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Get your free estimateMedeco Locksmith in Forest Grove, OR | Commodore Locksmith
We service Medeco high-security locks across Forest Grove, and we do it as an independent shop, not a factory-authorized dealer. That distinction matters more here than it would almost anywhere else. So much of the Medeco work in this town involves century-old mortise lock bodies that someone retrofitted with a modern high-security cylinder, and that combination demands a locksmith who understands both the cylinder and the antique hardware it’s mounted in. Call us at (855) 473-5097 and you’ll get a straight answer about your lock, whether it’s a sticky keyway or a full rekey.
Why Forest Grove Residents Choose Us for Medeco Service
We learned Medeco the slow way: hands on, cylinder by cylinder, pin stack by pin stack. The rotating pins and angled cuts in a Medeco key are unlike anything on a Schlage or Kwikset, and if you treat a Medeco like a standard lock, you’ll ruin it. We don’t. Glen Macready, our owner, started picking up lock work through the vocational programs at Mt. Hood Community College back in Gresham, then spent years working every kind of lockout and rekey the Portland metro area, including North Plains Medeco service, could throw at him. That background matters when you’re standing in front of a stuck Medeco Maxum on a 1912 Craftsman front door. Forest Grove keeps us honest. The housing stock here runs older, the hardware is original, and the climate is wet. A locksmith who only knows new subdivision doors won’t last long. We stock OEM-compatible Medeco cylinders and pins for the high-security work, because key control is the whole point of owning a Medeco. If a core mechanism is still sound, we rebuild it. If it’s cracked or corroded past saving, we tell you plainly and replace it. No upsell, no guesswork.
Styles & brands we work with
Common Medeco Locksmith Problems We Solve in Forest Grove
- Keyway corrosion and pin seizure. Wet winters in the Willamette Valley push moisture into exterior Medeco cylinders, especially on older Forest Grove homes where weatherstripping has worn thin. The pins bind, the key won’t slide in cleanly, and eventually it seizes mid-turn. We disassemble, clean, inspect for pitting, and rebuild or replace depending on what the cylinder walls look like.
- Key control failure from worn or duplicated keys. Medeco keys have angled cuts that work with rotating pins. A worn duplicate from a big-box kiosk can turn halfway and feel like a broken lock. We cut keys to factory spec and can rekey the cylinder so old copies no longer work, which is the point of Medeco’s key control.
- Cylinder housing cracks in antique mortise locks. This is a Forest Grove special. When a Medeco high-security cylinder gets retrofitted into a century-old mortise lock without reinforcement, the tighter tolerances can stress the old housing and crack it. We see it regularly on the older side of town.
- Electronic Medeco lock failures from moisture and battery leakage. Medeco eCylinders handle security well, but damp Oregon winters are hard on battery compartments. Leaking batteries corrode terminals, and condensation shorts the electronics. We open them carefully, clean what’s salvageable, and tell you honestly when a board is done.
- Original mortise locks with painted-over hardware. Downtown Forest Grove storefronts and older homes often have decades of paint built up over the lock body and strike plate. The Medeco cylinder might be fine, but the mechanism underneath is gummed. Freeing that up without chipping the wood or wrecking the lock takes patience and the right tools.
Medeco Service in Forest Grove: What Local Conditions Mean for Your Equipment
The core issue in Forest Grove comes down to this: the historic downtown and the surrounding early-1900s residential blocks are full of original mortise locks that were never designed for a modern high-security cylinder. A Medeco cylinder has tighter machining, angled key cuts, and rotating pins, all of which assume a clean, well-aligned lock body. Put one in a lock that has swollen in decades of Willamette Valley humidity, has been painted over four times, and carries a slight sag from a settling foundation, and the cylinder takes abuse it wasn’t built for. We see sticky keyways on Main Street storefronts after October rains, and frozen bolts on Craftsman front doors off Ash Street where the homeowner never noticed the strike plate drifted. The fix is almost never just the Medeco cylinder. It’s the interaction between that cylinder and the old mortise hardware behind it. You can clean and re-pin the cylinder, but if the lock body is full of corrosion and dried paint, you’ll be back in six weeks. That’s what we mean when we say Forest Grove Medeco work is its own trade.
