Keys and Locks

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To make a new key barrel, I used aluminium bar. The required outer diameter is 10mm and fortuitously, B & Q a major hardware retailer in the UK, sells bars of exactly this diameter, I would expect similar retailers in other countries to supply the same.  

As I don't have a lathe I shaped the blanks for the new components by putting a short section of the bar in the chuck of an electric drill, using hacksaws and needle files to turn the required diameter. A lathe would have made things a lot easier but fortunately, the dimensions aren't particularly critical. 

Here we have two barrels, on the right is a blank and on the left is one that I have cut to take the required key. The cutting is pretty crude, done by hand and eye, but the important thing is that the relevant key goes through the barrel freely (and others don't). To cut the keyway, I used a fretsaw, a wood cutting tool in principle but the hardened steel blades are perfectly capable of cutting aluminium. The important thing is that the blade is very thin so it can be used to cut round 90 degree angles. A jewellers saw or a piercing saw could be used in exactly the same way

Here we have the new barrel fitted into the lock body. It's a good idea to check frequently to ensure that everything lines up as you cut the keyway and to carry out a dry assembly to make sure everything works well before reassembling the latch.