How Does A Lock Work?

You most likely have a lock on your front door but you might not know how it works. The pin tumbler lock is the most common style of lock because it is perfectly designed to deter entry while also maintaining instant accessibility with keyed entry. Simply turn the key and you are inside!

While you are turning the key each little point and divot in the key’s face is pushing on an internal spring and pin set. If the key matches the lock it will enter the key shaft and lift up the internal key pins and driver pins to their correct position, allowing the plug to rotate freely inside the lock. If you have ever tried to unlock a door with the wrong key you may have been able to thrust the key inside but it would not turn. Although the key might have fit inside, it was not a perfect match and one or more of internal driver pins was not fully lifted out of the way of the plug, inhibiting it from moving freely.

The ‘fit’ of a lock is very precise and a lock has to be carefully engineered to ensure that the key matches the mold to move the internal pins out of the way. Once the pins inside are moved and the plug is uninhibited to turn freely you can rotate the key and lock or unlock the door.

Call now for a locksmith Brooklyn NY