- Check the strike and the deadlatch plunger before deciding a latch cannot be shimmed.
- Interchangeable cores mean the building may hold a control key. Ask before you work.
- Walk the perimeter. Unlocked entrances are found more often than anyone admits.
- Drill along the shear line above the keyway, not through the center of the plug.
Latch and shim attacks
A spring latch with an unbeveled edge facing outward can be pushed back with a thin flexible card or a shim. A latch with a deadlatch plunger resting on the strike plate cannot, which is exactly what the plunger is for. Look at the strike before you look at the latch. A latch whose plunger has fallen into the strike hole because the strike is misaligned is a security hole the customer paid for and never knew about.
On many commercial doors an under door tool can reach the interior lever and pull it down. On a door with a wide undercut this takes under a minute. On a weatherstripped residential door it takes none, because it does not fit.
Mitre the approach to the door in front of you. Look, decide, then reach for one tool rather than trying every tool in sequence.
Hardware bypasses
Many lever handle sets, cam locks, cabinet locks, and filing cabinet locks can be opened without touching the cylinder. Screws exposed on the interior side, a removable core that lifts out with a control key, a bolt reachable through a gap, or an escutcheon that unscrews are all bypasses.
In commercial buildings check whether the cylinder is an interchangeable core. If it is, the building may hold a control key, and one phone call to the property manager replaces the entire job.
Do not overlook the obvious. Walk the perimeter. An unlocked window, an open garage, an unlocked back door and a spare key under a mat are found on a meaningful share of residential lockouts, and finding one costs the customer nothing.
When drilling is correct
Drilling is not failure. It is the right answer when the lock is high security, when the cylinder is damaged, when a key has snapped in a way that prevents extraction, or when a medical or child locked in situation makes time the only thing that matters.
Drill deliberately. On a standard pin tumbler the target is the shear line, just above the keyway, at the pin stack. Destroy the drivers along that line and the plug turns with a screwdriver. Drilling the center of the plug is the beginner error and it leaves you with a lock that still will not turn.
Tell the customer before the drill touches the door. Explain that the cylinder will need replacing, quote the replacement, get agreement, then drill. A customer who agreed in advance sees skill. A customer who watched you destroy their lock without warning sees damage.
Common Questions
What is a bypass?
Getting the door open without going through the lock at all, for example slipping a latch, reaching a thumb turn, or removing a cylinder. It is faster, cheaper and leaves the hardware working.
Is bypassing a lock less secure than picking it?
It says more about the door than the lock. If a latch can be slipped with a card, the fix is a deadlatch or a deadbolt, not a better cylinder.
Why would a locksmith remove the whole cylinder?
On some doors it is the quickest route in and the cylinder is the cheapest part to replace. It is a deliberate choice, not a failure, and you should be told the cost before it happens.
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