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Southwest Florida Locksmith: Naples, Bonita, Cape Coral, Lehigh, Fort Myers

Purchasing a high security lock or security system is an effective way of protecting your home or office.  Don’t leave it until the last minute, or after you have been burgled because by then it’s too late.

Do it when it occurs to you, or after reading this.  Being pro-active about security should be second nature to us, but it seems only parts of it are.  We are increasingly aware of personal security, about being safe in the dark or built up areas, we know about internet security and the importance of firewalls and the problems of identity theft.  Yet we seem woefully ignorant about the most prevalent form of security in the world.  The locks on our doors to keep the world at bay.

There needs to be much more thought put into this subject by all home and business owners out there.  It’s no good leaving it until you come home to find your front door open, or your office emptied.

A little research and awareness can save a whole lot of trouble down the road.  The internet is a great source of information, but you can’t beat a locksmith for up-to-date information and advice.  We spend our lives researching and learning the best in our industry just so we can assist people in your situation.  We would much rather help you prevent a crime than help you clear up after one.

For securing a residential property, a combination of a cylinder security lock and a deadbolt on all external doors would be ideal.. The combination of locks serve as an excellent safeguard for even the most determined burglar.  The different technologies complement each other.  A cylinder may be breached by a skillful person, but the physical barrier of a good deadlock won’t be beaten except by a determined physical attack.  Most burglars won’t try this as it make too much noise and takes too much time.

To secure commercial properties, a range of solutions are available.  For the high value, larger company, an electronic security device coupled with a euro cylinder lock would be a good place to start.  If money is no object then a magnetic lock controlled by access cards and a PIN would also be a good deterrent.  Even if the card is lost, the PIN adds another layer of security to it.

If you use euro locks, ensure they are a certified 5 or 6 pin tumbler.  They should also come with concealed mountings for electrical locking.

Now do you see the kind of information a locksmith can provide?  Good, up to date, clear advice that won’t cost the earth and will make you and your property safer in the long term.

Cape Coral and Fort Myers Locksmith

Locks and keys only normally enter our mind when we leave the house, or when we go to our car.  Other than that we never think about them.  Well I do, but I’m a locksmith.  For such an important part of our lives, locks receive very little of our attention.  For the most part they just do their job day after day and we only consider them when they jam or go wrong, or of course when we lose them.

Locks are one of the most important aspects of our lives.  They protect us, our property and our wellbeing.  They keep criminals and fear at bay, and they make us feel safe, yet we often buy the cheapest ones we can and ignore them until we need to replace them.

If you live in any populated area, you need to think about the security of yourself and your property.  You can’t do much about increasing the security of your car unless you opt for an after-market alarm system, but your home or office can always be made more secure.

Locksmiths are like the police, we only get called when something has happened or when something is wrong.  We most often meet our clients when things aren’t going well or they aren’t at their best.  One of the unique occupational hazards of our trade, and one you need to be able to handle if you want to last any length of time.  The ability to deal with stressed or upset people is essential in our line of work, and is something you are either born with or have to learn.  You can’t take it personally, especially if the person has suffered a crime or lost property.

Unfortunately it is most often these times when people consider their physical security and look at their locks in a little more detail.  For the most part locks aren’t something you have to think about that often.  Every few years or so, of if there has been a spike of crime in your area.  Making sure you have the best lock for your situation doesn’t always mean having to buy the latest and greatest device, it can be as simple as having the tumbler replaced and new keys.

Your local locksmith can advise on what security measures will suit your situation best.  Consultation is part of the service we offer and it doesn’t cost much.  It’s much better to spend a little money now than having to pick up the pieces later.  It’s a saying common in medicine, but we use it too, “prevention is better than a cure.”

If you haven’t had your security checked out recently, then maybe you should.  Spending a few dollars and an hour of your time reviewing your property might just save you a lot of grief later on.

Starting your own locksmithing company

Starting your own locksmithing business can be a daunting prospect, as can starting any kind of business.  It is a profession that is always moving, evolving and you will have to keep up if you want to be successful.

If you can cope with the constant learning and development, then locksmithing is a rewarding career.  It is one of the few permanently “in demand” businesses.  Despite the economic gloom of the last couple of years, those of us in security have seen no drop in demand for our services.

