Keycasting

March 2018 to June 2020

Pitch

My house key is uncopyable by local locksmiths. I tried to make my own.

I experimented using epoxy casting in silicon moulds. In the end it wasn’t strong enough for daily use, but I learned lots and even managed to produce something okay.

Then I envisioned trying metal casting. I was very much not doing my own metal casting, thank you. Instead the idea was to hire a foundry for a very small run of a very small piece. From cursory research, I ideally wanted to cast some copies in beeswax, send that to a foundry that can pour Nickel Silver (or brass as a fallback), and then get my keys!

In the end, I ordered key blanks that matched my key as best I could tell, and convinced a local locksmith to do a special cut.

Media

Outcome

I now have more than enough keys and the means to get more.