At the heart of every key operated lock is the cylinder. Some are common and interchangeable between different brands of locks, such as the rim cylinder and the mortise cylinder. Most other types of cylinders are specific to one brand and type of lock and are not interchangeable. Different brands of knob cylinders, for instance, are very similar in appearance, but will not fit in another manufacturers lock. Some cylinders made for tubular type deadbolt locks may look very similar to a rim cylinder, but they are different items entirely. The better quality cylinders are constructed of solid brass, and can be rekeyed by a locksmith without problem, the cheaper ones are usually made of die cast (pot metal) and do not take wear very well. Those who are not familiar with locksmithing in depth, but have a decent general knowledge, such as building engineers or a good handyman, can usually change a cylinder (swap one out) without too much difficulty. However, even a 'simple' cylinder change can lead to problems. Those who are more used to handling steel pipe fittings and 15 pound wrenches tend to not be gentle enough with things like trying to screw in a mortise cylinder (shown below). The cylinders are usually brass, and have rather fine threads on them. Any temptation to try to forcibly screw the cylinder in can very easily damage the cylinder and strip the threads on the cylinder, or worse yet, you can even damage the threads on the lock casing. At that point you can have a serious and potentially expensive mess on your hands, and leaving a troublesome lock unsecured in a door is usually not an option. Even dropping a brass cylinder can damage the threads or the face cap. Perhaps this is why many experienced and talented engineers would rather leave even simple cylinder changes to their locksmith. Most high security brands make retrofit cylinders to fit in other brands of knobs, levers, and deadbolts. Click on cylinder types below for more detailed information, descriptions, and photographs showing the likely locations and uses for each cylinder.
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