Getting into the trade and want to know what’s a good machine to invest in. Currently using an XHorse condor mini XC

So tonight I got to a job about 6pm. Was running late as I got called to do a full rebuild of a shop ali door, and that takes ages. They're just removing the body. The police have left the door halfway down the hall.

Door is pretty busted up - they had sent detailed photos. I say £200 to sort it for overnight then finish the repair with parts tomorrow. They show me another locksmith who wanted to charge them £900! WTAF??

I have to wait a bit to get to work, but after a while I crack on. Whole thing was under 2 hours.

I work for a company for three years in Texas as a 1099 employee making 30 to 35% per job now he’s telling us we’re gonna be reclassified as W-2 employees and a deduction pay to back to 30%. Is this something that is fair or should I get a Lawyer and Sue?

This isn’t a real company just having fun experimenting with AI.

The other day I saw a video game go viral.
A game about literally picking a needle out of a haystack
So I had the idea what about organizing your pin set after you drop it lol

I used Codex and a lot of time I don’t have to make this landing page based on a locksmiths worst nightmare lol 😂

I know it's an Arrow but I need to find the exact key for key blanks. That or I have to recore the doors to a best key. Thanks for the help

Hello fellow Locksmiths!
I have a customer wanting a key made for this Watling Manufacturing slot machine. I’ve included a few pictures. Any help on ID’ing a key blank? Thx

For those of you who are past using a hammer to stamp keys, what are you using?

We currently use a 3-1/2 Ton Manual Impact Press for stamping, it has a jaw that holds up to 6 single letter stamps or custom stamps with our name etc, it's amazing but it's also from 1989 and is needing replacing soon due to wear.

The modern equivalent is the MV-18 here https://www.durable-tech.com/marking/manual-press but the price is around 3k including new jaw and stamps as sizing has changed.

I'm looking for alternatives like 3 ton arbor presses which look to be about 1/10 the cost and wondering if anyone is using them successfully, or have more cost effective solutions for rapid accurate stamping?

I bought a house and the thumb latch on Baldwin front door was very tough to use. Removing the latch, it looked a little bent so I spent $100 on a replacement. 2-3/4” lever passage latch. I tested it before installing and it also seemed overly hard to turn. After installing it, the lever was hard, but the thumb latch on the front was damn near impossible to operate.

Where did I go wrong?

I bought this lock, the body is flush against the door and a bit was chiseled off for the corner, but for some reason it doesn't open/close when the connector is in? The connecting bar has had 3/4 notches removed to make it shorter but that hasn't helped. Neither keys or the lock handle work when the bars inside. Am I missing something?

Hello! I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. The thumb turn fell off or was removed from this door and I need to replace it. I have been unable to locate the necessary part in order to complete the repair. Any guidance and assistance would be helpful! Thank you!

Can anybody suggest a good key cutting machine for mortice lever type keys (chubb and such)? With my current setup I’m able to cut pretty much any other type of key. The Xhorse XP-008 is the best thing I’ve found so far but I’d love some opinions from experienced locksmiths.