Everything You Need You Know About Antique Locks

Find out everything you need to know about antique locks and why the 24/7 Locksmiths Near Me team is the best antique lock repair service in town.

Antique locks wonderfully complement any gorgeous vintage homes or historic property. This is one of the main reasons why most buyers of Early American Colonial, Greek Revival, Tudor or Queen Anne architectural style homes prefer to hold on to the original locks, whenever possible. Old locks have a charm that cannot be denied; unfortunately, they are also oftentimes less safe and more vulnerable than modern-day locksets. This means you, as a new owner, could be moving into a less than secure property and fall prey to neighborhood burglars a lot easier than you would like to think. Thankfully, there are specialized antique lock restoration and repair services provided by professional locksmiths like the ones provided by the 24/7 Locksmiths Near Me team.

What Can An Antique Lock Restoration Service Accomplish?

First of all, you should understand that antique lock repair and restoration services are part of a very distinct branch of locksmithing. Not all locksmiths have the necessary experience, skills, know-how, and tools needed to handle these sensitive jobs. Given the nature of old, vintage locks and keys, it is best to only hire people with rich expertise in the field. They will work their magic and restore your old locks to their original state. For best results, make sure you find an authorized and MLA-licensed locksmith, like our talented and friendly technicians.

Old Lock Repair Services

Locks that have served a home for hundreds of years are usually handmade. This automatically means there are no replacement parts that can be purchased for their repair or restoration. Locksmiths will need to carefully manufacture these parts following the original lock's specifications down to the smallest details.

Precious golden or bronze locks or locks built with various precious stones or pertaining to important historical properties, old safes or antique heritage homes should be given specialized attention.

Locks on vintage cabinets, drawers, interior, and exterior doors, churches or safes are best to be handled by antique lock restoration locksmiths. Their repair can oftentimes require the need to replace one or several damaged or worn-out components. Lock re-keying can also solve the problem more often than not. It takes a well-trained eye to assess a lock, establish a diagnosis and recommend the best course of action.

Antique Lock Restoration Services

Springs on antique vintage locks are some of the most common reasons why these locks break. Having them replaced is usually easy to do, but it does require the help of a professional lock technician to avoid any unwanted problems.

However, in case the lock is missing, lathes and a variety of hand tools will be necessary for the restoration. A lock that is cracked or broken in one or several places or a rusty lock that needs cosmetic work done are also jobs for knowledgeable locksmiths.

Jammed locks that cannot be operated properly or locks with stuck keys inside the keyway are usually simple jobs for regular locksmiths. However, when they are installed on antique homes or cabinets, they require extra attention and care and special sets of tools. Our locksmiths can handle the entire range of mechanical and cosmetic repairs and restoration work at affordable rates.

Old Safe Lock Repair Services

Antique safes with beautiful finishes and gorgeous padlocks or locks on them should be properly restored and maintained so their charm can live forever. If you find yourself unable to unlock an old safe because of a broken or jammed lock, a missing or a broken key, a locksmith that specializes in vintage locks will have no problem unlocking the safe for you and cutting a new key for it. If necessary (when the damage is beyond repair), the old lock can be replaced with a new one.

The repair, re-keying, replacement or restoration of handmade vintage locks can take longer than for regular locks. Given the fact that these locks include a lot of intensive work into their making and that their parts are usually unique and cannot be bought off the market, working on them requires more time and skills. In some cases, a locksmith could finish the job within a few hours. Other times, for more complex locks or entire projects, technicians may need a few weeks.

Antique Key Making Services

Broken or worn-out vintage locks also usually come with broken keys that require replacement. Expert locksmiths that specialize in antique locks can also replicate any missing keys and cut new ones using photos of the original keys that went missing.

How Much Do Antique Lock Repair Services Cost?

The costs are established at the end of a detailed assessment process that includes factors like:

• the labor cost and the price of the parts that will need to be used in the process

• there are antique locks on historical or heritage buildings whose value cannot be measured

• some buildings have a special status that does not allow owners to fit any modern-day locks or alarm systems

• the amount of time and the tools needed to manually restore an old lock or duplicate a vintage key

Be Careful Who You Hire!

Make sure you only hire reliable, experienced locksmith services that work with high standards in terms of craftsmanship. Anything below these standards could lead to the irreparable or costly damage of your lockset or keys. If you have any collection safes or chests you need help with or you would like to restore all the locks on your antique home, the 24/7 Locksmiths Near Me pros are here to help. We are fully trained and dedicated to always offering top-notch repair, restoration and maintenance services and bespoke manufacturing for antique locks and vintage keys.