28 How do I disassemble a Kwikset key-in-knob entry set?
Description
This article is from the Locksmithing FAQ, by Joe "Spike" Ilacqua spike@indra.com and Henry Schaffer hes@ncsu.edu, major data collection effort by Scott Anguish sanguish@digifix.com with numerous contributions by others.
28 How do I disassemble a Kwikset key-in-knob entry set?
0) Open the door. (If you can't, call a locksmith!)
1) Dismount outer knob from door (the screws are on the indoor side.)
2) Depress spring retainer and remove spindle.
3) Reach in through spindle opening and gently release spring.
retainers by pushing towards center. This can be done -- VERY
awkwardly -- with a pair of narrow screwdrivers. Or you can get a
Kwikset Removal Tool (inexpensive), which is just a short piece of
sheet steel of the correct width with a "U" chomped into the end.
The points of the U engage the tips of the retainers and move them
automagically. (see drawing and measurements below)
4) Cylinder will pop out of knob. Rekey normally.
5) When done, snap everything back together and reinstall.
Kwikset cylinder removal tool - cut from a piece of metal
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Sheet-metal stock thickness: approx 1/16th inch.
Width (top to bottom in illustration): approx 7/16ths inch
Length (left to right in illustration): Whatever works;
official version is about 6 inches
Cutout end _broadens_ slightly, to approx 15/32nds inch
Notch in end is somewhere between semicircular and V (parabolic?)
and about 1/8 inch deep from points to bottom of curve.
Corners wind up being at about 40 degrees between
outside and inside edge, maybe a bit less.
Not very critical. The important thing is that there be two points
at about the right spacing, with about the right inward slope, to
engage and move the retainers towards the center.
If you need more detail than that, you should probably leave this
task to someone who has done it before, or at least get them to
give you a hands-on lesson. The only part that isn't Trivially
Obvious is the operation of the retainers, and the above should
be sufficient info for you to figure that out.
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