Residential Locksmithing: How to Train as Locksmith at Home?

Do you want to be a locksmith? If you enjoy working with mechanical parts and enjoy puzzles, you might just enjoy being a locksmith.

Locksmithing can be a great local business. Do you find locksmith as a suitable profession for yourself? Do you intend to learn locksmith and lock picking techniques for house locks & doors? Want to learn how to pick house door locks?

Locksmithing had been primarily working with mechanical machines - locks. Things have been evolving in this industry over its lifespan. In recent years, locksmithing has morphed from the mechanical to digital.

Even the work description has changed. Locksmiths don't just make keys for people anymore. Now, they're liable for entire security systems for an entire range of clientele.

As the industry continues to evolve with technology, the demand for locksmithing skills is expected to stay and even increase with time. Whether you're curious about working for yourself, for a local locksmith company, or get employed with some company as in-house technician, there are multiple career paths.

Traditional locksmiths were skilled within the mechanical aspect of the work. It involved creating locks (and keys for these locks) using the system of tumblers. Mechanical locks such as deadbolts, padlocks, combination locks – these are all still used today. But growing needs and increasingly sensitive information involved stronger locks and multiple layers of security.

With the digital age, we have new technologies and new threats. Large companies and government agencies have adopted electronic locks and high-tech security cameras. Today's locksmiths must be tech-savvy and ready to adapt to the rapidly changing industry.

Residential Locksmith Training

If you are interested in learning residential locksmith techniques for choosing it as your profession or just for hobby, it is not very difficult to learn. You can easily train yourself for house locksmith techniques with just an internet connection and basic locksmith tools. There are plenty of online videos and tutorials to start learning locksmithing for home door, garage doors and window doors. Many professional training schools also offer courses as locksmith.

Get Locksmith & Lock-Picking Tools

Picking locks is an essential technique for all locksmiths. It is also an interesting skill that can be useful for all householders. One needs to resort to lock-picking to open a lock without the key in a manner that the lock is not damaged and rekeyed for future use. Picking antique locks is the only option as destructive entry methods will render them worthless.

Where to get a lock pick set? Just go to a nearby locksmith supply house. You can find these stores under "Locksmiths' Equipment & Supplies" in the Yellow Pages. Some states or companies require you to prove you are a locksmith or show a drivers licence. One can also check for mail order houses to get lock picking set and other locksmith tools.

You can also file or grind lock picks using spring steel such as hacksaw blades, piano wire, clock springs, etc. Grind the steel in a manner that the metal does not soften due to overheating. You might want to read a book on knife making, gunsmithing or machine shop practices to learn about tempering and heat treating of steel. Check out the "MIT Guide to Picking Locks" and the "Eddie The Wire" to learn about making lock-picking tools.

Things to Learn for Locksmithing

Here is a basic outline of things to learn to get started as a locksmith.

Understanding lock hardware and their application
Fitting keys by hand
Picking and servicing locks
Identifying keys
Key machine adjustment
Key duplication
Cutting keys by code
Lock servicing and repair
Master keying
High-security cylinder locks pin
Installation of locks

Practice at Home & Help Your Friends/Neighbours

Once you have the basic locksmithing tools, you can practice the trade at home. Get hold of old locks or the one that you can spare. Rip open a few locks to understand the mechanism of these locks. Try picking the most basic locks such as privacy locks in your house.

Once you can pick these locks, graduate to more sophisticated locks to hone your skills. Buy as many different locks you can from the nearest hardware store and keep practicing lock-picking with as many locks you can.

Word of caution: Do not try to experiment with locks that are too good to be destroyed. Also, make sure that you do not lock yourself out of your house in the course of practising locksmith techniques. That would be embarrassing, right?

Keep Learning Further

To learn more about locks and locksmithing, you can subscribe to a locksmithing magazine. Keep buying various types of locks, figure out everything about them, experiment installing, removing & modifying all sorts of locks.

Buy some key blanks and practice cutting keys. You can also try creating a set of keys with a master key scheme. You might want to buy a re-keying kit and get on-field experience by re-keying for your family and friends. You can also buy a deadbolt installation kit and put in a few deadbolts. Make sure that you charge them for the spare material or consumables.

Buy a pick set, and use practice locks for picking.

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