Locksmith

Locksmith

Josh-the-Locksmith

25 Years Experience

Austin, TX

Male, 46

I've been a locksmith since 1998. I did automotive residential & commercial work from 1998 to 2008. From 2008 to 2018, I did some residential, but mostly commercial work. I have been project managing & estimating since 2018. I used to locksmith in the Chicago area, now the Austin area.

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330 Questions

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Last Answer on June 11, 2024

Best Rated

can i have my barrel lock plunger key repair

Asked by everette over 8 years ago

Not usually, but you might be able to get it duplicated onto a new key.

i have a Best door knob. I've attempted to depress the knob release by putting a papercli[ in the hole on the latch side of the knob but cannot find the rea\lease to allow me to pull out the knob ....what now? how do I get the door knob out?

Asked by arttriglione@comcast.net over 8 years ago

Being that Best would only sell to the end user, I haven't worked with many Best locks. BUT my guess would be it's possibly not a poke hole. It won't come apart like a typical lever. That hole is possibly a grab hole for a spanner wrench. You insert the tip of the wrench in that hole and rotate it counter-clockwise. If you don't have a spanner wrench, just use a big pair of pliers. Grab the part of the knob where that small hole is and twist it counterclockwise. It should start to get looser and eventually unscrew.

I'm trying to determine the brand of my Mortise lock mechanism that's inside my door so that I can get the right cylinder with the right cam for it. The logo on the side of the latch has an "E" with 3 arrows pointing from each leg of the "E". HELP.

Asked by Mike over 7 years ago

The company name is Emhart. It uses a Corbin Russwin cam called a “cloverleaf” cam.

Whats the funniest Situation you had while on the job?

Asked by Basti83 about 8 years ago

Some locksmiths have some awesome stories. Unfortunately I haven’t had many hilarious ones. I unlocked the wrong car one time. I figured it would be a good idea to get a head start before the customer came out to the small parking lot. I didn’t even notice there was an identical make, model, & color car right next to it! Another time I cut off the wrong padlock on a storage unit. That time it was the renters fault. After she slid the door open, “Oops! That’s not mine. Sorry! Oh yeah! It’s this one over here!” ????

I am installing a keyless mechanical double sided door lock on a glass door from our pool area into our home. Is a deadbolt more secure/burglar proof then a deadlatch? LOCKEY M230DC vs 210DC. Love auto lock of the latch for kids, but security wise?

Asked by Security Question over 7 years ago

There’s no question, deadbolt all the way! Deadbolts: 1 inch in length, when installed right, goes into the stud. They are also locked in place when fully extended. Can’t be “credit carded”. 

Latches: 1/2” in length, easier to credit card, easier to crow bar the door open, must be installed just right otherwise it’s very easy to credit card open. Also easier to lock yourself out of the house. Also they only lock into a 3/4” piece of wood. Can usually be kicked open with 1 kick.

None of my exterior doors have latches, all are deadbolted.

is it possible to customize an interconnected handleset so that the thumbturn on the inside is removed and replaced with a solid piece of metal/blank plate? deadbolt still lockable from outside with key, just not lockable from inside.?

Asked by mike over 7 years ago

Probably yes. There’s a clip that holds the thumb turn on, usually a compression ring, you should be able to break it off, then replace it with a screw of some sort. You’d have to get creative. It might deactivate the “interconnected” feature, which would prevent someone on the inside from being able to turn the lever and unlock the door, creating a major fire and safety hazard. I would not recommend tampering with it for that reason. It’s an accident waiting to happen.

I hope you can help me... No one seems to know what kind of lick this is... I bought several items at a auction.. and a few of them had drawer locks like this... I spent alot of time removing this lock without damage to the drawer... I'm hoping you can help me identify what kind of lock this is and tell me where I light be able to get replacement keys.. I'd like to save the locks... Thank you in advance... Any help you can give me is appreciated.

Asked by Pete over 6 years ago

Can you send me a couple photos on Twitter? @ATXJoshL