Sound familiar?Greenhill
- The call
- You were locking up on the way out when the key broke in the lock. Now the door is unlocked, a piece of key is jammed in the cylinder, and you were already running late for work.
Overnight the deadbolt froze, and this morning the key would only turn partway. One more push and it sheared off flush with the face of the cylinder.
In plain words
If a key has just snapped in your lock, the most helpful thing you can do is nothing further to the lock. Keep the half in your hand, note whether the door is locked, and resist the tweezers and the glue, both of which push the piece deeper and add material the locksmith must clear first. On the phone, describe the lock, whether any of the blade shows, and whether the key turned when it broke. Have photo identification to hand, or the ownership papers if it is a vehicle. That short conversation means the locksmith arrives with the right extractors and a plan.
Broken Key Extraction · Greenhill
How the visit goes
Scene 1
Checks particular to a vehicle
A car adds a few questions. Did the key break in the door, the trunk or the ignition? Does the head in your hand hold a transponder chip or remote, and does the car start with the spare if there is one? Is the steering wheel locked, which can hold an ignition cylinder under tension and pin the fragment in place? Do the other doors open with the same key, or is the vehicle on a different key for the ignition and doors? These answers decide whether the job is a door extraction and a new blade, or an ignition extraction that needs the wheel freed and the wafers checked first.
Scene 2
Drawing it out with a hook extractor
Every keyway has grooves, called wards, that run along its length above and below the blade. A hook extractor is a slim strip of spring steel thin enough to ride in one of those grooves beside the fragment. The locksmith slides it in past the broken piece, rotates it slightly so the barbed tip catches a cut in the blade, and draws it back out in a straight line. The pins are lifted clear as the piece passes them, exactly as they are when a key is withdrawn. It is a patient, felt process, and the cylinder is untouched by it.
Scene 3
A lock that turns like it should
The visit closes with the lock proving itself. The new key goes in fully, turns through its full travel and comes out without a catch, from both sides, first with the door swung open, then with it shut against the strike. The bolt is watched seating fully in its pocket. You are shown the fragment that came out and told what condition the cylinder was in. Anything the locksmith noticed, a strike screw backing out or a hinge that has dropped, is pointed out so it is not a surprise later. The door is locked with your own new key as the last act of the visit.
In the van
- Hook key extractors
- Replacement cylinder or deadbolt
- Compressed air for the keyway
- Plug follower and cap tool
- Key blanks and code cutter
What shapes the quoteAshburnham Lock Experts
- Condition of the cylinder
- Worn pins, a loose cap, grit or corrosion found after the piece is out may call for a service, a rekey or a new cylinder, each explained and quoted separately.
- Whether the plug turned before the break
- A key that snapped mid-turn leaves the plug rotated and the pins holding the fragment. Easing the plug back to rest before extraction is an extra step in the work.
- Where the key broke
- A house deadbolt, a knob, an older mortise case, a padlock, a car door and a vehicle ignition each call for different access and different care, and the quote follows the hardware.
FeesSame any hour
Questions we hear most
What happens if the piece cannot be removed?
It is rare, and it is discussed before anything changes. A glued, jammed or corroded-in fragment can usually still be reached by taking the cylinder off the door and working the plug out from the back. If even that fails, the cylinder is drilled where plug meets housing, sacrificed and replaced on the spot with new keys cut, so the door locks normally by the time the locksmith leaves.
Part of the key is sticking out. Can I just pull it with pliers?
If a good length shows and the plug is at its normal rest position, a firm straight pull sometimes works. The risk is pushing instead of pulling, or twisting, which drives the piece deeper and can bend a pin. If it does not come on the first gentle try, stop there and leave it for extractor tools, which grip the cuts without loading the cylinder.
What should I do while I wait for the locksmith?
Put both halves of the key somewhere safe, note whether the door or vehicle is locked, and leave the keyway alone. If it is bitter cold, keep the storm door closed so the lock is not taking freezing rain. Have identification ready, or vehicle papers for a car. If the door is open, stay near it. That is all; the extraction goes smoother for a lock nobody has poked at.
Lockout Services
- Business Lockout ServiceThe manager who holds the only set of office keys is on a plane.
- Break-In Damage Lock RepairThe patio slider is sitting crooked on its track.
- Seized & Jammed Lock OpeningThe lock works, but only if you lean on the door with your hip while turning the key.
- Lost Keys — Same-Visit RekeyYour purse was taken from the back of a chair at a restaurant.
Greenhillinformation
PeterboroughOntario
Broken Key Extraction · Peterborough, Cavan Monaghan, Otonabee-South Monaghan, Ashburnham, Byersville, Claraday, Coldsprings, Collison Heights, Downers Corners, Jackson Heights, Kawartha Heights, Westmount
- Town
- Greenhill, Peterborough
- In business
- 27 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7
- Nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (249) 494-7410
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
2021 census: what it means at the door
Every square is one home in a hundred.
- 64 in 100 homes · older homes
- 57 in 100 homes · mixed housing
- About 64% of homes in Peterborough were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.Older homes tend to have had many hands on their doors: owners, tenants, tradespeople, family. A locksmith visiting such a house pays attention to who holds keys now, and rekeying or a keyed-alike set often matters more than any new hardware.
- Single-detached houses make up about 57% of homes in Peterborough (2021 Census).In a mixed area, a locksmith's advice bends to the building. For a house, the side door and garage entry get attention. For an apartment, the suite door's closer, strike and viewer do. The principle is the same: look at how the door is actually used.
Nearby
On-site assessment
Request a visit.
Overnight the deadbolt froze, and this morning the key would only turn partway.
(249) 494-7410, open 24/7.