There are many reasons as to why a property owner might be interested in learning how to re-key their locks. Whether you’ve experienced a break-in or if you’re looking to limit access to your property because too many people have keys, it’s a simple and cost effective task. Instead of having to replace all of the locks in your home, learning how to rekey them on your own is easy with the help of the below steps.
Step 1: Getting a Kit
The first step to being able to rekey locks is to make sure that you have a kit that gives you all of the tools that you’ll need. Depending on the type of kit that you buy, you might need to find one that is specific for the type of lock that you have or you can find a universal kit. You should try to find a kit that includes lock pins, ring removers, plug followers, and cylinder followers.
Step 2: Removing the Knobs
The second step is to make sure that you remove the exterior knob of the lock that you’re trying to access.
Step 3: Removing the Cylinder
Every lock has a cylinder and with the help of your cylinder follower, you will want to push it into the lock assembly to take the sleeve off of the lock. You will then be able to take the cylinder out.
Step 4: Removing the Ring
The next step is to use your ring remover out of your kit to take the cylinder retaining ring off of the lock cylinder. Ensure that you put it somewhere special as you’ll need it when you reassemble the lock.
Step 5: Remove the Cylinder Plug
You will need to use the existing key for the lock and use it to separate the lower and upper lock pins. Keep pressure on the cylinder to remove the plug.
Step 6: Remove the Lower Pins
In most cases the lower lock pins will resemble small bullets that have the pointed ends where the key is inserted.
Step 7: Use the New Key
Grab the new key that you want to use to rekey locks in your home and insert it into the cylinder. This process is what will create a guide for the new lock pins that you’ll be inserting in the next step.
Step 8:
Take the new lock pins and insert them into the existing lock either using their color codes or the numerical codes. Typically you should use tweezers to deal with the small pins and ensure that they are entered properly.
Step 9: Reinstall the Lock
By reassembling all of the parts for the lock and affixing the knob back to the door, you now have a brand new rekeyed lock.