# Help! Skeleton key broke off in door **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 24, 2010, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-skeleton-key-broke-off-in-door/565264 "2010-12-24T06:56:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-skeleton-key-broke-off-in-door/565264/1 "2010-12-24T06:56:57Z")
One piece of the skeleton key to a bedroom door broke off in the lock. It’s deadbolted shut, and the hinges are on the inside. Not only do we not have a spare key, it’s a weird old non-standard key. Do we have to bust through the door? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-skeleton-key-broke-off-in-door/565264/2 "2010-12-24T07:02:28Z")
Never mind, climbed in through the window and unlocked it! Time to replace the lock. That happened to be the room where all the Christmas presents were hidden! A mod may lock this if they don’t want people to waste their time on this. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-skeleton-key-broke-off-in-door/565264/3 "2010-12-24T09:27:29Z")
For future reference, two ways I have heard of dealing with this: - a thin rod that will fit into the keyhole, with sticky bubble gum or similar on the end to attach to the broken-off key. - a strong magnet, to attract the broken-off key. (Old skeleton keys are generally iron, so attracted by magnets. And though the rest of the lock is probably also iron, it can’t move like the key. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-skeleton-key-broke-off-in-door/565264/4 "2010-12-24T09:55:20Z")
I would have used needle nose pliers to fish it out and then take the piece to a locksmith to duplicate.