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Cabinet lock buying guide: measure before you order

Updated: 20.10.2026

You have a cupboard, a drawer or a thin letterbox, and the cam locks all look silver. The door is still open, so measure the hole and the panel before the star rating. This cabinet lock buying guide is that order: what the lock is, the millimetres, the key plan, then the jobs these locks cannot claim. The [cabinet lock comparison](/hub/burglar-protection/cabinet-lock) holds five amazon.co.uk listings from 19 October 2026, £5.49 to £12.39. Peter F. read the listings and the stored UK notes, not a lab fit. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a cupboard, a drawer or a thin letterbox, and the cam locks all look silver. The door is still open, so measure the hole and the panel before the star rating.

Our top picks

VOCIBO VOCIBO 16 mm letterbox cam lock, 4 keys

Best overall

VOCIBO VOCIBO 16 mm letterbox cam lock, 4 keys
8.8/10about £5.99
View offer
shinfly shinfly 16 mm cam lock with 5 plates

Best value

shinfly shinfly 16 mm cam lock with 5 plates
8.4/10about £5.49
View offer
Lpraer Lpraer 30 mm combination cam lock, pack of 2

Alternative

Lpraer Lpraer 30 mm combination cam lock, pack of 2
5.8/10about £12.39
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What you are actually buying
  2. 2.The measurements that decide the fit
  3. 3.Keyed alike, keyed different, or one lock
  4. 4.What this lock will not satisfy

What you are actually buying

A cabinet lock here is a short cylinder and a cam that turns behind the frame. A nut or a snap ring holds the body. It is a furniture lock, not a padlock hasp, a magnetic child catch, or the mortice on your front door. Nut-fix is the usual fit. A horseshoe clip is common on thin steel and easier to pull out if the clip is soft. The Lpraer pair is the exception: two combination bodies with no key. None of the five pages names BS 3621, Sold Secure, or an insurance mark. Chipboard and the hinges fail first. A magnetic child latch follows BS EN 16948:2017 and was kept out of this set.

The measurements that decide the fit

Body length runs from the back of the head to the end of the cylinder. The cam is not included. Lockshop Direct states that split. Too short and the nut spins in air. A 16 mm letterbox cylinder and a 22 mm cupboard cylinder are not interchangeable. The Mclcvp7re pair states a 16 mm hole. The shinfly bullet says drill 18 mm; a stored review says the photos show 17 mm. The VOCIBO states a 19 mm drill. The Litensh and the Lpraer each state 19 mm. Flats, or a double-D, stop the body spinning. Rotation is usually 90° or 180°. One VOCIBO review says a square tail missed a star-shaped cam. Stated panels are 12.5 mm on the VOCIBO and 12 mm on the shinfly. The Litensh and the Mclcvp7re pair state none. The Lpraer line says 7/8 inch material, and the title says 30 mm.
VOCIBO VOCIBO 16 mm letterbox cam lock, 4 keys

Testsieger

VOCIBO VOCIBO 16 mm letterbox cam lock, 4 keys
8.8/10about £5.99
View offer

Keyed alike, keyed different, or one lock

Four keys are usually four copies of one cylinder. The VOCIBO and the shinfly each ship four for a single lock. The Litensh says keyed different. The Mclcvp7re pair says the keys are not alike. The Lpraer default is 0-0-0, and a code you never change is not 1,000 combinations in use. Keyed alike only works when you order it, in one body length. G Johns says locks in that range share a key only within one length. The split is on keyed alike vs keyed different.

What this lock will not satisfy

BS 3621:2017+A1:2024 covers thief-resistant locks on building doors, not a wardrobe cam. Insurance minimum security is about external doors and windows. The VOCIBO rank is a sales position. The limit is casual opening. If the door is shut and the key is snapped, do not drill the face on a guess.

Common questions

What do I measure before I buy a cabinet lock?
Measure the panel thickness, the hole diameter, and the body length from the back of the head to the end of the cylinder, leaving the cam out. Then check cam length, whether it is straight or cranked, and how far it must turn to meet the frame. In this set the stated holes are 16 mm, an 18 mm drill, or 19 mm, and only some listings state a panel limit.
Is body length the same as the length including the cam?
No. Body length stops at the end of the cylinder. The cam is extra, and counting it in makes the lock look longer than the nut can use. A body that is shorter than the panel leaves the nut with nothing to tighten on.
Will one key open every cupboard if I buy several?
Only if the locks were ordered as keyed alike, in the same body length. Four keys in one VOCIBO or shinfly box are copies for that lock. The Mclcvp7re pair states that its two keys are not alike. Mixed 16 mm and 22 mm bodies are not a shared-key set.
Is a cabinet lock a BS 3621 lock?
No. BS 3621 applies to lock assemblies on building doors. These cam locks name no such mark, and a Cabinet Locks sales rank is not a substitute. They also do not meet the lever-or-pin and dead-bolt description used for controlled-drug cabinets.
Can I use this for a controlled-drugs cupboard or a flammable store?
No. Safe-custody rules want a specified lock and a dead-bolt, which these pages do not claim. Flammable liquids in a workroom belong in a fire-resisting cabinet with a 110 per cent bund. A cam lock from this set does not turn a cupboard into either of those.
Is a magnetic child lock the same thing?
No. Child-resistant cupboard devices sit under BS EN 16948:2017. They slow a small child. A cam lock is a key or a code on a cylinder, and it is the wrong product if the job is child safety rather than a key for an adult.
What should I do if the door is already shut and the key is lost?
Stop. Forcing the plug or drilling the face can wreck the door, and a seized lock in the stored reviews ended with a cupboard broken open. Call a locksmith, agree a price from their quote rather than from a national average, and measure the hole only once the door is open.

Related pages

How to fit a cabinet lock

Cabinet lock for a letterbox

Cabinet lock

Best cabinet lock 2026 for the hole you already have

Keyed alike vs keyed different for cupboard door locks

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)