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Pin tumbler cylinders, bitting and MACS, rekeying, master keying, door handing, panic hardware, fail-safe vs. fail-secure and state licensing. Every topic gets its own page: the drawing first, then what you need to remember. 65 illustrated pages.
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Every page has one big drawing and a box with the numbers, rules or steps you need to know:
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These are real pages from the book. The table of contents is the full one: 8 parts and 61 topics.
You're at a customer's front door. They just bought the house, they want new keys, and they ask you straight out: rekey it or put in a new lock?
You know the answer is "it depends." But the manual covers it in long paragraphs spread over two chapters, and none of them tells you what to check first.
In the book it's one page: a decision tree with 3 questions you run right there at the door, every branch drawn, each one ending in "rekey" or "replace."
Same with the shear line, MACS, door handing, master pins and panic hardware: each one has its own page.
You give the customer a clear answer, you can explain why, and you do the job without going back to the manual.
How a pin tumbler works, keys and bitting, rekeying, master keying, doors and hardware, exit devices and fire doors, electrified locks and safes, and law and exam review: 65 pages, all illustrated.
Think of it this way:
A property manager wants one key for herself and separate keys for each suite. You need a master key system, and you need it right the first time.
You open the page and it's drawn on one small building: change key, master, grand master and keyway, every door labeled, then a worked example with one master and two change keys.
Same with door handing, the shear line, bitting depth and spacing, panic hardware and fail-safe vs. fail-secure: each one on its own page.
Locksmith Illustrated is 8 parts and 61 topics, all drawn, and it ends with the 10 numbers to know and a checklist for the day before the exam.
What you see drawn, you don't have to memorize.
The cylinder opened up, the shear line, plug, shell and retainer, pin chambers, wafer and disc locks, security pins and high-security cylinders.
Read any key before you cut it: parts of a key, identifying blanks, depth and spacing, Schlage vs. Kwikset specs, MACS, code cutting, decoding and key machine calibration.
Rekey or replace, the kit, a knob cylinder in 7 steps, choosing bottom pins, deadbolts, keying alike and what to do when the plug won't go back.
Plan a master key system that works the first time: master pins and two shear lines, a worked example with 1 master and 2 change keys, key symbols, progressions, the bitting list and the security trade-offs.
Door handing in 4 drawings, parts of the opening, backset, a deadbolt in 8 steps, lock types and functions, ANSI/BHMA grades, closers and accessibility.
When panic hardware is required, exit device types, panic vs. fire exit hardware, fire doors under NFPA 80, egress rules, stairwell re-entry and IC cores.
Fail-safe vs. fail-secure, electric strikes and maglocks, the access control door, delayed egress, safe basics and automotive transponders.
Who needs a license, certifications, verifying before a lockout, key control, opening ethics, the 10 numbers to know and the day-before checklist.
At the end of the book: The 10 numbers to know before the exam and a day-before checklist.
Test yourself on cylinders, bitting, master keying, door hardware and legal rules, with every answer explained so you know why it's right.
See each mistake next to the right way, drawn side by side, so you catch it before the exam or before it costs you a callback.
📄 This is a digital PDF book sent to your email: nothing is printed or shipped.
PDF by email: We email you Locksmith Illustrated as a PDF, together with the two free books. It's a single payment: no installments, no extra charges.
Every part of the lock is drawn before you have to remember its name, so the terms finally connect to something you can see.
One page per topic and the 10 numbers in one place, so your review follows the same order every time, with practice questions to check yourself.
Master keying, handing and exit device rules on pages you can print and keep in the truck, for the jobs you don't do every week.
📄 This is a digital PDF book sent to your email: nothing is printed or shipped.
Try Locksmith Illustrated for 30 days, bonus books included.
We refund everything if the file won't open, if the book isn't what you see here, if you were charged twice or if the email doesn't arrive. Just email us.
You pay once. No subscriptions.
Yes. It's not a beginner's book: it puts what you already do on one drawn page per topic, and adds the parts you see less often, like master keying, exit devices and licensing rules.
It's built on the codes used across the US: ANSI/BHMA A156, NFPA 80 and 101, the International Building Code and the 2010 ADA Standards. Licensing rules change from state to state, and not every state has an exam, so the licensing pages show you what to check with yours. Every code number is flagged so you can compare it with the edition your AHJ uses.
No. It's an independent study book, not affiliated with any state agency, certifying organization or standards body, and it doesn't give you a license or a certificate. It covers the topics locksmith license exams and certifications are built on: cylinders, keys and bitting, rekeying, master keying, door hardware, exit devices, codes and law. It's not one state's question bank: the licensing pages show what to check with your state's agency before the exam.
No. It's a study and review book. It doesn't replace any training, apprenticeship or hours your state may require.
No. They're written for this book, in the style of a licensing exam, with every answer explained. They are not official exam questions.
The book and the 2 bonus books arrive as PDFs by email, at the address you enter at checkout.
No. It's a one-time payment. No subscription.
Yes. It's a PDF you can print at home or at a print shop, whole or just the pages you want in the truck.
You have 30 days. We refund everything if the file won't open, if the book isn't what you see on this page, if you were charged twice or if the email doesn't arrive: just email us.
No more rereading pages that don't stick.
Door handing, you see it drawn and you're done.
You walk into the exam knowing where everything is.
Drawings make studying faster.
The book is right below.
One-time payment: US$ 27 · Guarantee: 30 days · PDF by email
YES, I WANT LOCKSMITH ILLUSTRATED FOR US$ 27📄 This is a digital PDF book sent to your email: nothing is printed or shipped.
