Locked Patio Door - Lost Key

[johnny37]

further to my recent question I have managed to remove the barrel by snapping it as shown on youtube. However, the bolt is still in locked position and there is no obvious way of winding it back. The guy on youtube said use an allen key, but how? there is a small star-head bolt but it is not accessible.

Any info greatly appreciated.

[alavahalf]

I showed you picture of one I drilled out in your previous post. This is my favourite method of removal if the door is locked shut.

If you have snapped the barrel and removed half of it.. you now have to remove the other half of the cylinder.When this is done, if you peer inside the door you should see a little lever/pawl ... this actuates the door release.
Get a flat bladed screwdriver an move the lever up and down.
This should release the door... It usually works quite freely with the cylinder removed.
With the door open, remove the cylinder fixing screw which is found on the edge of the door.
Take what's left of your cylinder to your local hardware store or lock shop and get a replacement the right size. They are all different sizes. I carry about 15 with me and I still dont have all of them.

[johnny37]

Hi, what does the lever look like. there is a small horizontal screw/bolt . It is a little bit loose. Is that what I should be moving up and down? There was another link between the two halves which is circular black plastic with a largish flat slot across it. Is that for a screwdriver? I tried fiddling with it and it dropped through the gap!

[alavahalf]

If you have managed to remove the whole cylider, look at the cylinder and you will see tab half way along it. Or you will certainly be able to see where the tab should be (by now you will have wrecked the cylinder I guess).
This tab comes out and lifts the lever and lowers it when you operate the key. What you are looking for is the lever that this tab lifts up and down.

It's easy when you have done a few, but it will all make sense when you have figured it out. The lever operates the multi locking system on every door and all of a sudden you will realise how insecure UPVC doors are.
The whole security of the door relies on the quality of the cylinder, it doesn't matter how many locking points you have.

[johnny37]

Sorry to be a pain. There is no lever or anything else. If there was it has been lost The only thing I can see is a small horizontal screw which ran crosswise through the bottom of the cylinder(when it was in place). What would happen if I cut through this with a hacksaw?

[Dizmo]

Last year I attempted to remove a patio door barrel and had the same small screw running through the lock barrel. I tried everything to get the damn thing out but just got angry and started hacking at it. After 4 hours I just ended up with a mess. This was after going through 60 drill bits, drilling the lock face. I think someone was trying to wind me up. Personally I'd get a locksmith - not the advise you want to hear but if you had the problems I did you will end up bald after pulling all your hair out.

[Dizmo]

And what else annoys me is that I spent 3 years whilst at college learning the art of lock picking. I used to rent rooms to non residential students. Don't tell the college :p It did become something of an art though, I could get into an room in about 7 seconds.

[alavahalf]

Sorry to hear that you are still struggling... I have been downstairs and removed my front door cylinder to try and explain what you are looking for.
The 1st picture shows the cylinder at rest.
The second image shows the cylider lever stuck out in the postion it would be when it opens your door and releases the latch. Whet you need to do is is lift the bit the lever would hit against. It is a bit tucked away nearest the edge of the door... Hope these images work !

http://i58.tinypic.com/2ai4d1.jpg[/IMG]

http://i59.tinypic.com/4rqe89.jpg[/IMG]

[Dizmo]

Agreed but how do you remove the lock when not at rest?

[alavahalf]

9 times out of 10 you would normaly undo the screw on the edge of the door. insert a key into the cylinder turn it a fraction (to about 10 too or 10 past if you were looking at a clock face). With a bit of a wiggle the cylinder would them come out.
But if you have drilled the cylinder and wrecked the pins all you need is a flat blade screwdriver in the keyway, and use it like a key. This will release the lever which is stuck out in the second image I posted earlier. the idea is to get that lever in line with the lock body and then the cylinder will slide out.
If you can manage to fashion a simple tool it would release the latch.
What you need is a piece of sturdy wire about 4 mm and just bend a right angle on it. Snip it off so that you have no more than 12mm stuck out and leave a bit on for a handle. Poke this into the slot in the place where the lever should sit ... and lift it.
I 've never known one that has'nt worked.

[johnny37]

Door is open! Could find the part you were talking about but removed just about everything visible and it dropped out. Hope the replacement cylinder will work without the bits that dropped down the hole.

Thanks for your help

[alavahalf]

Well done .... about once a year I take a builders bucket to the scrap yard and it is full of euro locks I have removed ...100s of them. The more cylinders you work on , the more sense it makes when trying to understand how they function.

[johnny37]

Again thanks for your patience. I have a feeling when I fit the new cylinder it may not work because of the missing bits that dropped out.
If I am correct I think I may need a new bolt which should be simple to fit!!

[Mumto5]

Johnny37 sorry I know this was a long time ago..but we have exactly the same problem and hoped you could tell me how you solved it when Lloyd you could see was the horizontal screw in the lock where the barrel had been removed? We broke the barrel and removed easily. The black lever bit came out with the two parts of barrel but there is only a screw visible in lock. How did you open door from this point as I can not see any lever apart from the screw bit?

[alavahalf]

Mumto5 .. you seem to be having the same problem that others have had. So you have snapped the cylinder and have the two halves removed from the cylinder hole in the door. One of the halves will have a lever/pawl aprox 12mm across.. close to the middle of the cylinder. When you turn your key in the lock (when the lock was ok and fitted) this lever rotates and lift another lever inside the locking mechanism.
You need to peer through the cylinder hole, the lever you need will be tucked away towards the edge of the door inside the locking mechanism. As previously stated you idealy need a short length of wire with a right angle bent in it approx 10mm long. This short length should be poked into the hole ànd pointed towards the edge of the door, dont let it rotate and lift it the door should unlock easily. The lever that is hidden inside the locking mechanism, but always operate easily.
Look at the second image I uploaded originally....
You are actually trying to si ulate the action of this lever with the length of wire.