Looking for a good book on repairing locks

[pickmonger2]

Working in the office of a large apartment/office complex I need to learn about basic lock repair so I have some idea what I am talking about when dealing with a locksmith.

Any comments about these 2 books from The National Locksmith Catalog would be appreciated.


Door Lock Encyclopedia by Robert Sieveking
#DLE — $39.95
The ability to remove a lock from a door, disassemble the mechanism, and remove the lock cylinder for
service is not always a simple straightforward task.
The Door Lock Encyclopedia is a clear and concise illustrated service manual illustrating service
instructions for standard cylindrical locksets including American Eagle, Arrow, Corbin, Dexter, Harlock,
Kwikset, Lori, Master, National Lock/Amerock, Sargent, Schlage, Weiser and Yale. It will equip you with
specific knowledge and a few tricks to make servicing understandable, easy to master and profitable.


Lock Repair Manual
#LRM-1 — $14.95
Chapters cover installation and repair for the following manufacturers: Abloy, Adams Rite, ASSA, Best,
Chicago, Corbin, mortise locks, Sargent, Schlage, Simplex, Weiser, Yale, Unilock, electric gate locks, and
cabinet locks. This book contains material reprinted from The National Locksmith. Here, under one cover
you have a tremendous amount of lock servicing information. Next time you run into a problem chances
are you’ll find the answer in the Lock Repair Manual.

[dmasters]

Both would be good choices. Anything by Bob Sieveking is worth it's weight in gold, he is an excellent teacher with an incredible depth of knowledge.

Chances are the hardware is fairly uniform across the properties, correct? Same brands and styles? Don't overlook the tech manuals printed by the manufacturers. These are generally packed with exploded-views and part breakdowns as well as general servicing information. These fine folks have done most of the legwork and compiled a working list of the publicly available books:

http://www.lsamichigan.org/tech_manuals.html

Good luck!

[pickmonger2]

Chances are the hardware is fairly uniform across the properties, correct? Same brands and styles?

For the most part yes. We do have some tenants that have installed their own locks and security hardware that even the locksmiths sometimes do not know much about.

Good advice about the manufacturers info that they share.

Thanks for your input.