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?

Justin wrote:

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?

Try a piece of coping saw or fret saw blade. [if you've been able to
poke the plastic back in, maybe a *hot* needle would pierce it, let it
cool and see if they bond, and pull gently.]

Would injecting acetone
damage the mechanism in any way?

The acetone might not melt anything in the lock- but if it melted the
plastic it would most likely gum things up enough so the lock would be
useless.

If the saw blade won't get it, I'd try [long shot] blowing canned air
from the other side--- then I'd take the cylinder out, bang on it a
while- and if all else failed, take the cylinder to a locksmith and
watch him pluck that plastic out in 10seconds.

Jim

Justin wrote:
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?

Not all plastics are soluble in acetone, and I suspect, as others, that
it will gum things up. To dissolve it you would probably need to flush
quite a bit with acetone then you risk harming the paint on the door.

On Jun 2, 5:58*am, Justin wrote:
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?

I cant figure out the logic behind acetone

Frank wrote in
:

Justin wrote:
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?

Not all plastics are soluble in acetone, and I suspect, as others, that
it will gum things up. To dissolve it you would probably need to flush
quite a bit with acetone then you risk harming the paint on the door.


maybe heating up a wire like a paper clip,and sticking the hot end into
the plastic,and after it cools,pulling it and hopefully the plastic,out
with it.

Or try a very fine scrollsaw blade,oriented so the teeth hook the plastic
on the pullout.

BTW,Deadbolt locks will not let you lock yourself out.
I never use the doorknob lock,that can lock you out.
And keep a spare key in your wallet.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

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?

On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 03:58:27 -0700 (PDT), Justin wrote:
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?

Acetone works on plastic by temporarilly melting it. When the plastic
resolidifies, you'd have a mess a hudnred times worse.

You should have been able to use a pin to pull it out.

Call the apartment supervisor, admit that you're an idiot, and let them
solve the problem.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I bought a little jigsaw blade
and that seemed to do enough. I'm a convert to using the dead bolt
from now on

"Jim Yanik" wrote in message BTW,Deadbolt locks will
not let you lock yourself out.
I never use the doorknob lock,that can lock you out.
And keep a spare key in your wallet.


When we moved to a new house about 4 years ago, in the first month or two my
wife locked herself out about 5 times. She still does it from time to time.
I have a garage so I installed an opener with a keypad and hid a key where
she can find it in the garage for the house door.

"Ralph Mowery" wrote in
m:


"Jim Yanik" wrote in message BTW,Deadbolt locks
will not let you lock yourself out.
I never use the doorknob lock,that can lock you out.
And keep a spare key in your wallet.


When we moved to a new house about 4 years ago, in the first month or
two my wife locked herself out about 5 times. She still does it from
time to time.

if the door would not lock behind her -without the use of a key-,she'd
never get locked out.she would always need a key to lock the door.

I have a garage so I installed an opener with a keypad
and hid a key where she can find it in the garage for the house door.




open garage doors are an easy way for a burglar to enter one's home.
Once in the garage,they can close the garage door and have plenty of time
to work on the inner home door,and not be observed or heard.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

On Jun 2, 3:43*pm, Jim Yanik wrote:
"Ralph Mowery" wrote innews:LpmdnSC4tdRI1rjXnZ2dnUVZ_gWdnZ2d@earthlink. com:



"Jim Yanik" wrote in message BTW,Deadbolt locks
will not let you lock yourself out.
I never use the doorknob lock,that can lock you out.
And keep a spare key in your wallet.

When we moved to a new house about 4 years ago, in the first month or
two my wife locked herself out about 5 times. *She still does it from
time to time.

if the door would not lock behind her -without the use of a key-,she'd
never get locked out.she would always need a key to lock the door.

I have a garage so I installed an opener with a keypad
and hid a key where she can find it in the garage for the house door.

open garage doors are an easy way for a burglar to enter one's home.
Once in the garage,they can close the garage door and have plenty of time
to work on the inner home door,and not be observed or heard.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

"open garage doors are an easy way for a burglar to enter one's
home."

Is this just a random observation?