If the economy is doing well, our services are in demand because criminals want all the nice fruits of people’s labor.  If the economy isn’t doing well, criminals are more desperate for money and burgle more.  For us, it’s a win-win situation.

A lot of the job is about allaying fear.  While the majority of people will never be burgled, they will be affected by the fear of being burgled.  Our job is to make them feel as secure as possible by providing the best advice, guidance and equipment to help them secure their property.

The vast majority of us are “one man bands”, sole operators who run our own business and work alone.  There are larger firms out there, but they are in the minority.  It’s often by choice that locksmiths stay small.  It keeps things simple and allows you to specialize in something.  Growing large complicates matters somewhat and you will invariably spend more time running the business side of things than helping people.

While it may sound morally wrong, we work on fear.  People are afraid of being burgled or attacked in their home, and we have to capitalize on that.  There is nothing wrong with demonstrating how easy it can be to break into a clients car or home to show them how vulnerable they are.  You have to keep it within limits though, and only do it to prove a point, not to scare them into buying stuff they don’t need.

To last any amount of time in this business you will need to join trade associations and any local locksmith guilds.  Not only will they add a bit of credibility to your operation, but they can also help with advice.  They helped me with business advice, financial as well as trade skills, training and holding seminars describing the new innovations in the industry.  While you may be a sole trader, no man is an island.  Engage your local locksmiths and keep in touch.  Don’t be afraid to share information and be nice.  There is enough business out there for us all.

Being a locksmith involves constantly working, developing and training.  Keeping on top of developments is almost a full-time job in itself.  As long as you are the type of person who can cope with constant change, and have a genuine desire to help people, this could be a trade for you.

Learning the Trade

Learning locksmithing can begin at a very young age. A good indicator is when a child has an interest in how things fit together and how they come apart.  This aptitude can be capitalized on and can lead to a future with locks and locksmithing.

The locksmith trade can be learned by self-study courses, apprenticeships or from a family member in the business. It takes a combination of these things to advance to the professional status.  I would definitely suggest an apprenticeship if you can get one, it is by far the best way to learn.

Should you desire to become an apprentice from an established locksmith, it is best to determine that this person is certified. Know also that there are many aspects of the business to learn and you may need more training than an apprenticeship from a single person. If that person specializes in automotive locksmithing and you want to learn commercial locksmithing, you’ll have a start in the right direction but will need more information and experience.  Stands to reason really, to apprentice yourself to someone in your chosen area of expertise. 

If you’ve considered becoming certified through a school or distance course, make sure that the school is certified and that the place where you purchase your distance course is legitimate and accredited. More so than with other courses, if the school is a fraud, even though you may learn everything you need to know, it may make your certificate a fraud as well. Your investment should be placed in respectable schools.  Legitimacy is very important in this trade.

Learning which area of locksmithing you’d be happiest choosing may require some research and/or experimentation. Even if you choose an area and later decide to change your focus, the knowledge you’ve acquired could still come in handy in your career.

The beginning of your career will usually involve books, hardware, and a key making machine. There are many helpful forums on the internet to point you in the right direction and provide helpful hints as well. Knowing which equipment to start with is a must. If you have a limited budget to begin with, you’ll want to get the most from your money. You can’t put all your money into the books and not the equipment as you will need both.

Locksmiths service many types of businesses. Unlocking cars is not the only way to make money . Many small towns don’t even have locksmith services. If you can afford to run the business out of your home, you could be extremely helpful to people in rural communities. Building a name for yourself through word-of-mouth in small areas can lead to loyal customers who are happy to spread the word and advertise for you. This in turn leads to contracts with bigger businesses. Learning the locksmith craft involves people skills as well as study!

Tools of the Trade

Locksmiths use a wide variety of tools depending on the job and locks that require working.  They also have numerous tools for making keys, locks, electronic locks, and security systems. These tools range from the simple metal lock picks to a wide assortment of different electronics that can be used to aid in their job.  Some of the most common and frequently used tools are;

The Lock Aid Tool.  You see them in the movies sometimes, it looks a bit like a pistol and with a trigger to fit the pins.  It was designed for law enforcement agencies to quickly pick pin tumbler locks. It is one of the types of tools you may see a locksmith use on occasion. It’s mostly an automatic style lock picker that will get the lock open using one of the methods that the model supports. 

