Locksmith

Locksmith

Josh-the-Locksmith

25 Years Experience

Austin, TX

Male, 46

I've been a locksmith since 1998. I did automotive residential & commercial work from 1998 to 2008. From 2008 to 2018, I did some residential, but mostly commercial work. I have been project managing & estimating since 2018. I used to locksmith in the Chicago area, now the Austin area.

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330 Questions

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Last Answer on June 11, 2024

Best Rated

How do you know that the client who calls you out owns the house/car you're unlocking? What is the procedure if a client doesn't have money/ID with them at the time to prove then and there? And should police be called if I think I've been ripped off?

Asked by S.Lee almost 9 years ago

1- it's impossible to truly know who the owner is. The best we can do is take as much information as we can just in case things go south. So we get a drivers license, plate, year, make & model, location, time, name, address, & phone number. If it's a home, the drivers license or a piece of mail has to have the address on it. 2- if you don't have money, we don't do the service. If you don't have ID, we prob wouldn't do the service unless it was a special circumstance. 3- to my knowledge, there aren't any laws i know of that saw you can't over-charge people. But in many states it's illegal to operate as a locksmith without a permit or license. A lot of these guys are contractors & do not have one. I tell people all the time that everyone should have the name & phone number of a reputable locksmith in their phone. It's your job to research the company you're hiring. There are a LOT of crooked companies out there, & the only thing that can stop them is smart & knowledgeable customers. Leave reviews on Yelp & Google, report them to BBB. Ask for a quote before they do the work. If you don't like it, call someone else. You should never feel pressured or threatened.

Thank you for your response and so quick too. Relating to your question about would it need brute force to break in the answer is Yes. So then in reality it was secure, but to me it wasn’t. A neighbour has put a new lock in the door and it’s restored

Asked by Sue over 8 years ago

Glad to hear and you’re welcome.

I have an 09 Honda Civic I broke my key off in the ignition pulled the silver part out glued it to my key fob turn the lights and everything on but will not start now when I turn it over it clicks once went to locksmith he put the guts from my key in

Asked by christie over 8 years ago

Maybe you broke the circuit board in your key, or maybe you broke your ignition antenna when you dug your key out.

I recently purchased a home without the key from garage into the kitchen. What is my best move? New lock, or take existing deadbolt to the locksmith?

Asked by Andy about 9 years ago

If your front door key will fit in the lock on your garage, it doesn't even have to turn, take the locks off and take them to a locksmith. They should be able to make them match your front door. If it doesn't fit, take your front door key and get a couple replacement locks that will accept it. Have them rekeyed to match. If you don't care if they match or not, take your garage locks off and take them to a locksmith to get re-keyed, or just buy a new set

I have to replace my mortise cylinders, I have adjustable collars on it, the cylinders measured 1 inch, is the point of adjustable collars so that I could use a 1 1/4 inch cylinder if I wanted?

Asked by OTG about 8 years ago

If you're going from 1 inch to 1-1/4 inch, that's a pretty big difference. The adjustable collar probably won't be adjustable enough to accommodate a 1-1/4 mortise cylinder. I would stick with 1 inch or 1-1/8 inch.

Hi I am a newbie locksmith trying to drill a safe friend has, it is an old arthur b. curtis safe from 1870's with a yale dial. I think I hit the relocker, any suggestions? Will pay for your time. THANKS

Asked by russ almost 9 years ago

I wish I could help you, but I do not do safe manipulation.

A door has been locked from the inside and I don't have a spare key. Can a key be cut from a picture of the outside lock? I don't want to have to damage the door

Asked by Sam over 9 years ago

No, not possible. It doesn't mean you have to damage the door/lock though. The door can be picked open, lock disassembled, and a key made to the lock. Call a reputable company though, don't just look for the cheapest price.