Medeco Models & Products We Service in Forest Grove
We work on the Medeco Maxum deadbolt, the Maxum Pro, the M3+ cylinder, and the Original deadbolt, along with Medeco electronic cylinders where they’re still in service. We also handle Medeco retrofit cylinders that live inside older mortise lock bodies, which is the most common setup in Forest Grove’s older homes and commercial buildings. For high-security applications where key control is the point, we use OEM Medeco cylinders, pins, and tailpieces. For the older locks that need a new collar, an aftermarket strike plate, or a replacement mortise body, we source quality aftermarket parts that fit without grinding or drilling the original wood. We keep common Medeco pin kits and cylinder housings on hand so most Forest Grove jobs get done same visit, and we carry stock for Medeco service in Hillsboro as well.
Medeco Service Pricing in Forest Grove
Medeco service here typically falls into three buckets. A clean-and-repair on a sticking Medeco cylinder runs roughly $60 to $95. A rekey with new Medeco pins, including fresh keys, runs around $30 to $60 per cylinder depending on model and how many you want on one key. A cylinder replacement, new OEM unit installed in existing hardware, lands between $95 and $150 per lock, more if the mortise body underneath needs rebuilding. What drives the price in Forest Grove is usually the condition of the old lock body, not the Medeco part itself. Every quote we give is the full price, quoted on the phone before anyone drives out. No add-on on arrival, no bait number that triples once we’re at your door. Call (855) 473-5097 and we’ll walk through your lock over the phone, then confirm the number before we dispatch.
Serving Forest Grove, OR — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Forest Grove area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs – Medeco Locksmith in Forest Grove
Yes, and we prefer to work that way when the hardware is sound. The Medeco cylinder comes out of the mortise body, we re-pin it on the bench, and the original lock housing stays untouched. If the mortise body itself is corroded or cracked, we’ll show you before we touch it and talk through whether rebuilding is worth it. Call (855) 473-5097 and describe your door, we’ll tell you what’s likely involved before scheduling.
Don’t force it. A Medeco key that’s binding usually means moisture has gotten into the cylinder and the pins are dragging, and forcing the turn can snap a key off inside the lock. We can clean and re-lubricate the cylinder, and if the pins are too far gone, we’ll repin or replace rather than patch it. Get ahead of it before the first freeze makes it worse. Call (855) 473-5097 and we can usually get to you the same day if it’s urgent.
Yes. Our trucks carry Medeco cylinders in common lengths plus extension tailpieces for thicker doors, which are common on older homes in Forest Grove where doors were built to early-1900s specs, not modern standards. If the door is unusually thick, we can order a longer tailpiece and have it in within a day or two. We’ll measure on site and quote before any work starts.
The Maxum is a deadbolt built for physical attack resistance, with a hardened steel core and a reinforced strike. The M3+ is a cylinder platform, often used in mortise housings or as part of a larger key system. For a Main Street storefront in Forest Grove with an original mortise lock, we typically recommend an M3+ cylinder in the existing mortise body, since it gives you high-security key control without tearing out historic hardware. If the door warrants a deadbolt, Maxum is the stronger choice.
We can service and program Medeco electronic cylinders where they’re operational, including adding and deleting user keys, but we don’t sell new Medeco eCylinder systems. Given how hard Forest Grove winters are on battery compartments and moisture seals, we’ll give you an honest read on whether your electronic Medeco makes sense to repair or whether a mechanical Medeco cylinder would hold up better. Call (855) 473-5097 and we’ll assess it on site.
Service Areas Near Forest Grove
Beyond Forest Grove proper, we take Medeco service calls throughout western Washington County. We regularly work in Gresham, where Glen Macready grew up and still lives, along with nearby communities like Troutdale, Fairview, and Happy Valley. For dedicated Medeco support in those areas, see Medeco service in Banks or Medeco service in Gresham. If your lock is giving you trouble, that’s what we’re here for. Our full Forest Grove service area coverage and Medeco sales & service details are always current online.
Book Your Medeco Service in Forest Grove Today
If your Medeco lock is sticking, seized, or you just want the locks rekeyed so an old key stops working, call Commodore Locksmith at (855) 473-5097. We quote the full price before anyone leaves the shop, and we handle same-day Medeco calls across Forest Grove when the schedule allows. We also provide Car Key Replacement – Forest Grove services.
Written by Glen Macready, Owner at Commodore Locksmith, serving Forest Grove and the surrounding area.