Broken Key Extraction in Las Cruces, NM

Where keys take the most strain in Las Cruces

A key breaks when the lock asks more of it than the brass can give: a cylinder that binds, a bolt that drags, or a copy cut from a worn copy.

• Old cylinders. Mesquite is the 1849 townsite and Mesilla Park was founded in 1887. Where an original latch or cylinder survives in either, generations of keys have worn the keyway, and a worn keyway can grip a key unevenly.
• Dust. Schlage's service manual notes that dust can foul the grease in a lock, and spring is the windy season here, so a gritty keyway is a warning well before a key gives out.
• Doors that shifted. Wood shrinks as it dries, the USDA Wood Handbook explains, and in dry air a bolt can end up out of line with its strike. Leaning on the key to force the last quarter turn is one way a key snaps.
• Copies of copies. Keys handed from one resident to the next can be cut from other copies, each a little less exact than the last.

Entry, mailbox and gate locks on shared property, such as a multi-unit building or a walled yard, usually belong to the owner or manager, so tell them first.

What not to do

• Do not keep turning or wiggling the key once it feels stuck.
• Do not use pliers, glue or a knife to pull the piece out; each can push the fragment deeper or damage the cylinder.
• Do not tap or hammer on the lock or door to shake the piece loose.
• Keep both halves of the key. The piece in your hand helps identify the blank.

What to send

Photograph the broken half, the lock face and the fragment if it is visible. Say which lock it is: a front door, a rear door off an alley, a garden-wall gate or a mailbox. Note whether the fragment sticks out or sits flush, the cross streets, and whether the door is original. If the lock keeps failing, see lock repair. The city overview is on the Las Cruces page, and the service overview on broken key extraction.