fez_23 wrote:Hey! I'm looking to buy a lockpick set and I was wondering will this set of picks be able to pick a 51s medeco lock?
like this set: http://www.lockpickshop.com/PXS-14.html
Hello and welcome to lp101!
It is usually not the pickset which will be able to pick a (insert name of lock here), it is the method being used and the skillset and experience of the person picking the lock.
The set you chose was my first set and it was great to learn picking with it, but the tang on these picks may be too thick to give you room to maneuver the pick in and out of the lock, and from left too right within the keyway of a Medeco lock.
LockPickShop.com, and I as well, recommend the C1500 pickset which is made for smaller trickier keyways such as the ones found in Europe, Japan, and in domestic high security locks, but if you are just starting out and don't yet have a feel for picking, that set's tangs (the shaft from the handle to the tip of the pick) is thinner and may bend or break in the hands of a new picker.
On another note, and I wish I could find the thread right now, there was lots of talk about the 51s Medeco and after some research we found that both rim (2 holes in the back for screws) and mortise (threads to screw it into a lockbody) models are really a Series 10-x00 cylinder, and the UL 51s is just the number Underwriters Laboratories (UL) assigned to Medeco rim and mortise cylinder locks on a list of all the Medeco locks they tested. Other Medeco locks such as their cam locks sometimes have a 72s but that is not the lock's model number, just a way for someone to go to UL and look up what tests they did on that style of Medeco lock cylinder in order for it to qualify for the UL 437 high security lock designation.
Those Series 10*x00 cylinders have different options like 5 pins or 6 pins or different style of tailpiece and some are Original, Biaxial, M3, BiLevel, or Keymark.
Medeco mortise cylinders which have threads running down the entire length of the lock body in order to screw the lock cylinder into a lock housing have these model numbers:
5 pin Original 10-100 (1" cylinder length)
6 pin Original 10-200 (1-1/8" cylinder length)
6 pin Original 10-500 (1-1/4" cylinder length)
5 pin Biaxial 10W100 (1")
6 pin Biaxial 10W200 (1-1/8")
6 pin Biaxial 10W500 (1-1/4")
5 pin M3 10T100 (1")
6 pin M3 10T200 (1-1/8")
6 pin M3 10T500 (1-1/4")
Medeco rim cylinders which have a smooth outer body and 2 holes drilled in the back for the screws have these model numbers:
5 pin Original 10-300 (1-1/4" cylinder length)
6 pin Original 10-400 (1-1/2" cylinder length)
5 pin Biaxial 10W300 (1-1/4")
6 pin Biaxial 10W400 (1-1/2")
5 pin M3 10T300 (1-1/4")
6 pin M3 10T400 (1-1/2")
*** Many other cylinder model numbers exist and they are done for different tailpieces, set screw location, special retro-fits into other lock manufacturers lock housings and so on. This listing merely represents the most common configurations of Medeco cylinders that you will run into when buying one form your local locksmith or from places like ebay. Telling your locksmith you'd like to buy a 51s is gonna get you some very confused looks. Not that I would know...
lol.have a great weekend everyone, and good luck with your pick purchase!
Squelchtone