Formed End Tweezers are fairly small tools with curved ends for grip. They are commonly made of stainless steel to prevent wear and tear.

The Window Crank allows the locksmith to slip behind window the crank and remove the spring clip to allow access. This is a less used simple tool, but still used when the door proves impossible to get through.

The “Small Pin & Peanut” is used for most small pin tumbler rekeying jobs. Its ease of use and simple design make it quite the popular choice among locksmiths the world over.

Another common tool is the “Clip Zip Door Panel Tool” as some stores call it. It helps you remove car door panels and makes the job a lot easier for the locksmith.  This saves a lot of time, and broken pins on an auto lock job.

The AM700 is for American padlocks. The American 700 series round body lock is one of the most widely used padlocks for industrial and commercial security. This tool is used to pick and open many of those types of locks due to its design. This is argued to be one of the more popular tools used by locksmiths in the USA today.

History of Locksmithing

The history of the locksmith is a long and dignified one.  Starting as an offshoot of blacksmithing it soon became a trade of its own once locks became popular.  As long as there have been keys, people have been losing them!

Although it is one of the oldest engineering trades in the world, it is still one of the fastest moving ones.  There are constant improvements and innovations design to protect people and property, and the locksmith is ‘key’ to most of them. 

The shape and types of locks remained fairly constant from the middle ages until the nineteenth century.  As populations and crime grew, better security was needed to protect property.  In the 1930’s, the biggest innovation for ages took place with the invention of the mortise lock.  This new design made it much more difficult for someone to pick and was the real beginning of the specialization of locksmithing.

Between that time and the 1970’s there wasn’t much innovation in security.  Now there are as many types of lock as there are locksmiths.  Each new version becoming more and more sophisticated.  A modern locksmith is almost half electronics expert now! 

Traditionally an apprenticed trade, handed down from father to son, it is now something anyone with a technical aptitude can study.  There are even degrees and certification courses you can take.

As well as handling the technical aspect of locksmithing, there is a fair amount of customer service and people skills involved.  Generally locksmiths are like the police, in that people only want them when something is wrong.  This will mean people in awkward and sometimes very stressful situations.  You need to know how to handle and defuse these kinds of things as well as take care of the job you were called to do.

Call 24/7 - (239)572-1462

Below you can find a partial list of services that A Beach Locksmith offers. We operate in all of Southwest Florida in the following cities and towns: Naples, Bonita, Fort Myers, Alva,  Estero, Marco, Everglades, San Carlos Park, and Buckingham. Our offices are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. From vehicle lockouts to new high security lock installations, we will be there for you every step of the way.

Unlike many of the local locksmith companies, we arrive to most jobs in less than 30 minutes. The larger companies take up to 48 hours before they can make a first appearance at your home or business. If you are seeking fast and personable service, please give us a call and setup a meeting: (239)572-1462

Services We Offer:

• Full Rekeying
• New Lock Installations [residential / commercial]
• Sliding Glass Door Locks [service / installation
• Mailbox Locks [service / installation]
• Patio Door Locks [ service / installation]
• Secondary Lock Installation for Patio Doors
• High Security Lock Installation and Service
• Cabinet and File Cabinet Locks
• Door Closers
• Push Button Locks
• Keyless Entries
• Access Control
• Closed Circuit Video
• Alarm Exit Devices
• Hinge Pins
• Peep Holes

If  the service you need isn’t on the list, simply call us anytime and ask. If we can’t help you, we will send you to someone who can!

Do you need a locksmith?

You looking for a locksmith in Lee County? We serve Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and other areas in South West Florida.

We can handle all sorts of jobs from small jobs such as helping someone that is locked out of their car to a business or government building that needs all the locks changed or serviced. We use the highest quality locks, our hardware will pass even the most intense security checks.

So if you are in the Fort Myers area and require a locksmith, look no further. We can get into all makes and models of cars, we service residential and commercial buildings, and government buildings. We are on call 24/7 and will reach you within 30 minutes provided you don’t call during rush hour.

Welcome to the Fort Myers Locksmith site!

This is the future home of A Beach Locksmith. A Beach Locksmith can help you with any and all of your locksmith needs. From new lock installations, commercial jobs, or even little things like being locked out of your car, we can do it for you.

We are on call 24/7 in all of South West Florida. From Naples to Marco all the way up to Alva, give us a call!