Well, I found ONE good use for my snap gun...

[dirtymoney]

snapping open a deadbolt (that I couldnt rake or pick open) so I could take it apart. I didnt have a key. I tried using the shim method where you take an incredibly thin strip (from those dvd case anti-theft devices) & shimming it in between the plug & the cylinder housing at the sheer line but it's incredibly time consuming. I did it ONCE before (on another lock) and it took me forever. Very frustrating.

Snap-gunned it open in seconds surprisingly. I havnt had much luck snapping open schlage locks in the past, but this one went very quickly.

I am making a practice lock, starting out with one pin in it ,because i need to focus more on actual single-pin-picking skill instead of the half-assed pecking & poking method I have been doing.

[Evan]

snapping open a deadbolt (that I couldnt rake or pick open) so I could take it apart. I didnt have a key. I tried using the shim method where you take an incredibly thin strip (from those dvd case anti-theft devices) & shimming it in between the plug & the cylinder housing at the sheer line but it's incredibly time consuming. I did it ONCE before (on another lock) and it took me forever. Very frustrating.

Snap-gunned it open in seconds surprisingly. I havnt had much luck snapping open schlage locks in the past, but this one went very quickly.

I am making a practice lock, starting out with one pin in it ,because i need to focus more on actual single-pin-picking skill instead of the half-assed pecking & poking method I have been doing.

Shimming a lock takes seconds if you are using actual shims made for the purpose...

Disassemble the lock so you have access to the rear of the shear line...

Slide shim between cylinder plug and shell at shear line until it stops at the last pin stack...

Insert blank key into cylinder while applying light pressure to the shim...

Remove blank slightly from cylinder so that the pin in the stack you are working on rides up and down on the angled tip of the key blank until the shim sinks into the lock more...

You might have to gently insert and remove the key a bit at each stack... Repeat as necessary backing the key blank out to the next stack until the lock is opened...

~~ Evan

[mhole]

I recommend pulling the shim back a tad after you clear each pin, then inserting the blank to lift the next pin before pushing the shim forwards again. If you push the shim all the way forward it can hit a spool pin, and then it's very easy to lift the spool pin so that it crimps the leading edge of the shim between the base of the spool and the bible. This makes sliding it through the shear line and between pins very tricky. Pulling it back a tad and only pushing forward when the next pin is lifted ensures the first obstruction it meets will be a key pin, which is very unlikely to snag it.

Like any thing that you do a lot practice makes it easier, I imagine Evan probably does the above without even consciously considering it. I shim fairly infrequently, and often without an appropriate blank (ie: lifting the stacks with a pick) and it's still a PITA, especially if you damage the leading edge of the shim.

[dirtymoney]

Shimming a lock takes seconds if you are using actual shims made for the purpose...

Insert blank key into cylinder while applying light pressure to the shim...

~~ Evan[/quote]

I was using one of the thin inserts from one of those dvd case anti-theft devices to shim.

I didnt know to use a blank key .... I was using a pick to move the pins.

Thanks for the info.

[Varminter]

I recommend pulling the shim back a tad after you clear each pin, then inserting the blank to lift the next pin before pushing the shim forwards again.

I learned this the hard way... But when I realized it, I shimmed four, seven pin Trioving cylinders in no time without damaging the shim at all. Earlier I caught the spool pins frequently and crimped the tip.
The older locksmith that was teaching me have about 30 years with experience and he was surprised how fast I shimmed after I figured it out. All of you who have experience with shimming from before might find it obvious, but it's a really good tip!
Kudos mhole.