Make a Copy of the Key From a Photo

by ShakeTheFuture in Living > Life Hacks

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Make a Copy of the Key From a Photo

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Copy a Key by Taking a Picture of It

In this Instructable, I tried to copy a key by taking a photo of it.

Before you say anything, I am aware that there are apps to scan keys and on-line services & kiosks where you can print them out.

Take a Photo

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I put the key on my gym's old membership card.

Reason for that - it's the same size as the credit card.

Then I took a few photos of the key.

Edit the Photo

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I found a credit card's template for the photoshop.

I cropped the photo and dragged it on top of the template.

Then, I copied the photo to a new a4 size document and made a few copies.

Now I had a perfect size key, ready to be printed on a label paper.

Stick the Label on a Blank Key

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I cut out the label and stuck it on a blank key.

Paint the Exposed Metal

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I used black nail polish to paint exposed parts of the key.

Before nail polish was completely dry, I removed the label.

Grind the Marked Part of the Key

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I put the key in a vice and used different files to grind the marked metal.

Key did not work with the first time. I had to make little adjustments. I made those adjustment without the vice, just by holding the key and grinding it with a file.

After a few tries, I was able to unlock the padlock with a key that was copied from a photo.

Never post a photo of your keys in social media sites.