Getting a broken key out of a lock

You're just leaving the house and you turn to lock the door, or you're running late and jump into your car and twist the key. All that turns is the head of the key in your fingers and the shaft is stuck in the lock. Now what? Call a locksmith and figure on a couple of hundred dollars for a service call? Phone a tow truck to take your car to the dealer, where you'll probably be looking at a few hundred dollars to get your ignition working again? You just might have another option; with patience and some contrived tools, you may be able to get that broken key shaft out of the lock yourself.

What kind of tools you can use:

• A piece of a coping saw blade
• A piece of a jigsaw blade
• Small hacksaw blade
• Dental pick
• Spray lock lubricant, WD-40 or even Pam cooking spray
• Needle nose pliers
• Eyebrow tweezers
• Nail clippers

Getting your key out of the lock

The concept is quite simple. First you want to get a strong, thin piece of metal in beside your key shaft then pull it back out of the lock. Once you've got the end sticking out, grab the protruding piece of the key and pull it out the rest of the way. The piece of a coping saw blade (or other thin saw blade) is good for getting the key started, since the teeth on a saw blade all point in one direction and they'll grab the key shaft.

• Start by giving the keyway (lock) a quick spray of lubricant to make it as easy as possible for the key shaft to slide out. Now insert the piece of saw blade into the keyway (making sure the teeth on the blade are pointing towards you, i.e. back out of the lock).

• Make sure you slide the saw blade in along beside the grooved edge of your key, not the smooth edge. (Take a look at a key right now. There are probably some grooves running the length of the shaft and some teeth sticking up. On one side of the teeth the key shaft is thinner or cut back - you want to slide your saw blade in along this area. Car keys that can be inserted either side up also have a thin side on each edge of the key.

• Grab onto the key shaft by twisting your saw blade a little. When it gets a grip, try to slide the shaft out of the lock.

• Once you've got a bit of the key shaft protruding from the lock, use needle nose pliers, tweezers or even a set of nail clippers to grab on to the shaft and pull it all the way out.

• If the broken key shaft won't budge, the lock may not be in a "neutral" position. The tumblers inside the lock are still holding onto the key shaft. If the lock isn't in a neutral position, you can probably get it aligned by turning it with your saw blade in the lock.

• Once you get the broken piece out of the lock, don't just throw it away. A locksmith can usually make a new key from the two pieces of the old key.

A couple of quick tips

• The old saying, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" certainly applies here. Take a look at the keys you use every day. Keys will start to weaken and crack where the shaft joins the head. If you can see any tiny cracks in your keys, get new ones cut and get rid of your old ones. Keys made from soft metal like aluminum are particularly prone to breaking.

• Lubricating your locks on a regular basis (use a proper lock lubricant) will make sure they turn easily.

• Hardware stores used to sell lock picks that are made with a tiny hook on the end; some may still do so.

Need to install a key in a knob lock? Here's how.

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Murray Anderson is an experienced freelance writer with numerous articles published on the web as well as in print magazines and newspapers in both the United States and Canada. He writes on a wide range of topics and is a regular contributor to DoItYourself.com.