Broken Key Extraction in Annapolis, MD

Where keys snap in Annapolis

Keys break at locks that are worn, stiff or turned by many hands. Broken key extraction here often traces to one of these settings:

• Shared entries. The comprehensive plan describes an Eastport house that holds three apartments. A street door shared by three households gets more use than a single-family front door and wears out sooner, and a shared mailbox lock in a building like that gets the same use.
• Older doors. A historic door in the Historic District may carry a mortise lock set into its edge. A worn cylinder there, plus a key copied from a copy, makes a snapped blade more likely.
• Icy mornings. A key forced against ice in a keyway can shear off. Lock de-icer works better than force.

What not to do

• Do not push the stub or a spare key into the lock; that drives the fragment deeper.
• Do not put glue on a tool or on the key; glue that runs into the keyway can ruin the cylinder.
• Do not spray oil into the keyway while the piece is still inside.

Keep both halves of the key. The bow shows the brand and keyway, and a new key can often be cut from the pieces.

Details that help

1. Which lock: shared street door, unit door, mailbox, garage or shop door.
2. Photos of the keyway, showing whether the fragment sticks out or sits flush, and of the broken half.
3. Whether the lock was locked or unlocked when the key broke.
4. Who manages the door: you, a landlord, a business owner or the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis. In a shared building, tell the owner too, since other tenants use that lock.

If the cylinder is damaged, lock repair may follow; if you are shut out meanwhile, see house lockout. More local notes: Annapolis.