Keys made at 630 N Yosemite Ave.

KEYS is the first word on the sign. Bring the key to the log cabin, Monday to Friday, 8 to 5, and we cut a copy at the counter.

• House keys: front door, back door, deadbolt, garage side door.
• Padlock keys, for the gate, the shed or the storage unit.
• Private mailbox and cluster-box keys. Ask us which ones we can do; some mailbox locks belong to the Postal Service and we cannot copy those.
• Cabinet, desk and file-drawer keys.

Car keys are a different job. A modern car key has a chip in it, so cutting is only half the work. Those are on the car keys and remotes page.

Keys stamped "Do Not Duplicate".

On an ordinary key, that stamp is a request from whoever handed you the key, usually a landlord or an employer. It is not a law. We will ask who the key belongs to before we copy one. A restricted key is different: it uses a patented keyway (the shape of the slot) and the maker only sells those blanks to certain shops, with paperwork. If yours is restricted, call and ask. Bring whatever authorization you have.

A kiosk traces the key you put in it, worn spots and all. A key that has been in a pocket for ten years is not the key it was cut to be. Copy a worn key and you get a worn copy that sticks, or one that only works if you jiggle it.

At the counter a person looks at the key first. A worn original can be read for what it was, not just traced. Odd keyways, old locks and keys the kiosk does not have a blank for are the ordinary work of a locksmith shop. If a copy from somewhere else never worked right, bring it with the original and we will look at both.

The best copy comes from the key the lock was made for. A copy of a copy drifts a little each time. If you have the original, bring that one.

No key at all? Then it is not a copying job. For a house or business door, the fix is usually a rekey: new keys, same locks, and the old lost key stops working. For a car, see car keys. Either way, call and ask.