Getting the Most out of a Home and Garden

Common Locksmith Specialties

Locksmiths are unique professionals who seem to use sleight of hand and a few mysterious tools to make new keys or get you into your car when your keys are locked inside. But the truth is that there's very little magic or mystery involved in what they do. They use good old-fashioned elbow grease, know-how and tools to accomplish their goals, and they can offer you much more than just key service. So to help you understand the breadth of their skills, here are some of the more common locksmith specialties.

Safe Locksmith -- Safe locksmiths install, diagnose and repair all manner of safes. If you are interested in a simple lock and key safe or you want something as fancy and complicated as a biometric safe, a safe locksmith can install and service your safe. And don't think installation is just a matter of positioning the safe properly, because a good locksmith will evaluate the location where you want the safe and offer you suggestions on the best place to put the safe. For example, if you are storing money or valuables, you may want to install a safe in-ground or on your wall, because hiding the safe's presence is one of the keys to ensuring that you never suffer a break in. A safe locksmith is trained to install safes in hard-to-find places. He can also offer you combination changes, open a safe that's broken and reprogram digital and biometric safes.

Entry System Locksmith -- Some locksmiths deal only with entry and exit access systems that control who gets in and out of a workplace. An access control locksmith is responsible for installing and repairing these systems, many of which are either digital keypad style or magnetic card systems, in which you run a card through a slot and a scanner reads the information to allow entry. Access control locksmiths are also trained to set up digital and electronic underground parking systems that control entry through the use of a swinging bar or an electronic gate.

Auto Locksmith -- An auto locksmith is trained not only to make new car keys from the manufacturer's key code, but also to reprogram remote starter keys, install car alarms and fix ignition problems. Common ignition issues include a key that's broken off inside the ignition and an ignition that won't turn. Auto locksmiths have access to ignitions used by a large number of car manufacturers and can special order any ignition that they don't carry at their shop.


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