Pschiffe wroteIt appears that you likely have a common Yale #8 keyway 5-pin lock. The variations in the “bittings” of the key are designated by the term “key changes”. Since there are nine different depths of cut and five pins, the theoretical number of “key changes” would be 9[SUP]5[/SUP]=59,049. You don’t need an antique lock specialist, any competent locksmith can easily open and fit a key to your lock. If want to avoid the expense, as you suggest; you could drill out the lock cylinder to open the lock and then replace the thus destroyed cylinder.
Pete
I just reviewed my above post and found I made an error, there are ten different possible depths of cut or pin lengths (0-9) per chamber on the Yale #8 key, thus the number of different theoretical key changes would be 10[SUP]5[/SUP]=100,000. Or, expressed differently; ten x ten x ten x ten x ten = 100,000. Sorry for the confusion.
Pete Schifferli
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