How To Replace Old Style Skeleton Key Front Door Lock

Posted by captain science at 11 13 am on may 3 2008.

How to replace old style skeleton key front door lock.

The first step is to remove one of the locks and take it in to an antiques store or a locksmith that has a collection of old bit keys often called skeleton keys. In order to have a skeleton key made you need to be able to remove one of the skeleton key locks. An expert locksmith should be able to craft a new key to fit the lock and if he often works. And most likely one key is all you ll need because interior doors on old houses typically share identical locks.

According to the old house guru i spoke to there are 3 skeleton keys that account for about 90 of interior door locks no such luck with exterior locks btw. In fact many old locks were built for pure decoration and can be easily bypassed even without a skeleton key. Here s the difference from a skeleton key mortise box compared to a regular or standard door preparation like today s doors. You do this by removing the internal lock and taking it to the locksmith and a reproduction can be made.

Bring the armoire to a locksmith who specializes in antiques if the skeleton key doesn t open it. The vintage or antique style hardware. You can also just replace the skeleton key locks as they are old and not secure. Fortunately most american and western european pieces made from the 18th through the early 20th centuries are fairly simple to work with.

How to find a skeleton key for your old lock. The reason we call them skeleton key type locks is because they use that old fashioned skeleton keys you see on older homes. There is a trick however to remove skeleton key locks and. Ultra security 44609 old time mortise lock with skeleton key brass plated finish replaces most mortise interior locks from the early 1900 s 3 8 out of 5 stars 77 15 67 15.