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Best cabinet lock for the hole you already have

Updated: 20.10.2026

You are looking at five amazon.co.uk cam locks and trying to decide which one belongs on a thin letterbox, a 16 mm hole, a 19 mm hole, or a locker with no key. Best here means the listing whose stated size matches that job, and whose stored UK reviews are not a reason to skip it. It does not mean the most secure lock in Britain. The [cabinet lock comparison](/hub/burglar-protection/cabinet-lock) is the table, with shelf prices from 19 October 2026. Peter F. scored those five pages from the listings and the stored UK review notes, not from a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are looking at five amazon.co.uk cam locks and trying to decide which one belongs on a thin letterbox, a 16 mm hole, a 19 mm hole, or a locker with no key.

Our top picks

On this page

What best can mean in this set

The five kept locks run from £5.49 to £12.39. Rank 1 is a sales position, not a BS 3621 test, Sold Secure, or an insurance approval. None of these pages claims those marks. The VOCIBO scores 88 as the top pick: the panel limit is stated, the review file is the largest, and letterbox replacements recur. The shinfly at 84 is the best value, if you respect the hole-size clash. Body length, cam excluded, is on the cabinet lock buying guide.

Thin letterbox or drawer, 16 mm class

For a thin flap or a drawer up to about 12 mm, start with the VOCIBO. It states a 16 mm cylinder, a 19 mm drill and a panel up to 12.5 mm. Skip it if the old cam is star-shaped: one stored review says the square tail would not take that cam. Skip it if the door is thicker than 12.5 mm. The shinfly is the same job at £5.49, limit 12 mm. Drill the 18 mm the bullet states, not a photograph a reviewer read as 17 mm. That fibreboard hole was too tight. Clips are called flimsy and too short. A 16 mm hole is the Mclcvp7re pack: two locks at £6.99, keys not alike. Skip it on a modern kitchen cupboard. Stored reviews say the screws are too short, and several buyers broke the cupboard open because the key would not turn.

A 19 mm hole, and the locks reviewers said failed

The Litensh is the single lock that states a 19 mm hole and a 22 mm cylinder, at £5.99, with two keys and the words keyed different. Panel thickness is not stated. Reviewers call the flange narrow and a plastic part inside cheap. If you cannot afford to cut the door off, do not put this cylinder on the only cupboard that matters.

When you want no key

The Lpraer pack is two combination locks at £12.39, default code 0-0-0. The specification says a 1-1/8 inch cylinder for 7/8 inch material, while the title says 30 mm. That long body is the wrong buy for a flap the VOCIBO limits to 12.5 mm. Change the code and open the lock again before you shut the door. Fourteen UK texts against 288 reviews include codes that would not set and a body that broke in the first week.

When none of these is the right buy

Leave this set if you need one key for a run of lockers with the differs written down. Four keys in a VOCIBO or shinfly box are not keyed alike. The choice is on keyed alike vs keyed different. Leave it for controlled drugs or flammable liquids, and if the door is already shut with the key snapped. The door and the hinges still fail first.

Common questions

Which lock in this set suits a letterbox?
The VOCIBO, at £5.99, states a panel up to 12.5 mm, a 19 mm drill and five plates, and letterbox replacement is a repeated review. The shinfly, at £5.49, states up to 12 mm and an 18 mm drill. The Lpraer’s 7/8 inch line is the wrong thickness for a thin flap unless you have measured that depth.
Which one is a pair of locks with different keys?
The Mclcvp7re pack, £6.99 for two, states that the keys are not alike. Each lock is its own. The hole stated is 16 mm and the cylinder is 22 mm. The screws in the box are a known miss on thicker kitchen doors.
Which one has no key?
The Lpraer pack, £12.39 for two, is the combination pair. The default code is 0-0-0. Stored reviews include locks that would not take a new code, so test the change before the door is shut.
Why is the rank-1 lock not automatically the pick?
The VOCIBO’s rank 1 in Cabinet Locks is a sales rank on amazon.co.uk. It is the top pick here because of the stated 12.5 mm panel, the 2,762 reviews, and the letterbox pattern, not because rank equals a security grade. A thicker door or a star-shaped cam is a reason to skip it.
What did reviewers say went wrong?
The shinfly hole is argued as 18 mm in the bullet and 17 mm in a photo. Litensh locks came apart or stopped within about a month. Mclcvp7re screws were too short, and plugs seized. Lpraer codes failed to set. The VOCIBO’s odd cam is one stored review, not a counted rate.
Is a dearer trade cam lock in a different league of security?
Not on the evidence here. Trade nut-fix with a stated key plan often sits around £8 to £11, close to this set. It can give you keyed alike and a written length. It is still a cam on a cupboard door, not a BS 3621 door lock.

Related pages

Sources

Public UK sources used for measurement, keying and the legal limit. Listing prices, stars and review counts are from amazon.co.uk on 19 October 2026.

  1. Lockshop Direct — how to measure a cam lock (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Lock & Key Centre — choosing cam locks, KD, KA and rotation (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. G Johns — keyed-alike cam locks for cabinet doors (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. BSI Knowledge — BS 3621:2017+A1:2024 scope, building doors (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. legislation.gov.uk — Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973, Schedule 2 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. HSE — flammable-liquid storage in workrooms (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Intertek Inform — BS EN 16948:2017 child-resistant cupboard devices (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Locktrader — cabinet and cam locks, nut-fix and snap-fix (retrieved 19 October 2026)