Q: Richard – I drove to a locksmith’s shop on Saturday afternoon for help. They told me that I need a special tool to install the cylinder into the lock completely. Fortunately, they HAD the tool, and were able to do it for me, so it works fine now. I rechecked your webpage with that lock:
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It lists several “related items”, and has a short FAQ section, but neither of those mention this locking tool. Further websearches turned it up, and I saw that it sells for about $17. I think it would be a good idea if you 1) List that item as a requirement for installing and removing this lock cylinder, and 2) Offer a kit with the other 4 required parts (lock, cylinder, 2 strike plates). Thank you.
A: Obviously we are incredibly grateful for your business. I've been selling Compx brand lock cylinders, cylinder bodies, strike plates for all applications for several years. Compx is an exceptional company in many ways, most of all their technical support. You might imagine that the question regarding the cylinder tool has come up in the past.
While it is certainly obvious that the manufacturer provides a item called a cylinder removal tool, also know as a "Change Tool" as seen here:
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it would be inaccurate and possibly in your instance on a Saturday afternoon when a locksmith feels like you have no option, a deception perhaps, to tell you that you are required to have a tool to install the cylinder into the cylinder body. Plain and simple - this is a falsehood either from ignorance or intention. I also imagine the locksmith did not perform this in front of you. Regardless - the tool comes into play when you remove the cylinder and never when you install it. This fact is based on my years of experience and direct conversation with the manufacturer.
Having said this I take your constructive criticism and advice to heart regarding making the tackling of this somewhat technical material easier through the internet, website and allowing average consumers such as yourself to better understand or to be able to conceptualize the total assembly of a product when there are multiple sub components required to make a complete unit. I promise you that everyday we endeavor to make our website better, more consumer-friendly and continue to fill it with additional technical information. My response to your question and your original comments are proof that in the future other people will benefit and gain from the experience that you have gone through.
I hope that what I perceive as ire in your message was and is only temporary and will not be a long-term reflection of our relationship, and I regret not having been in a position to receive a phone call from you to clarify the situation prior to you exerting any unnecessary effort which was done in this case. Perhaps that local locksmith will get a similar message from you educating them on what the facts are in terms of the insertion of Compx manufactured cylinders.
Is there a follow up question that we can perhaps attempt to answer? We take deep pride in our technical expertise, as we know it separates us from our competition, so don't hesitate to ask.
Please reply to this email or contact our sales department here:
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if we can assist you by answering further questions or with entering this order and please let us know if there is anything else we can help with. If this answer was helpful -
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Q: Sorry, Richard - no ire intended! Just some suggestions for adding important info on the website. So, this tool is not required for installing? How does one go about installing the cylinder completely? My cylinder slid straight in and clicked into place, so I thought that was it, but the key would not insert completely. What else would I have to do to finish installation? Bill
A: Don’t know what would of cause the key not to operate in the lock core. This would definitely have been something we would have replaced at no charge.
A change key is required to remove the lock cores. Which is probably what the locksmith is talking about. This rarely happens but the issue can be either a spring that didn’t sit in there correctly or a wafer as well. Taping the lock on a flat surface can correct this most times. Keep in mind Compx produces thousands of these a day and they hear about issues like this a couple times a year which is really not that bad. Unless you are the person who got a bad one - LOL. If this ever happens again, just call us directly and we will take care of it!