Spare keys cut where the locks are

Wexford Locksmith Services cuts spare keys for houses, rentals, offices and mailboxes around Murfreesboro, and when the key you have is too worn to copy well, a fresh one is cut to fit the lock itself. You get a free estimate before any key is made.

Why a copy of a copy lets you down

Most spare keys get made from another spare. Each time that happens the cuts drift a little further from what the lock was built for, and after a few generations you end up with a key that only turns if you lift the door, jiggle it, or hold your breath. Nobody notices the drift until the one key that still works snaps off in the cylinder.

A good copy starts from a good key. When the original in your hand is the clean one, it gets copied. When every key in the drawer is tired, the better route is a key cut to the lock itself, so the new set matches the cylinder rather than the wear on someone's old spare.

There is a quick way to tell which kind of key you are holding. A sharp-edged original slides in and turns without effort; a tired copy needs a wiggle, catches halfway, or only works when the door is pushed. Bring the best one you have, and the technician will say whether it is worth copying.

Roommates, semesters and the key count

Rentals near campus go through keys fast. Four roommates sign a lease, one front door key gets copied four times at four different places, and by spring nobody is sure how many exist. A landlord who wants to know the number is better off having every copy cut at one time from one good key, or cut fresh right after a rekey.

Tenants can get spares too. A copy for a roommate who moves in mid-year is ordinary work; a copy of a key the landlord has marked for the owner only is a different matter, and that one waits for the owner's say-so.

Key cutting machine in the service vehicle, TN

What gets cut on site

The machine travels on every call, along with a stock of the common blanks. Front and back door keys, deadbolts, the door in from the garage, sheds, mailbox keys for apartment clusters, padlocks on a storage unit and the small keys for desks and filing cabinets are all routine.

Keys for shops and offices along the busy commercial roads are handled the same way, with one addition: the copies are counted and noted, so the owner knows exactly who walked out with a key that day.

Car keys are their own job, with chips and remotes that have to be paired to the car. Those are covered on our key fob programming page.

After a rekey, cut the whole set at once

New houses in the subdivisions often still run on builder locks, and the first thing many owners do is have them rekeyed. That is also the moment to decide how many keys the household needs. Every copy cut from the brand-new key matches the lock exactly, and nobody has to hunt for a hardware counter later.

If the rekey sets the front, back and garage entry doors to one key, the copies get simpler too: one key per person instead of a ring of three. Our rekeying and home lock page covers how that part works.

Households tend to need more keys than they think: one per driver, one for the neighbor who checks on the dog, one in a lockbox for the cleaner, and one that stays put in a drawer. Cutting them all in one sitting means every copy came from the same clean key.

Keys the owner wants kept in check

Some keys are meant to stay rare: the master key for a small office, the key to the server closet, the one that opens every unit door in a duplex. Copies of those are made only for the person who controls them, with ID, and the count is written down so the next audit is easy.

If you are not sure how many keys to a business are out there, a duplicate order is a good time to find out. Sometimes the honest answer is that the lock should be rekeyed first and the copies made after, so the old strays stop working.

From the call to a ring of new keys

The visit is short, and most of it is checking that each new key really works.

Say what needs copying
Which doors or locks, how many copies each, and whether the key you have still works smoothly.
The key or the lock is looked at
A clean original gets copied; a worn one means the new key is cut to fit the cylinder instead.
Free estimate, then cutting
You hear the plan and the estimate before the machine starts, and nothing is cut without your yes.
Every copy tried in its lock
Each new key is turned in the lock it belongs to, both directions, before it is handed over.

When a copy is not the answer

A key that went missing with an address tag on it, a roommate who left on bad terms, a builder key that half the crew used: in each of those, cutting more copies only adds to the problem. A rekey retires every old key in one visit, and the new copies come after.

The same goes for a lock that grinds even with a fresh key. Worn pins inside the cylinder will chew up a perfect copy, so the lock gets serviced or swapped first and the keys are cut to match it.

Key copy questions

Can you copy a key that is already worn down?

Often, yes, but a copy of a worn key carries the wear with it. If the original is in rough shape, the better choice is a new key cut to fit the lock, and the technician tells you which one you need before cutting.

Do you make mailbox keys?

Yes. Mailbox keys for houses and apartment clusters are routine. For a cluster box, the property manager or the post office rules for that box may decide who can order a key, so we ask whose box it is.

Can a key marked for the owner only be copied?

Only for the owner, or with the owner's written OK. We ask for ID and note the copy, so the count stays honest.

How many copies can be made at one visit?

As many as the household or the office needs. Each one is tried in its lock before you get it.

Is a copy enough after I lose my keys?

Not if the lost keys could lead someone to your door. In that case a rekey comes first, so the lost keys stop working, and the copies are cut to the new key.

Do you cut car keys too?

Yes, but car keys with chips or remotes are a separate job, paired to the car where it is parked. That work is on our key fob programming page.

Can keys for the office be cut after hours?

Yes. Office and shop keys can be cut early or late so nobody has to leave the counter during business hours.

Is the estimate free?

Yes. You hear how many keys, which kind and what the visit involves, and the estimate is free before anything is cut.

Locked out right now?

Say the street and a technician heads out.

Call now