Newby.

Done plenty of searching, both on here and Google, but not found what I'm after.

I've decided to make new keys for the locks on our varied 18c furniture, and for other restoration projects I have.

I recently found a selection of old keys on eBay, which are ideally suited to my purpose, and much cheaper than buying newly produced "blanks" of old keys, however , many have been cut already, and need to be returned to "blank" condition.

I've managed to successfully make the bit larger on a few keys, using solder, filing it back, and then recutting the key but the finished product is silver. Is there another way that this can be done which is easier, and/or does anyone know how to change the colour of solder to a darker shade?

As as an aside, I'm really enjoying pulling old furniture locks apart, and making new keys to suit. I've successfully made keys for 4 items to date.

Andrew Allan