Someone (you, or a locksmith perhaps) needs to take the lock
apart. Physically remove the piece of plastic.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Justin" wrote in message
...
Hello,
After locking myself out of my apartment yesterday, I
managed to make
the problem worse by fiddling with a piece of plastic in the
lock
which broke off and ended up being shoved pretty far into
the back of
the key hole. I tried using some needles to get it out, but
no dice.
Anyone have a reasonably cheap solution? Would injecting
acetone
damage the mechanism in any way?