Ralph said "I have a garage so I installed an opener with a keypad and
hid a key where she can find it in the garage for the house door."

I take that to mean the garage is closed until the wife enters the
code to open it.

Justin wrote:
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?

Do you have an air compressor? Try using a fine jet nozzle to blast air into the
key hole through edge of the hole that has the pins (The saw-like edge of the
key. If you are lucky, the air will blast in behind the plastic, and push it
out. If that doesn't work at first, try moving the air jet back and forth along
the key hole to move the plastic around until it loosens and comes out.

Just an observation.... If the OP lives in an apartment ; does he own and
or have a need for a compressor?, If so where does he store it? Inside his
apartment (which he is locked out of!). If he has and has access to his
compressor, hopefully he doesn't live on an upper level where he has to drag
the compressor up the stairs ( elevator maybe ). Then, I'm sure the
neighbors would appreciate hearing the sound of the noisy compressor :)

I still believe an, although embarrassing, call to the Manager would be the
intelligent approach !! Or a Locksmith, Good luck with the compressor :))

Bill

"Bob F" wrote in message
...
Justin wrote:
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?

Do you have an air compressor? Try using a fine jet nozzle to blast air
into the key hole through edge of the hole that has the pins (The saw-like
edge of the key. If you are lucky, the air will blast in behind the
plastic, and push it out. If that doesn't work at first, try moving the
air jet back and forth along the key hole to move the plastic around until
it loosens and comes out.

"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?

IF (that's a big if) you can get into your unit you can just remove the lock
from the door and take it apart. You want to take out the "pins" that are
pushed up and down when you insert your key.

If you lock isn't "master keyed" you can just dump the pins out and sort
things out using your own key to determine which pin goes where.
Otherwise, you should carefull remove one spring and one pin at a time and
carefully record what goes where.

Once the pins are removed you can use find wire to push the plastic out from
the inside of the lock.

"Next time" you try to pick a lock, start with the right tools.
Professional picks aren't made from plastic.

If you carry your lock (or just the cylinder if it's a mortise lock) to the
locksmith, he can "fix things" in a fraction of an hour at a reasonable
cost. Locksmiths can be expensive when they come to you but I have had
good luck bringing in work to them. (I once took in a good sized truck
when we couldn't find the key.)

Going back to your original question: many plastics aren't much affected by
acetone and even if your plastic is, it will take a lot of acetone to
disolve a bit of plastic and until you get ALL of it out, in the short run
you have really made a mess of the insides of your lock.

on 6/2/2009 6:58 AM (ET) Justin wrote the following:
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?

Have the landlord or a locksmith remove the lock to get the plastic
piece out

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

willshak wrote in
m:

on 6/2/2009 6:58 AM (ET) Justin wrote the following:
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?

Have the landlord or a locksmith remove the lock to get the plastic
piece out


acetone would only soften the plastic and melt it into the crevices,making
it MUCH harder to remove.

try a coping saw blade(minus the pin),the teeth will pull the plastic
out,hopefully.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

In article ,
Jim Yanik wrote:
willshak wrote in
om:

on 6/2/2009 6:58 AM (ET) Justin wrote the following:
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?

Have the landlord or a locksmith remove the lock to get the plastic
piece out


acetone would only soften the plastic and melt it into the crevices,making
it MUCH harder to remove.

try a coping saw blade(minus the pin),the teeth will pull the plastic
out,hopefully.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

Am confused by the post:

I thought you used plastic (eg credit card) to slip between
the door and the frame, to push out wedge-shaped "bolt"-like thingie.

So what's all this about plastic ending up WITHIN the KEY-HOLE?

Thanks,

David

(David Combs) wrote in
:

In article ,
Jim Yanik wrote:
willshak wrote in
news:06qdnUMfRsDy8MHXnZ2dnUVZ_os3t52d@supernews. com:

on 6/2/2009 6:58 AM (ET) Justin wrote the following:
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?

