How is it that one key, different from others, can open the same lock assigned to the different locks?
In: 7
There are several ways to have have a lock that can be opened by multiple keys. Probably the most common way is by master pinning.
Typical keys have 5-7 rows of pins the teeth of the key move up and down. Each key has their teeth set to different depths or ‘bitting’ Like 25143. In order for a lock to work on a key with the first row set to depth 2, it’d need a length 2 pin in it’s first row and 5143 in the following rows
So how do I set a lock to work on key 25143 and key 55143? By stacking a length 3 pin on top of it’s length 2 pin.
When a depth 2 key is inserted, the 3 length pin sits above the cylinder and the length 2 sits inside of it, allowing the cylinder to turn over.
When a depth 5 key is inserted, the length 3 pin sits ontop of the length 2 pin inside the cylinder, since when you combine the length of the 2 pin with the 3 pin it equals 5, it’s just like having a length 5 pin there. That’s how it works on both keys.
Their are other ways of making multiple keys work on a single lock, but they’re less common. I’ll cover them if asked.
Latest Answers