Broken/Stuck Mortise Lock

[harry4000uk]

Hi, I have a problem with a lock and I was hoping you could help.

I have a wooden door fitted with a mortise lock. I believe the type of key it uses is called a warded key (one of the chunkier ones rather than the thin ones).

Recently it has been very stiff and difficult to open. I have snapped off one of my keys inside it when I tried to open it although I do have spares.

I have a few questions how do I open the door? will I need to remove the broken piece of key? Bear in mind that I was looking to replace the lock anyway so if I need to remove it completely i don't mnd.

 

[big-all]

heeelllooo and welcome harry4000uk


assuming you have access to the hinges you can ---

grind out the top of the hinge pins
knock them through
pull door out the opening enough to slide the door clear along the wall

if your lucky you can re-use the pins/hinges

 

[Symptoms]

harry - if you have access to the otherside of the door and the keyhole goes all the way through it's sometimes possible to manipulate the broken key with a big darning needle (or similar thin spike). The aim is to catch the key stub with the needle and attempt to turn it, this sometimes work. Once the key is aligned with the keyhole it can be pushed out. Worth trying ... otherwise it's calling a locksmith (who'll attempt the above fish) or it's big-all's hinge job.