How To Make The Keys In Your Pocket Smaller

Having a bulky set of keys on your keyring can make it difficult to carry around. There are a few ways to get the bulkiness of those huge keys reduced and manageable. The procedure for making your keys smaller is very simple. It involves cutting your keys down and removing the keyring altogether. Make an extra set of your most used keys and put your original keys in a safe place. Once you do this, follow the steps below…

You will need a bottle of thread locker, a hacksaw, a 3/8″ machine
bolt, washers, a nut, and a copied set of your original keys.

Clamp down a key as seen in the picture above and cut the top portion off using the hacksaw.
A metal clamp works well to hold down the key as you cut with a wood piece underneath.
Repeat this process with all of your keys.

All four of the keys have the tops removed and are now ready to be cut down further.
To make things easier, use a marker to mark the lines in the keys where the cuts will be.

The keys are then cut even further down by removing the sides. (as seen in the pictures)
Use caution when cutting the keys as they will be sharp.

Once the keys have the top portion removed, drill a hole in the top using a drill. (make sure the bolt fits in hole)
Once the holes are drilled in the keys, sand down the corners so they are smooth.

Next, put the machine bolt into the holes and place a washer in between each key so they slide freely.
Your keys will now resemble a pocket knife and they will open up in the same way.

Then, place the nut on the end of the bolt to secure the keys. (add thread locker to the nuts threads)
It is best to sand down the sides of the keys so there are no sharp edges.

Make sure the keys slide out freely like the blades of a pocket knife.
If the keys do not slide out easily, then loosen the nut on the bolt.
If the keys are too loose, then tighten the nut by a few threads.

Here is the end result. The difference is a much smaller and manageable size.
The keys can now fit into your pocket without the bulk!

Written by Keith Schneerer

Certified Appliance Tech · Founder, RemoveAndReplace.com

Keith has spent 30+ years repairing machines, starting as a military mechanic and later maintaining food processing equipment before moving into appliance repair. He founded RemoveAndReplace.com to share field-tested repair advice.

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