
These pins are separated into pairs, with each pair situated in a shaft that goes through the central cylinder cam, and on into the housing.
#Master key locksmith series
When the cylinder is turned in the opposite direction, the bolt is released by the cam and is snapped into place to prevent the door from opening.Īnother common type of lock is the pin and tumbler design, which features a series of small pins, each having different lengths. When the cylinder is turned in one direction, the cam or plug, causes the door to open by pulling in on the bolt.

With this kind of design, the key turns a cylinder which is attached to a cam, which then also gets turned. Most locks are constructed using design concepts that are fairly uniform in the industry, the most common of which is the cylinder lock. The answer to the ‘one key, many locks’ question lies in a very clever arrangement of the components which comprise a lock and key system – but the same principle which allows that kind of master key access is also what makes this model vulnerable to a security breach if engineered by a skillful and knowledgeable criminal.

Have you ever wondered why it is that a single master key can open any of the locks in your entire apartment complex, while the one you have will only open your apartment door, and possibly the main entrance door to the building? While this specific scenario highlights a master key setup in an apartment complex, the same situation could be true with any number of other commercial and residential lock-and-key configurations.
