VATS system chip on the key. However, that was not the end of it. Because the values given by the OHM meter did not actually reflected the VATS system values, my friend actually gave me a conversion chart to work with which would have given me the correct VATS system number based on the value I would get from the OHM meter. Once I completed the process on the customer's key, I able to quickly find the correct VATS system number, cut the new key and tested it successfully.

Residential Broken Key Extraction

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Infinity Trunk Lockout

Automotive lockout services are the most common services a locksmith technician will do throughout his or her time in the business. Keeping track of all different tools and ways to unlock different make and models is no easy. I found that most vehicles, are not that hard to open if you have the right tools and experience to do the job. However, some vehicles would seem to be harder to open than others which can be for many reasons such as higher security lock mechanisms, worn out lock components, or others.

A while back, I got a call from a customer who owned a Q45 Infinity and accidentally locked the keys inside the trunk after coming back from shopping. Apparently, he dropped the keys inside the trunk as he was putting the bags inside the trunk and closed it. When I got to the customer's location, I did a quick review of the situation and realized I would have to either pick the trunk lock, or access the trunk release lever by unlocking the driver side's door. What I didn't know was the fact that trunk release lever was not where I thought it would be which is next to the driver's side seat.

As my first option, I decided to try and pick the trunk lock. It was a high secure locking mechanism which made it hard picking it open which made me give up after few minutes of trying. I then turned to my air wedges in an attempt to unlock the driver side door and access the trunk release lever. It didn't take long to unlock the vehicle's door, but as I got the vehicle's door opened, I searched and could not find the trunk release lever. When I asked the customer, he said he never used it before and had no idea if there was one.

At that point I figured I should probably call one of my Portland locksmith technician friends for advice on the situation since I ran out of ideas. When I got one of my locksmith friends on the phone he recalled that there was in fact a trunk release in this type of vehicle and that I would find it in the glove compartment. I immediately finished the conversation and wen for the glove compartment. Unfortunately it was locked. However, I knew that the lock mechanism in there would not be as tough to pick as the one in the trunk or the door, so I went ahead and started working on it. Withing couple of minutes, I got the glove box compartment opened, used the trunk release to pop the trunk, and get the customer back his keys.  

Automotive Lockout Services

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Why Do a Re-Key?

As a professional locksmith technician I cannot stress enough to customer the importance of having a re-key done when moving into a new place. The fact is, even though the previous owner claim to have given you all the copies of the house keys, you will never know if there might be a relative or other individual that may have an extra key. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

I had a customer the other day who called in for a re-key job to his home. On the phone, the customer sounded a little stressed and I wasn't sure why. I assumed that maybe someone broke into his home and he suspected that individual might have a key to the house in his possession. Once I got to the customer's address, I couldn't help it but to ask about the urgency of the matter and then a laid the story on me.

Apparently, he and his wife just moved into this place about a week before. Aside from the fact the previous owner claimed to have given them all the copies, he neglected to mention other individuals that may have their hands on a key. Few days ago, the customer heard some noises from the kitchen at around 5am. As he went down the kitchen to see what is going on, he saw a stranger digging through his refrigerator. The customer then turned on the light switch and shout at the person asking him who he was and what he was doing there. The person then identified himself as a delivery guy working for one of the dairies in the area. He claimed that the previous owner gave him a key, so he can let himself in to deliver milk to him every week.

At that point, I figured the incident was probably the reason I got called to re-key the locks all over the house, but I was mistaken. Apparently there was a second incident which "broke the camel's back" and led my customer and his wife to realize there may have been other people aside from the previous owner that had keys to the house.

As he continued his story, a couple of days after the "milk delivery" incident, there was another incident in which his wife encountered. When his wife came back home the other day, she noticed a stranger holding up some hangers with clothes. As she was freaking out about the fact there was a stranger in her new home, she came to find it was only the dry cleaning delivery guy delivering the previous owner's load. It seemed as he gave a key to the dry cleaning place as well. At that day the customer said, he and his wife had enough and decided to call a locksmith, so they can get their peace of mind back. The moral of the story is when you are moving into a new place, always change the locks or the least re-key them as you never know who else might have access to it.

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Mortise Lock

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Panic-Bar Installation Tip

As a professional locksmith technician every now and then, I would run into jobs where I would have to improvised in order to get it done. Normally, I would always keep in my service vehicle some old locks and other misc stuff I removed from previous jobs as I know I could probably find use for them in the future for other jobs. Time and time again having misc old locking parts in my van turned to be helpful. Even though I won't recommend using old parts when doing locksmith work for a customer, but sometimes there aren't many choices and they can be used as a backup plan.

I recently got a call from a company I worked with to install a panic bar on wooden doors which had no astragal. Knowing it could be a big job with a big pay, I decided to accept and was headed to the company's address. Once I got to the company's location, I ran a quick inspection to evaluate what needed to be done in order to do the job and I realized I did not have the correct door strike with me in the van. I didn't want to look unprofessional in front of the customer, so I called a fellow Portland locksmith of mine for advice. When I got him on the phone, he mentioned that I could probably use an old Adams Rite Latch Paddle Operator and modify it a bit to use instead of the intended strike.

I used a grinder I had in my service van to modify the handle as close as I could to those of a Sargent 644 strike, installed it, and then ran a quick test. After checking its functionality, it seem that everything was working as it should be. Another reason why I was in a tight situation to resolve the job the same day was because the Fire Marshal was about to close that business if they wouldn't have resolved the situation with the doors being properly secured. However, I did order the right part the same day which later was installed. Ever since, I keep that old latch as a backup plan for future commercial jobs.

Residential Key-Less Entry Lock System

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Supra Lock Box

One of the old methods being used by Realtor on residential homes for sale in order to allow access to the place being sold by various agents are the use of Supra Lock Boxes. These boxes allow a safe hide for the key, so that any agent from a Real-Estate company monitoring the property sale can gain access to it without compromising the security of the place for unwanted intruders. Sometimes, these boxes are also used by banks who holds foreclosed homes and properties.

I got a call the other day from a bank to make a new key for a foreclosed home that was in the bank's possession. The person who called was the bank manger himself and he was telling me that there was a small box on the front door of the house which had the key to the house inside it. I knew that instant that he was talking about the Supra Lock Box. He then mentioned that the reason he was calling a locksmith its because he forgot the combination to access the box.

I decided to take the job and was headed to address the bank manager gave me. Once I got to the site, I ran a quick inspection of the box and noticed it had a factory label on the back which said SPI. To the best of my experience and knowledge with these boxes, I knew these letters were the factory preset for the box. So I followed the letters and made the right turn on the dial starting with the first letter and few seconds after the box was opened and I got the key from it. All I needed to do after that to complete the job was duplicate the key and the job was done.

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Key Origination Service in Portland

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