Key copies cut on site, for every lock in the house

Quarry Locksmith Group cuts spare keys for houses, two-flats, offices and storage padlocks across Aurora, and every new key is turned in the lock it belongs to before it is handed over. The estimate is free.

Why one copy works and the next one sticks

Most houses run on copies of copies. The original key went to the first owner, a copy was made from it, then a copy of that copy, and somewhere down the line a key lands on your ring that only turns if you lift the handle and wiggle it. Every generation of copy carries the wear of the key it was traced from, plus a little of its own, and the lock notices long before you do.

That is why a fresh copy of a tired key is often no better than the tired key. When the key in your hand is the problem, the better answer is a key cut to the lock itself, to the depths the lock was built for, so the new one slides in and turns the way the first key did when the lock was new. It also stops the next round of copies from inheriting the same drift.

Key cutting machine in the service vehicle in Aurora, IL

Everything on the ring, cut at your door

A typical visit covers more keys than people expect: the front deadbolt and knob, the back door, the door in from the garage, the patio slider, a side gate padlock, a mailbox and the shed out back. In a two-flat, add the back stairs, the basement and the laundry room, each with a key that somebody always seems to be borrowing.

The keys are cut in the service vehicle outside, so nobody drives a ring of keys across town and waits at a counter. Each blank is matched to the keyway, cut, cleaned up so no burr catches the pins, and turned in its lock before it goes on your ring. If a key will not work no matter how well it is cut, that is the lock talking, and you hear about it before anything else is done.

Cold mornings and bent keys

Winter is hard on keys. A lock that froze overnight gets forced in the morning, the key twists a little, and a slightly bent key keeps working right up to the day it snaps off in the cylinder. Spares cut from a straight, healthy key stop that bend from being passed along to the next set.

When the lock itself is the reason a key fights you, a copy will not fix it. The technician says so plainly and shows you the difference between a worn key and a worn cylinder, and you decide whether the lock gets serviced, rekeyed or replaced. The free estimate comes first either way, and nothing is cut or changed until you say go.

Two-flats, coach houses and keys for tenants

Older parts of town have plenty of two-flats and houses with a coach house or a rented room, and their keys are usually a puzzle: one key for the front, another for the back stairs, a third for the basement, and nobody sure which copies the last tenant still holds.

Keys can be cut and labeled per unit, so the owner's set and each tenant's set are easy to tell apart. When the goal is ending old access rather than adding to it, a rekey comes first and the copies after; rekeying explains how that works. Shared doors can be set so every resident's key opens them while each unit keeps a key of its own.

How a key visit goes

Most visits are a single stop, even with a full ring of keys.

Gather what you have
Every key you want copied, including the one that sticks, so the technician can see where the trouble starts.
Permission where it matters
Building masters, restricted keys and keys stamped do not duplicate wait for the owner's or manager's OK.
Cut at your door
Each copy is cut in the service vehicle and cleaned up so it slides in without catching.
Turned and tagged
Every new key is turned in its own lock, then labeled so nobody has to guess which door it opens.

Office keys, desk locks and storage padlocks

Offices and light-industrial spaces along the tollway collect keys fast: entry doors, interior offices, desks, file cabinets, a supply closet and the padlock on the yard gate. Copies for a new hire are routine, and so is cutting a key for a desk or a cabinet whose key went missing years before anyone now working there arrived.

Storage units and padlocks are part of the same work. A padlock key can be copied the same way a house key can, and a padlock with no key left at all can usually be replaced or rekeyed on site. Car keys and fobs are a different job with their own visit, covered under car keys.

Restricted keys and keys marked do not duplicate

Some keys are stamped do not duplicate, and some systems use restricted keys that only the system's holder can order more of. Both are the owner's way of keeping count, and both are treated that way: copies are made with the owner's or manager's say-so, not on a request from whoever happens to be holding the key that day.

For a business that wants tighter control than a stamp, a restricted system or a master key plan is the next step, and it is covered on the commercial locksmith page. For a house, the simplest control is knowing exactly how many keys exist, and a labeled set makes that easy to keep track of.

Questions about key copies

Why does my new copy stick when the old key works?

Usually because the copy was traced from a key that had already worn down, so it carries that wear and adds a bit more. A key cut to the lock itself, instead of to the worn key, turns the way the original did.

Can you copy a key stamped do not duplicate?

With the owner's or manager's OK, yes. Without it, no. The stamp is how the owner keeps count of the keys, and that is respected.

My only key is badly worn. Can you still make a good one?

Yes. Instead of copying the worn key, the technician cuts a new key to the lock, so the spare ends up better than the key you started with.

Do you copy mailbox and padlock keys?

Yes, along with desk, cabinet and gate keys. On cluster mailboxes only your own compartment lock is worked on; the carrier's lock is never touched.

Can the front and back doors use the same key?

If the locks are compatible, they can be rekeyed to one key during the visit, and the copies are cut after that so everyone carries the same key.

Do you cut car keys at the same visit?

Car keys and fobs are a separate job, cut and programmed at the car. Mention it when you call and both can be planned for the same trip.

Is the estimate free?

Yes. You hear what each key or lock needs and give the go-ahead before anything is cut.

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