Pro-Lok has been manufacturing locksmith tools and equipment for almost three decades. Their product lines range from car opening and installation tools to latch protection and key accessories. In addition, Pro-Lok sells a line of firearm safety products including trigger locks, cable gun locks and gun safes.
To prep a wood or hollow metal door for lock installation, Pro-Lok has three types of installation tools the mortise lock jig, the cylindrical lock jig and the IN (Installation) Series Templates.
IN SERIES TEMPLATES
IN Series Templates are designed for locks that require more than one cross bore opening including thru-bolted cylindrical locks to new electromechanical door locks. Some of these locks can have more complex “door prep” requirements. The lock installation requires accurate positioning and alignment for proper operation.
To simplify the door prep process, there are more than 50 Pro-Lok IN Series door lock installation templates for specific lock manufacturer’s products. The templates are manufactured from ½” thick aircraft grade aluminum. The anodized installation templates are equipped with hardened bushings to drill the small openings. Larger openings are routed into the exterior and interior faces of the door. Templates are reversible for exterior and interior door prep and some handed operations. Blank IN Series templates are available for customizable installations.
The IN Series templates are designed to attach to the Universal Clamp for positioning on the door. Once the clamp and template is properly located, follow the instructions to drill and/or rout out the necessary openings. In addition to new installations, the IN Series installation templates can be used for retrofit applications that require enlarging openings or locating new openings that conflict with the previously installed lock or device.
ENTRY ARMOR™
After installing or servicing a lock on an exterior door, consider the possibility of adding latch protection where necessary as an added profit center.
To resist unauthorized access, Pro-Lok has developed a line of latch protection including the patent pending Entry Armor™ elongated design. Entry Armor™ is available in a variety of sizes, shapes, materials and finishes including stainless steel, textured duronodic, aluminum, brass and chrome.
When installing latch protection, there are several considerations. These include the height of the required latch protection and the alignment of the door face to the jamb. The new elongated Entry Armor ELP-240 series latch protector is thirteen inches tall having a hardware cutout that is 10-1/4”. This cutout is designed to accommodate multiple locks such as a bored lock and an auxiliary deadbolt lock using one latch protector.
Sometimes the configuration of the jamb or trim to the face of the door makes it difficult to install latch protection that properly fits the opening. To solve this problem, the Entry Armor by Pro-Lok patent pending spacer is installed between the door face and the latch protector. This provides the height necessary to flush mount the latch protection. The hardened steel spacer is approximately 1/8” thick. Spacers are included with the ELP-240 and ELP-250 Series Latch Protectors and are also sold separately.
For this article, we installed an Entry Armor ELP-240-S onto a solid wood entry door. At the time of the installation, only a commercial grade cylindrical lock was installed onto the out opening door. A deadbolt lock was to be installed. For this reason, the ELP-240 was chosen to provide protection for both locks.
Entry Armor recommends using your expertise as a locksmith to “eye” the latch protector into position. Since this application has a Grade 1 cylindrical lock, the rose is a large diameter. The decision was made to locate the bottom of the cutout approximately two inches below the bottom of the cylindrical lock. This would provide sufficient protection for the latch bolt and even greater protection for the bolt once the deadbolt lock is installed.
Note: It is important to be certain the latch protector is plumb (vertical).
A permanent marker was used to mark the location for the two carriage bolts. The permanent marker filled the squared openings, leaving an exact pattern for the hole.
A pilot drill bit, 1/8” diameter was used to start the hole and to insure that the interior door face, a veneer would not split. The final diameter, 5/16” would be drilled from both sides.
Once the holes were drilled, the carriage bolts were slid into the ELP-240-S and mounted onto the door. The jamb molding did not let the latch protector seat. Instead of modifying the opening, it was determined that two spacers would position the latch protector. The spacers are designed to fit the contour of the ELP-240 Series latch protectors. They are manufactured of hardened steel and plated to help prevent corrosion. The final step was to install the washers and tighten the nuts to secure the Entry Armor ELP-240-S onto the door.
For more information, contact your local wholesaler or Pro-Lok. Telephone: 714-633-0681. Web Site: www.pro-lok.com
