Question for any locksmith on the creek

[Stephen Tashiro]

A friend of my has a 90 Corolla. There were broken key fragments in the drivers door lock, the truck lock and the ignition (!). He could turn all these locks with a screwdriver or a little stub of a key. . We got the fragments out of the door and the trunk. I managed to make key that works in the door using a Dremel tool and a key blank. It doesn't work in the trunk. The key fragments from the door and the trunk are similar but not identical.

We are doing this as a hobby type activity, so I already know that real locksmith could accomplish these tasks easily. However, I'd really like to understand the shape of these keys myself. So I would like to find out how many pins are in the lock and what the spacing is between adjacent pins. I think I can get the thickness dimensions of the key from the broken fragments, but I don't know exactly where these heights have to be "to spec" and where there can be slopes. Is there a place where these specifications can be looked up?

[Scott Shepherd]

Don't know the exact answers to your questions, but my first job as an apprentice machinist was working in a place that made locksmith supplies and key cutting machines.

The pins are all different height, and every one is different for each car, that's what makes it unique. So there is no way to tell you what height they should be without knowing that pins are installed in that particular lock. You can take the cylinders out and take them to a locksmith. It'll be a lot easier than trying to figure it out. It's like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle with no photo on the puzzle face.

The slopes are only there to ease the key coming in and out on the pins.