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.
I assume you have a glass and aluminum storefront door. You can replace that inside keyed cylinder with a thumb turn, they are very inexpensive, usually $10-15. Labor time is 2-5 min. You can have a locksmith come out and do it for you, or probably YouTube it if you’re trying to save yourself money. https://youtu.be/nJT0moSoNJM
I’ve heard of intruders like this. Are they not stealing anything of real value, just moving around items of yours, hiding things?
Anything is possible. It may require some modifications though. The fact that the wire comes into the safe so high above the lock is what seems questionable to me. normally that's probably where the dial spindle would come though, and that's quite a distance above the lock. You may want to call your local locksmith and find someone who does a lot of safe work. Send them that photo, safe brand and model, maybe even a picture of the front as well, and see if they would be willing to tackle it. Some conversions are quick and simple, I wouldn't say that one will be.
That is a Yale mortise lock. No, the August will not work on that lock. You would need to install a cylindrical deadbolt above it.
Architectural Project Manager
Were there any structural deficiencies in the Twin Towers that made them fall?Stand-Up Comedian
What's your worst bombing story?Magician
How do you feel about magicians on TV who reveal how tricks are done?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.
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.
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.
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