21 secrets a locksmith won’t tell you

Try the door. I’ve gone to houses and found it open. (I’m still going to charge you for the service call.)

If your key won’t turn, try WD-40 or silicone spray. Sometimes the pins get jammed up, and 25 to 40 percent of the time that solves the problem.

If you’re locked out, please call just one of us. More than once, I arrived at a lock-out to find two competitors’ trucks already there. At that point, we all agreed to leave and abandon the inconsiderate victim.

Think twice before you buy a locked safe at a second-hand shop, estate sale or auction. It’s probably going to cost you $300 or more to open it, and chances are all you’re going to find is mouse poo.

Contractors stink at installing deadbolts. I can’t tell you how many times I go out to rekey one or let someone in, and I find problems. If it’s not installed right, it won’t protect you.

Learn 13 things a handyman won’t tell you (but every homeowner should know).

A lot of us do undercover work for the cops. We make keys for them and get them into places at 3am so they can set up surveillance equipment or put the bugs in place. It’s part of the thrill of doing what we do.

When you buy a new house, always have your locks rekeyed. Otherwise there’s probably a master key out there that can easily open your home.

Here are 12 things a new homeowner often doesn’t know.

You’re supposed to check ID before you open anything. But half the time when someone is locked out of their house or car, where do you think their ID is?

The biggest mistakes people make with their safe: Spinning the dial too fast, trying to open it before it’s unlocked, and forcing it closed when there’s obviously a problem.

I’ve seen my share of dead bodies. It’s always a bad sign when the landlord calls to get into an apartment and nobody’s seen the tenant for ten days.