Have the landlord or a locksmith remove the lock to get the plastic
piece out


acetone would only soften the plastic and melt it into the
crevices,making it MUCH harder to remove.

try a coping saw blade(minus the pin),the teeth will pull the plastic
out,hopefully.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

Am confused by the post:

I thought you used plastic (eg credit card) to slip between
the door and the frame, to push out wedge-shaped "bolt"-like thingie.

that only works on non dead-bolt locks,that have a spring bolt that allows
the door to lock when closed behind you.
(and thats how most people get locked out of their apartments...to prevent
that,I only use the deadbolt lock,never the doorknob lock.You must use a
key to lock a deadbolt,thus you can't lock yourself out.)

So what's all this about plastic ending up WITHIN the KEY-HOLE?

Thanks,

David




the OP tried to use a piece of plastic in the keyhole.
I guess you didn't bother to READ the whole post.It clearly mentions the
plastic in the keyhole.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

Two month old post? Wow! Another candidate for alt lite
bulb.

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


"David Combs" wrote in message
...

on 6/2/2009 6:58 AM (ET) Justin wrote the following:

On Jun 2, 6:58*am, Justin wrote:
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?

If you start with the premise that the lock is already broken, then no
matter what you do you can't screw it up any worse.

Therefore, you could take your key (I think you said you got it) or a
paper clip and put a TINY drop of super-glue on it. Stick it and and
try to get it to attach to the paper clip and then pull it out.

On Jul 29, 8:57*pm, PatM wrote:
On Jun 2, 6:58*am, Justin wrote:

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?

If you start with the premise that the lock is already broken, then no
matter what you do you can't screw it up any worse.

Therefore, you could take your key (I think you said you got it) or a
paper clip and put a TINY drop of super-glue on it. *Stick it and and
try to get it to attach to the paper clip and then pull it out.

I have gotten foriegn objects out of locks by straightening a small
fish hook ans using the barb to pull it out. Around here its pretty
common on Halloween to have toothpicks and matchsticks jambed in you
locks.


Jimmie

jam: Insert forcefully in too small a hole
jamb: door frame, which surrounds a door. Often has a strike
plate.

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


"JIMMIE" wrote in message
news:00de5cfd-64bd-4223-93de-

I have gotten foriegn objects out of locks by straightening
a small
fish hook ans using the barb to pull it out. Around here its
pretty
common on Halloween to have toothpicks and matchsticks
jambed in you
locks.


Jimmie

On Jul 29, 10:29*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
jam: Insert forcefully in too small a hole
jamb: door frame, which surrounds a door. Often has a strike
plate.

Have you suddenly become the grammer police?

Speaking of police, next time you head south, stop in the village of
Bath and get a picture of their police car. Guess what it says on the
side: "Bath Police". Next time the grandkids won't take a bath, you
can tell them that you'll call the Bath Police. If they balk, you'll
have a picture to prove they exist.


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

"JIMMIE" wrote in message

news:00de5cfd-64bd-4223-93de-

I have gotten foriegn objects out of locks by straightening
a small
fish hook ans using the barb to pull it out. Around here its
pretty
common on Halloween to have toothpicks and matchsticks
jambed in you
locks.

Jimmie

In article
,
PatM wrote:

Have you suddenly become the grammer police?

I'd call jam vs. jamb a spelling issue, rather than one of that thing
most of us spell as "grammar." Some of us don't see literacy as a fault.

I have occasional moments when I'm a bit too much like my
father the editor.

That's a funny idea. I do get to Bath, NY, now and again.
I'll try and get a couple photos, and post them on free
hosting site so we can all enjoy them.

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


"PatM" wrote in message
...
On Jul 29, 10:29 pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
jam: Insert forcefully in too small a hole
jamb: door frame, which surrounds a door. Often has a
strike
plate.

Have you suddenly become the grammer police?

Speaking of police, next time you head south, stop in the
village of
Bath and get a picture of their police car. Guess what it
says on the
side: "Bath Police". Next time the grandkids won't take a
bath, you
can tell them that you'll call the Bath Police. If they
balk, you'll
have a picture to prove they exist.

On Jul 29, 4:55*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

Two month old post? Wow! Another candidate for alt lite
bulb.

Also two months since the OP said the problem was fixed, and people
are still offering solutions.

KC