The key turns. The door does not hold. Oil goes in the keyhole because a miss is treated as a dry lock. The bolt still rides past the plate. The next close is the same sound with a greasy key.
A lock can be stiff. A lock can also be true and still miss a plate that has moved. I oiled ours all autumn. The key went silk. The door still opened if you leaned on it. The strike had dropped a few millimetres. The bottle had not been the job.
- Oil is the first bottle
- A bolt that never meets the hole
- October at the front
- A key that scrapes and then holds
- Look at the plate before you buy another bottle
Oil is the first bottle
A stiff key feels like metal that wants grease. So the hole gets a drop. That move is right when the key scrapes, the bolt still hits the hole, and the door holds after a normal turn. It is wrong when the key turns freely and the door still walks open under a shoulder.
Should you never oil a lock? No. A dry cylinder will chew a key. One drop, then wipe the excess. A wet lock collects grit and then binds worse than the dry week.
Why oil first? Because the bottle is in the drawer. The plate is in the frame, painted over, easy to ignore.
A bolt that never meets the hole
The latch or the deadbolt has to enter a hole in the strike. If the door has dropped, or the frame has moved, the bolt hits metal and stops short. From the handle it can feel like a lock that will not finish. From the plate it is a miss you can see with the door open.
A door that clicks and then stands open was already a page on this site. That one is the latch not seating in the keep. This page is the key that turns and still leaves a gap you can push.
Is every miss a plate? No. A broken spring in the latch will also fail to throw. A cylinder that spins forever is a different cylinder. Those are different mornings. A clean turn and a visible scrape on the plate is the alignment morning.
A swollen door in wet weather will miss in November and catch in April. Planing the door is not the first night. Watching the mark on the plate is.
October at the front
October I put oil in because the key felt proud. It turned. The door still gave if you pushed after dark. I looked at the plate with a torch. A bright scar sat above the hole. The bolt was hitting the lip. Two screws loosened, the plate down a hair, and the key’s last bit of travel found the hole. The bottle stayed in the drawer after that.
I still oil a key that scrapes. I do not oil a key that already turns and a door that still walks.
A key that scrapes and then holds
Oil is the job when the key grinds, the plate hole is clean, and the door holds once the bolt is in. One drop. Wipe the face so grit does not ride in.
Oil is the wrong first story when the key is already easy and the door still opens to a shoulder, when the plate shows a fresh scar, or when the door has dropped on the hinge side. Then grease only makes a mess on a miss.
Should a miss always mean a new lock set? No. A plate that can move a few millimetres is this afternoon. A cylinder that will not throw at all is a lock. Mixing those into one shop bag is how October got two bottles and still a gap.
Look at the plate before you buy another bottle
Open the door. Look at the hole. Close slowly and watch where the bolt lands. If it lands high or low, the plate is the job — or the hinge that dropped the door. If it lands in the hole and the door still walks, the latch spring is tired.
Do not force a key that will not turn. Do not drill. If the cylinder is seized, stop and use a person who works on locks.
The oil is still in the cupboard. The front holds when the plate meets the bolt. That is one frame and one October. It does not prove every stiff key is a plate. It does prove the second bottle was the louder job. Look at the scar on the metal before you buy another drop.
Related reading: The Door Clicks Then Stands Open
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