Pro-Lok began business 30 years ago by manufacturing car-opening tools and offering car-opening manuals. That part of their business still survives but today Pro-Lok also has a much larger range of products for locksmiths. One important Pro-Lok product is their impressive line of installation tools. There are three types of installation tools; a cylindrical lock jig, a mortise lock jig and the IN series of templates.
IN Installation Tools
The IN installation tools should be of particular importance for locksmiths. As customers request replacement of mechanical lock components with electronic access control systems, the IN template series becomes increasingly helpful. Most electronic locks require additional holes to be drilled through the door at specific locations. The holes must be precisely drilled on a horizontal plane in order for retaining screws to correctly connect the outer and inner door hardware together. As opposed to the common 2 1/8" crossbore hole for most cylindrical deadbolts, each lock manufacturer uses its own hole patterns for their keypad units. Since both wiring and retainer bolt holes are often required, a group of holes, often of various sizes, must be accurately drilled through the door.
Pro-Lok has the answer for electronic access control installations by offering more than 50 IN series templates for all popular lock manufacturer products. This includes templates for the installation either new installations or replacement installations of electromechanical exit devices, mortise locks and cylindrical locksets.
IN templates are manufactured from 1/2" aircraft grade aluminum. Templates are equipped with hardened bushings where smaller holes must be drilled. Hardened bushings properly guide the drill bit while protecting the IN template from damage. When larger holes are required, the IN template cutouts are designed to accommodate router bit guides. IN templates are reversible for either inside or outside door prep requirements.
A universal clamp is designed to be used with any of the 50+ templates. Once the clamp and templates are properly installed, follow the specific installation instructions for drilling or/and routing the proper holes. Pro-Lok IN series templates are particularly helpful when an electronic lock is replacing a mechanical lock and the new mounting holes are in close proximity to the existing old mounting holes. Pro-Lok IN series templates are designed to reduce installation time to a minimum while producing a more accurate hole pattern than taped-on paper instructions can hope to achieve.
Mortise Installation Jigs
Pro-Lok also offers their INJIG-MORT jig for installing mortise locksets. Locksmiths are often called to install the new hardware when a homeowner upgrades their residential front entrance with a new door and a new decorative handleset. Another reason for installing mortise locks is when obsolete mortise locksets are beyond repair. Older lock cases are frequently an odd size and the mortise cutout must be enlarged to accept a modern day lockset.
Free-hand drilling of the pocket for a mortise lockset can be a daunting chore. Keeping individual depth and width cuts equal is almost impossible. In addition, there is always the danger of drifting too close to the edge of the door with every cut. Even when hand-drilling is successful, a time consuming job is still required to remove the partitions left between each drilled hole.
The INJIG-MORT by Pro-Lok simplifies a once tedious mortising job. The jig system consists of a jig apparatus which has two vertical bars, an adjustable stop collar, a long boring shaft and three various sizes of wood boring cutters. Once the jig is clamped to the door, the stop collar can be moved to the next adjacent cut position without removing the jig from the door. This allows the complete pocket cutout to be quickly, cleanly and accurately cut in a minimum amount of time. Once the primary pocket is completed, the adjustable collar can be set for mortising the faceplate area.
Pocket cutouts can be easily installed in wood or composite doors. Optional equipment is available for mortising faceplate cutouts in aluminum doors. An illustrated step-by-step manual is included which explains specific installation steps when using the jig for either wood of aluminum door installations.
For addition information contact your local locksmith distributor or find Pro-Lok at: www.pro-lok.com, 714-633-0681
